EVENTS
The stage, his world
KAUSALYA SANTHANAM
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The Folger Shakespeare Library is hosting an exhibition on the great actor, David Garrick.
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THOUGH the stage was his world, he was not just an ordinary player. David Garrick was an actor who transformed the space he inhabited, in a stunning number of ways. He looked beyond performance to make his career a "many splendoured thing", playing to perfection the roles of theatre manager, playwright, book lover, man of culture and refinement, and perfect host. Garrick defined William Shakespeare for hundreds of his countrymen through his remarkable portrayal of characters from the Bard's plays.
We walk into the Folger Shakespeare Library, just a block away from the Capitol in Washington D.C., and are immediately transported to the life and times of this great artiste. The Folger, which boasts of the "world's largest collection of books by and about Shakespeare", also has the maximum number of Garrick related items — 500,000 in all. Dipping into this vast store of riches, it has set up an exhibition, "David Garrick (1717-1779): A Theatrical Life", which is on till August 28.
A natural style
At a time when the stage was not considered a respectable calling, the actor helped change the prevailing perception. And at a time when actors revelled in loud performances, he brought in a much more natural style of acting. Few were adored in their lifetime as Garrick was. He was one of the first actors to become a celebrity as we know the term today. His likeness was sold by the hundred — porcelain plates, perfume bottles and tiles. More than anything else, he adored the Bard to the extent that Garrick's name has become inextricably associated with that immortal genius of drama and verse.
Portraits and books, manuscripts and objects, letters and handbills are among the items that reconstruct the personality of the man and his mission at the exhibition. We see Garrick captured on canvas by the great painters of the day — Reynolds, Hogarth, Gainsborough, Zoffany... One of the most painted persons of his day, he was depicted playing Richard III in as many as 20 works!
Garrick, the son of a French soldier who migrated to England, was all set to become a successful wine merchant when destiny played its decisive role. His portrayal of Richard III, driven by his devils and warped by ambition, was so chilling in its realism that he was catapulted to fame. But so afraid was he of incurring the anger of his family that he appeared anonymously in the first performance in London. Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear were the other roles that became synonymous with his name. Garrick, who acted in the Drury Lane Theatre productions for 10 years, took the vital decision of becoming its Joint Manager in 1747. This led to a 30-year triumphal march in which the actor explored the comic and the tragic with equal success. The plays of Sheridan and Ben Jonson, and of Garrick himself were staged. But Shakespeare reigned supreme. The actor's talent was hailed by Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson.
Against the current
Garrick was a bold man who did not hesitate to swim against the current. He brought innovations to the theatre — expelling aristocratic viewers from the stage, improving stage properties and lighting and making those who came late also pay in full. Far sighted, he set up a fund for the welfare of artistes.
Contrary to the usual image of the down-at-heel, temperamental and angst-ridden artiste, Garrick became wealthy enough to purchase a house in London and a villa in Hampton and entertained lavishly. He enjoyed a happy marriage with Viennese dancer Eva Maria Viegel .We see paintings of their beautiful home and those that depict their domestic harmony.
Throughout his life, the actor was a prolific writer of letters and plays. The best known of his comedies is "The Clandestine Marriage", which was staged at the Folger recently.
Garrick celebrated a Shakespeare Jubilee in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1769. But rain played spoilsport. Undaunted, he staged it again in London. We see the "Shakespeare chair" made by Hogarth and commissioned by the actor; it is not the most beautiful of objects.
Garrick's funeral was a grand affair. He was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
The Folger library also includes a museum and presents plays regularly. A dream realised for all lovers of Shakespeare, it was set up by Henry and Emily Folger in 1932. We want to linger but it is closing time and we are gently ushered out. "Do come tomorrow for our regular tour," says the smiling, elderly guide. I promise her I will. But am unable to make it and the sense of loss will not go away.
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