Shakespeare in the Theatre: Sarah Siddons and John Philip Kemble

Siblings Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) and John Philip Kemble (1757-1823) were the most famous British actors of the late-18th and early-19th centuries and were particularly known for their work with Shakespeare. This book examines their long careers on the London stage, which spanned over thirty years from 1782 to 1817, and in particular considers their work together. In addition to appearing opposite one another in several Shakespeare plays (including King John, Coriolanus, and Macbeth) the actors’ careers were also marked by political upheaval and two major Shakespeare scandals: the staging of Vortigern (a fake Shakespearean play) in 1796 and the Old Price Riots of 1809 (during which the audience challenged Siddons’s and Kemble’s perceived attempts to control Shakespeare). In addition to detailed consideration of the London theatre, the importance of provincial performance to the actors’ careers is also emphasised, notably in the case of Hamlet, a role in which both appeared (Kemble in London and Siddons elsewhere). This volume also places Siddons’s and Kemble’s Shakespeare performances in the context of contemporary 18th- and 19th-century drama.