Originally published in 1978. Between 1830 and 1890 the English theatre became recognisably modern. Standards of acting and presentation improved immeasurably; new playwrights emerged; theatres became more comfortable and more intimate and playgoing became a national pastime with all classes. The actorrsquo;s status rose accordingly. In 1830 he had been little better than a social outcast; by 1880 he had become a member of a skilled; relatively well-paid and respected profession which was attracting new recruits in unprecedented numbers.This is a social history of Victorian actors which seeks to show how wider social attitudes and developments affected the changing status of acting as a profession. Thus the stagersquo;s relationship with the professional world and the other arts is dealt with and is followed by an assessment of the moral and religious background which played so decisive a part in contemporary attitudes to actors. The position of actresses in particular is given special consideration.Many non-theatrical sources are used here and there is a survey of salaries and working conditions in the theatre to show how the rising social status of the actor was matched by changes in his theatrical standing. A novel area of study is covered in tracing the changing social composition of the acting profession over the period and in exploring the case-histories of three generations of performers.
2015-07-18 2015-07-18File Name: B011ZF8SN4
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