ABSTRACT

It is difficult for theatre historians to reconstruct performances of the past. There is little or no evidence how Richard Burbage enacted the great roles of Hamlet, Othello, Lear, Macbeth, and Antony in the first productions of Shakespeare's plays. There are only brief testaments from contemporaries in the late seventeenth century for the brilliance of Thomas Betterton in these same roles. In the second half of the century, newspaper notices, previously limited to announcements of productions, now reviewed performers and theatrical interpretations of Shakespeare. Small magazines covered the daily operations and the gossip of the playhouses. Together, they give us a sense of the comedic characters of Quin, Cibber, Woodward, Yates, Shuter, and Munden; they outline the distinctive traits of Peg Woffington, Mrs. William Pritchard, Maria Macklin, and Dora Jordan as Shakespearean heroines. In her "Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth", Sarah Siddons sets out her concept of the character, then describes Lady Macbeth's progression through all her scenes.