David Garrick . British actor and playwright considered one of the leading figures in 18th century English theater.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 2 Trajectory
- 3 Fun facts
- 4 Dramatic works and Poetry
- 5 Death
- 6 Source
Biographical synthesis
Born 19 February as as 1717 , Hereford , United Kingdom
Trajectory
English actor and theater entrepreneur, he descended from a Protestant family named Garric or Garrique, from Bordeaux, who settled in England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He was one of the greats of the English theater of the 18th century. Actor, playwright, poet, director, producer, managed to be the first actor buried in Westminster Abbey, in the corner of the poets, near Shakespeare, whom he adapted so many times on stage, specialized in interpreting Shakespearean characters, to whose recovery he dedicated most of his activity
Today he is considered one of the main figures in the theater of the 18th century. He began studying law and literature, alongside Samuel Johnson , before deciding to try his luck in London in 1737 . He turned to the theater and made his debut in 1741 in William Shakespeare’s Richard III. He was, in his time, the greatest interpreter of Shakespeare’s characters. He also cultivated comic poetry, which he later recited on stage with an excellent reception from the public.
A poetic legend was created around this character, based on a poem by Juan de Dios de Peza , a Mexican intellectual from the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, of romantic orientation and liberal tendency, in which he portrays the history of the sad clown, of the comedian who everyone wants to listen to as therapy to the problems of the routine, but who is not happy. Who encourages the clown? The poem speaks for itself. A patient enters a doctor’s office to tell him his state of mind. Have you tried falling in love? – I have a wife and two children. And traveling, do you like to travel? I just toured Italy with my theater company. -Well, I recommend you go see David Garrick perform tonight, who is in the city, they say that laughing works. “Doctor, David Garrick is me.”
The comedians recognize the English actor as the first “laugh therapist” in history, and make up a series of hilarious scenes that delve into the problem of the sad clown. The story, real or invented, symbolizes wonderfully the double face of the actor, capable to transform their feelings, to mimic sensations and to transmit fictions on stage, and as in the song of The Secrets, how to explain, that I become vulgar, when I get off each stage.
He turned to the stage and made his debut in 1741 in William Shakespeare’s Richard III, which was his most resounding success. He was a great friend of Denis Diderot and other men of letters of his time and specialized in interpreting Shakespearean characters, to whose recovery he devoted most of his activity. He initially worked at the Covent Garden Theater built in 1731 and became director of the Drury Lane Theater in 1747, a position he held with James Lary until 1776, alternating with his performances of comedies, tragedies and farces from the British theatrical repertoire. As a reformer of the English theater, he prohibited the presence of the public on stage,
Fun facts
Author of forty plays, among which is his mythological farce Lethe. He was featured in the 1937 film The Great Garrick by director James Whale and starred Brian Aherne. The poem “Reír Llorando” by the Mexican writer Juan de Dios Peza is inspired by him. His first dramatic work, “Lethe” or “Aesop in the Shadows” His first appearance on the stage was in March 1741, incognito, as Harlequin, at Goodman’s Fields. His success after theater performances determined the future of his career. On October 19, 1742, he made his appearance in Goddman’s Fields, in the role of Richard III, and won the most enthusiastic applause. Meanwhile, night after night his popularity grew on the scene. As Gray claimed, the city was “crazy to tie up” by him In the first six months of his theatrical career, he acted in eighteen roles of all kinds, and from December 2 he appeared under his own name.
The great poet Alexander Pope went to see him three times in his first performances and said that “that young man has never had an equal as an actor, and he will never have a rival to match.” A dozen dukes attended the theatrical performances at Goodman’s Fields. The naturalness of his performance fascinated those who, like Partridge in “Tom Jones” listen to the voices of nature, and justified the preference of the more conscientious critics, he was able to change passion and humor quickly, both with voice and with the gesture, leaving the audience rapt. The list of the characters he represented in tragedy, comedy and farce, is large, and it would be extraordinarily difficult for a top modern actor. Includes no less than 16 Shakespearean characters. As an entrepreneur, although he made some painful mistakes, he favored the theater and notably helped popularize Shakespeare’s plays, producing no less than 24 plays under his direction. He rendered an important service to the study of English dramatic literature by bequeathing his collection of unsurpassed plays to the British Museum.
Dramatic works and Poetry
- The Lying Valet (“The liar valet”)
- The Guardian (“The Guardian”)
- Linco’s Travels (“Linco’s Travels”, 1767)
- Miss in her Teens “(1747)
- Irish Widow (“The Irish Widow”)
- The lying servant
- Lethe
- The Lilliputian
- The tutor
- The charmer or love and magic
- Harlequin’s entrance
- The landlord back to London
- Field’s daughter Cimon
- The retiree; The Irish Widow
- The Earl of Noel
- The good tone in a living room
- The first day of May.
Death
He died in London on 20 of January of 1779 , being buried in Westminster Abbey, at the foot of the statue of Shakespeare
