Garrick is one of Britain’s greatest actors and the first to be called a star. From 1741 until his retirement in 1776, he was a highly successful actor, producer
and theatre manager. He wrote more than 20 plays, and adapted many more (including plays by Shakespeare)
His sellout performance as Richard III at Goodman’s Fields Theatre caught the eye of the patent theatres. In 1742, the Theatre
Royal, Drury Lane, hired him and he began a triumphant career that would last for over 30 years. Within five years, he was also managing the theatre.
Garrick changed the whole style of acting. He rejected the fashion for declamation, where actors would strike a pose and speak their lines formally. Garrick preferred a
more easy, natural manner of speech and movement. The effect was a more subtle, less mannered style of acting and a move towards realism.
One of Garrick’s most famous roles was Hamlet. He allegedly had a special wig that made Hamlet’s hair stand on end
. This he used to dramatic effect in the scene where the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears. Whilst modern audiences would probably laugh at the sight of the hair
on an actor’s
wig standing on end, such was the force of Garrick’s performance in the scene where Hamlet meets his father’s ghost that audiences were filled
will absolute terror.
Garrick also became a hugely successful manager after taking over Drury Lane theatre in 1747. He made several major changes and ended the tradition of having audience members
sitting on the stage, where they often interfered with the action.
No other actor has been painted as many times as Garrick. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.
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