Internet Shakespeare Editions

Page contents

Shakespeare in Performance: Illustration

Image nameIllustration (Drury Lane, King John, 1865)
Artifact typeillustration
Media typeimage
Description"This revival of one of Shakspeare's [sic] noblest historical plays has continued, since the first week of November, to attract very good audiences to Drury-lane -- Mr. Phelps still maintaining the part of the King, and Miss Atkinson that of Queen Constance; while that of the bastard Falconbridge is played by Mr. James Anderson, and Mr. Swinburne represents the gaoler Hubert. The scenery, painted by Mr. Beverley, is most effective and characteristic, especially the interior of the ancient Gothic hall, with its rich tapestries and hangings; the walls and castle of the beleagured town of Angiers; Northampton Castle likewise, and Swineshead Abbey, near Boston, in Lincolnshire, are set before the spectators with Mr. Beverley's usual success. The last scene, of which we present an Illustration, shows the death of King John on his couch in the cloistered-garden of Swineshead Abbey, where the soft moonlight, mixed with the rays of few lamps or torches, struggles through the mist of the evening, and harmonises with the solemn interest of the occasion."
Performances
RightsArtifact © Image and description originally published in The Illustrated London News 9 Dec. 1865, p. 556-58. Now part of the public domain.
Artifact id29975

View metadata