Renowned internationally, he and his actress-wife Ellen toured extensively.
Early Life and Drury Lane Debut
Charles Kean, born January 18, 1811 in Waterford, Ireland was son of actress Mary Chambers and the famous tragedian Edmund Kean. His parents’ separation resulting from Edmund’s infidelity and scandal in 1825 caused Charles to seek work for income to assist his mother. Ignoring his father’s advice to find employment elsewhere, the young man chose a theatrical career.
In 1827 when his father withdrew from Drury Lane Theatre and went to Covent Garden Theatre, he was drawn into the controversy when Drury Lane’s lessee, aware of the men’s disagreement, persuaded the younger Kean to perform at his theatre. Charles’ well-advertised debut at Drury Lane caused a sensation while the elder Kean’s audiences diminished at Covent Garden.
Charles’ debut performance as young Norval in the tragedy Douglas received great reception from the full audience. Following numerous tours in the provinces and another in the United States where he received good reception for his debut in Richard III (1830), he returned to London.
Marriage to Actress Ellen Tree
In March 1833, while playing Iago to Edmund’s Othello at Covent Garden, Charles witnessed the on-stage collapse of his father who died two months later.
With well-delivered performances in The Iron Chest, Richard III, and As You Like It, his reputation grew, and his Hamlet in 1838 earned him a position among the principal tragedians of the period.
Kean married actress Ellen Tree in 1842 with whom he made a successful tour of the United States and Canada from 1845 to 1847. In 1848, Queen Victoria appointed him to the position of director for the Windsor Christmas theatricals.
Shakespearean Spectacles
In 1850, he and Robert Keeley became lessees of the Royal Princess’ Theatre in London. Kean’s attention to historical details with “astonishing accuracy of scenery and costumes” compensated for his lack of physical stature and his poor vocal projection.
Records show that during his nine years’ management, he delivered 2396 performances, 1229 of which were grand revivals of Shakespeare’s plays:
- King John 1852
- Macbeth 1853
- Henry VIII 1855
- Richard II 1857
- Henry V 1859
Though not the first in English-speaking theatre to historicize Shakespeare, he may have been the most aggressive, and many producers aware of Kean’s success emulated his work. One critic who disliked the productions accused him of making acting secondary to the scenery and costuming.
World Tour
On July 6, 1863, Ellen and Charles began a junket that took them to Australia, the United States, Canada, Panama, Jamaica, and Cuba. Their letters to their daughter and to associates in England relate many details of the grueling tour that ended in 1866 and provided them with enough money to support an upper crust lifestyle.
Charles Kean died in January 1868. Ellen (Tree) Kean retired from the stage and survived him by twelve years.
Sources:
Memories of Fifty Years by Lester Wallack, Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1889
Shakespeare's Victorian Stage: Performing History in the Theatre of Charles Kean by Richard W. Schoch, University of Cambridge Press, 1998
Letters of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean - Relating to Their American Tours by William G. B. Carson, Leffmann Press, 2007
Kathleen Airdrie - Kathleen has thirty years' freelance writing experience covering history, biographical profiles, environmental and social issues
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