biography
| name: |
Macready, William Charles
|
pronunciation:
[muhkreedee]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1793–1873)
|
| biography:
| Actor, born in London, UK. He made his debut at Birmingham in 1810, and in 1816 appeared at Covent Garden, developing his restrained acting techniques which later became a major influence on modern stagecraft. He re-established some of the text of Shakespeare in its original form, purging it of the adaptations introduced by Colley Cibber and others. His theories on the production of drama opened the way to the art of the modern theatre. In 1837 he was appointed manager of Covent Garden, and extended his techniques to production. After two seasons he moved to Drury Lane (1841–3), then played in the provinces, Paris and America. His last visit to the USA was marked by terrible riots (1849), in which 22 people died, as a result of a feud started by the US actor Edwin Forrest. |
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