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Harley Granville-Barker

October 21, 2023

Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directing and was a major figure in British theatre in the Edwardian and inter-war periods. As a writer his plays, which tackled difficult and controversial subject matter, met with a mixed reception during his lifetime but have continued to receive attention.

Harley Granville-Barker
BornHarley Granville-Barker
(1877-11-25)25 November 1877
London, England, UK
Died31 August 1946(1946-08-31) (aged 68)
Paris, French Fourth Republic
Occupation
  • Actor
  • director
  • playwright
  • manager
  • critic
  • theorist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityEnglish
PeriodEdwardian era
GenreDrama
Notable worksThe Voysey Inheritance, Waste, The Madras House
Notable awardsShakespeare Lecture (1925)[1]
SpouseLillah McCarthy
Helen Huntington

Biography Edit

Early life and acting career Edit

Harley Granville-Barker was born in London, England on 25 November 1877. He left school at 14 and began a career in acting. As his career blossomed, he seemed to excel in roles that were a culmination of intelligence and romantic dreaminess. This landed him many roles such as; Tanner in Man and Superman, Cusins in Major Barbara, Marchbanks in Candida, and Dubedat in The Doctor's Dilemma. To be more specific the Dubedat and Cusins characters were written by George Bernard Shaw with Granville-Barker specifically in mind. However, performing no longer appealed to Granville-Barker so he gave it up in 1911.

Directing career Edit

With an interest in theatre still at heart, he decided to focus on directing. During this time directing was not a focus point in English theatre, but he used the building blocks of Antoine and Reinhardt to his advantage and contributed to changing the dynamics of production in English theatre. Some of his first assignments were with the Stage Society, but it wasn't until 1904 when he worked with the Royal Court Theatre that his directing career took off. From 1904 to 1907 he was considered to be one of the major reformers of the Edwardian Stage. While working with the Royal Court, he collaborated with J.E. Vedrenne to mount almost 1,000 performances. Many of these performances were classics while some were new works. Among the new pieces of work were eleven plays written by George Bernard Shaw. Granville-Barker often worked with Shaw to assist in staging his plays and directing them as well.

As the Vedrenne-Barker seasons closed with the Royal Court, new opportunities opened with the Duke of York's Theatre in 1910. This new opportunity reminded Granville-Barker of the need for more repertory companies. In 1904 he collaborated with William Archer to write a book that argued for a national theatre; unfortunately, it was a lost cause that became one of the biggest disappointments in his life. However, his efforts did not go to waste but added to the growth of the regional repertory movement in Britain.

Granville-Barker's directing career boomed with three famous productions of Shakespeare at the Savoy Theatre: The Winter's Tale and Twelfth Night during 1912 and A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1914. Granville-Barker took these productions and removed all classic scenery and replaced it with symbolic scenery, as well as enforcing ensemble acting.

Writing career Edit

 
Harley Granville-Barker circa 1915

The year before he met his first wife, Granville-Barker wrote The Voysey Inheritance which is considered to be a masterpiece of the Edwardian stage. His other plays, however. did not sit well with the Edwardian audience. They found his plays to be incomprehensible.

According to The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance, his style was more similar to the style of Chekhov in that it put the "action under the surface." Although his audience may not have understood him, this did not stop Granville-Barker from discussing important issues in society. In 1907 Granville-Barker's play Waste was banned due to the topic of abortion and its politics. In 1909, three volumes of his plays, The Voysey Inheritance, Waste, and The Marrying of Ann Leete, were published in a limited edition of 50 copies printed on handmade paper in a slipcase.

Granville-Barker's most notable prose work is the Prefaces to Shakespeare written from 1927 to the end of his life in 1946. Prefaces to Shakespeare was considered the first major Shakespeare study to attend to the practical matters of staging. The prefaces were published in two hardback volumes in 1946 and 1947.

Personal life Edit

In 1906, Granville-Barker met his first wife Lillah McCarthy on tour with Ben Greet's Shakespeare and Old English Touring Company in 1895 when he was 17. In Ben Greet's company, he played Paris to McCarthy's Juliet. McCarthy first appeared at The Court Theatre under Barker's co-management in "John Bull's Other Island" in 1895. Shortly thereafter, Barker played opposite McCarthy in Man and Superman (1895). They married on April 24, 1906 at the West Strand Registry Office. McCarthy was to have a leading part in Barker's personal and professional life until their split after World War I. He divorced McCarthy and married an American writer named Helen Huntington who supposedly disliked the stage, actors, and especially Shaw.[citation needed] He then hyphenated his name, causing his colleagues to believe that he was abandoning the battle for a life of luxury. Recently, the negative characterization of Helen "as a theatre-hating woman who ruined Barker's career" has been disputed, and her dislike of the theater refuted, on the basis of Granville-Barker's early correspondence with her. "In fact she was a regular theatre-goer, a writer and Barker's eventual collaborator."[2]

He later settled in Paris where he collaborated with Huntington on translating the comedies of Martínez Sierra and the Álvarez Quintero brothers. On the outbreak of the Second World War, Granville-Barker fled France for Spain before moving to the United States. In America he lectured at Harvard and was also employed by British Information Services. At the end of the war he returned to France and died in Paris on 31 August 1946. Sympathetic to left-wing causes, he had declined a knighthood.

Bibliography Edit

  • Plays by Harley Granville Barker (The Marrying of Ann Leete, The Voysey Inheritance, The Kyle and Waste), ed. Dennis Kennedy, Cambridge University Press (1987) ISBN 0-521-31407-0
  • Prefaces to Shakespeare by Harley Granville Barker, in 12 paperback volumes by Nick Hern Books, originally published by Batsford; published in two hardback volumes in 1946 and 1947
  • Granville Barker and the Dream of Theatre by Dennis Kennedy, Cambridge University Press (1985)
  • The Court Theatre A Commentary and Criticism 1904–1907 by Desmond MacCarthy, Bullen (1907), University of Miami Press (1966)
  • Cambridge Guide to Theatre, 1992 ISBN 0-521-43437-8
  • Granville‐Barker, Harley (1877–1946). (2012). The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature
  • Harley Granville Barker Reclaimed (featuring the plays The Madras House, The Voysey Inheritance, and Farewell to the Theater) Granville Press and Mint Theater Company (2007) ISBN 978-0971826229
  • Granville Barker, Harley. (2010). The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance
  • Granville Barker: A Secret Life by Eric Salmon, Heinemann Educational Books (1983)

References Edit

  1. ^ Granville-Barker, Harley (1976). "From Henry V to Hamlet". Proceedings of the British Academy, 1924–1925. 11: 283–309. Annual Shakespeare Lecture of the British Academy.
  2. ^ Granville-Baker, Harley. The Unknown Granville Barker: Letters to Helen and Other Texts 1915-18, edited by Simon Shepherd (London: Society for Theater Research, 2021. Quotations are from the back cover.

External links Edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harley Granville-Barker.
 
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Harley Granville-Barker

October 21, 2023
harley, granville, barker, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, artic. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Harley Granville Barker news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations July 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Harley Granville Barker 25 November 1877 31 August 1946 was an English actor director playwright manager critic and theorist After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw he increasingly turned to directing and was a major figure in British theatre in the Edwardian and inter war periods As a writer his plays which tackled difficult and controversial subject matter met with a mixed reception during his lifetime but have continued to receive attention Harley Granville BarkerBornHarley Granville Barker 1877 11 25 25 November 1877London England UKDied31 August 1946 1946 08 31 aged 68 Paris French Fourth RepublicOccupationActordirectorplaywrightmanagercritictheoristLanguageEnglishNationalityEnglishPeriodEdwardian eraGenreDramaNotable worksThe Voysey Inheritance Waste The Madras HouseNotable awardsShakespeare Lecture 1925 1 SpouseLillah McCarthyHelen Huntington Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life and acting career 1 2 Directing career 1 3 Writing career 1 4 Personal life 2 Bibliography 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditEarly life and acting career Edit Harley Granville Barker was born in London England on 25 November 1877 He left school at 14 and began a career in acting As his career blossomed he seemed to excel in roles that were a culmination of intelligence and romantic dreaminess This landed him many roles such as Tanner in Man and Superman Cusins in Major Barbara Marchbanks in Candida and Dubedat in The Doctor s Dilemma To be more specific the Dubedat and Cusins characters were written by George Bernard Shaw with Granville Barker specifically in mind However performing no longer appealed to Granville Barker so he gave it up in 1911 Directing career Edit With an interest in theatre still at heart he decided to focus on directing During this time directing was not a focus point in English theatre but he used the building blocks of Antoine and Reinhardt to his advantage and contributed to changing the dynamics of production in English theatre Some of his first assignments were with the Stage Society but it wasn t until 1904 when he worked with the Royal Court Theatre that his directing career took off From 1904 to 1907 he was considered to be one of the major reformers of the Edwardian Stage While working with the Royal Court he collaborated with J E Vedrenne to mount almost 1 000 performances Many of these performances were classics while some were new works Among the new pieces of work were eleven plays written by George Bernard Shaw Granville Barker often worked with Shaw to assist in staging his plays and directing them as well As the Vedrenne Barker seasons closed with the Royal Court new opportunities opened with the Duke of York s Theatre in 1910 This new opportunity reminded Granville Barker of the need for more repertory companies In 1904 he collaborated with William Archer to write a book that argued for a national theatre unfortunately it was a lost cause that became one of the biggest disappointments in his life However his efforts did not go to waste but added to the growth of the regional repertory movement in Britain Granville Barker s directing career boomed with three famous productions of Shakespeare at the Savoy Theatre The Winter s Tale and Twelfth Night during 1912 and A Midsummer Night s Dream in 1914 Granville Barker took these productions and removed all classic scenery and replaced it with symbolic scenery as well as enforcing ensemble acting Writing career Edit nbsp Harley Granville Barker circa 1915The year before he met his first wife Granville Barker wrote The Voysey Inheritance which is considered to be a masterpiece of the Edwardian stage His other plays however did not sit well with the Edwardian audience They found his plays to be incomprehensible According to The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance his style was more similar to the style of Chekhov in that it put the action under the surface Although his audience may not have understood him this did not stop Granville Barker from discussing important issues in society In 1907 Granville Barker s play Waste was banned due to the topic of abortion and its politics In 1909 three volumes of his plays The Voysey Inheritance Waste and The Marrying of Ann Leete were published in a limited edition of 50 copies printed on handmade paper in a slipcase Granville Barker s most notable prose work is the Prefaces to Shakespeare written from 1927 to the end of his life in 1946 Prefaces to Shakespeare was considered the first major Shakespeare study to attend to the practical matters of staging The prefaces were published in two hardback volumes in 1946 and 1947 Personal life Edit In 1906 Granville Barker met his first wife Lillah McCarthy on tour with Ben Greet s Shakespeare and Old English Touring Company in 1895 when he was 17 In Ben Greet s company he played Paris to McCarthy s Juliet McCarthy first appeared at The Court Theatre under Barker s co management in John Bull s Other Island in 1895 Shortly thereafter Barker played opposite McCarthy in Man and Superman 1895 They married on April 24 1906 at the West Strand Registry Office McCarthy was to have a leading part in Barker s personal and professional life until their split after World War I He divorced McCarthy and married an American writer named Helen Huntington who supposedly disliked the stage actors and especially Shaw citation needed He then hyphenated his name causing his colleagues to believe that he was abandoning the battle for a life of luxury Recently the negative characterization of Helen as a theatre hating woman who ruined Barker s career has been disputed and her dislike of the theater refuted on the basis of Granville Barker s early correspondence with her In fact she was a regular theatre goer a writer and Barker s eventual collaborator 2 He later settled in Paris where he collaborated with Huntington on translating the comedies of Martinez Sierra and the Alvarez Quintero brothers On the outbreak of the Second World War Granville Barker fled France for Spain before moving to the United States In America he lectured at Harvard and was also employed by British Information Services At the end of the war he returned to France and died in Paris on 31 August 1946 Sympathetic to left wing causes he had declined a knighthood Bibliography EditPlays by Harley Granville Barker The Marrying of Ann Leete The Voysey Inheritance The Kyle and Waste ed Dennis Kennedy Cambridge University Press 1987 ISBN 0 521 31407 0 Prefaces to Shakespeare by Harley Granville Barker in 12 paperback volumes by Nick Hern Books originally published by Batsford published in two hardback volumes in 1946 and 1947 Granville Barker and the Dream of Theatre by Dennis Kennedy Cambridge University Press 1985 The Court Theatre A Commentary and Criticism 1904 1907 by Desmond MacCarthy Bullen 1907 University of Miami Press 1966 Cambridge Guide to Theatre 1992 ISBN 0 521 43437 8 Granville Barker Harley 1877 1946 2012 The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature Harley Granville Barker Reclaimed featuring the plays The Madras House The Voysey Inheritance and Farewell to the Theater Granville Press and Mint Theater Company 2007 ISBN 978 0971826229 Granville Barker Harley 2010 The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance Granville Barker A Secret Life by Eric Salmon Heinemann Educational Books 1983 References Edit Granville Barker Harley 1976 From Henry V to Hamlet Proceedings of the British Academy 1924 1925 11 283 309 Annual Shakespeare Lecture of the British Academy Granville Baker Harley The Unknown Granville Barker Letters to Helen and Other Texts 1915 18 edited by Simon Shepherd London Society for Theater Research 2021 Quotations are from the back cover External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harley Granville Barker nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Harley Granville Barker Granville Barker bio Theatre Database bio Works by Harley Granville Barker at Project Gutenberg Works by Harley Granville Barker at Faded Page Canada Works by or about Harley Granville Barker at Internet Archive Works by Harley Granville Barker at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Archival material relating to Harley Granville Barker UK National Archives nbsp Harley Granville Barker Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin Harley Granville Barker letters 2013 Prepared for the L Tom Perry Special Collections Provo UT Retrieved May 16 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harley Granville Barker amp oldid 1176588452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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