Samuel Phelps (born 13 February 1804, Plymouth Dock (now Devonport), Plymouth, Devon, died 6 November 1878, Anson's Farm, Coopersale, near Epping, Essex) was an English actor and theatre manager. He is known for his productions of William Shakespeare's plays which were faithful to their original versions, after the derived works by Nahum Tate, Colley Cibber and David Garrick had dominated the stage for over a century.[1]
Phelps' most frequently performed role was Hamlet, but he counted Macbeth, Wolsey, Leontes, and Bottom among his greatest achievements. He was generally considered the finest King Lear of his generation, returning to Shakespeare's version, which had been replaced on stage for over a hundred and fifty years by Tate's happy ending adaptation The History of King Lear, and staging the first production of the original version since the Restoration in 1845. Bell's Weekly Messenger wrote "The majesty, as well as the paternal tenderness of Lear, is preserved throughout; the grief, despair, and madness are kingly; and the business which the action inspires is heightened by the consciousness of the greatness of the mind that is suffering."
Phelps other great creation was his Falstaff, which the German publication Gesammelte Werke called his finest role. He first played Shakespeare's fat knight in Henry IV, Part I in 1846. While not suited for the sensuality typically associated with the role, Phelps relied on his intelligence and aristocratic suaveness in his interpretation which he altered slightly in The Merry Wives of Windsor, portraying a gentlemanly knight who observed the standards of decorum regardless of the vulgarity of his current surroundings. His production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, the first regular revival of that play since the seventeenth century, emphasized spectacle in a way that set the pattern for many future productions. In 1864, as part of the celebrations of Shakespeare's tricentennial, he played the title role in Cymbeline at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane; Helen Faucit was Imogen.
Sadly, Phelps' skills declined in old age so that critics no longer cared for his work in tragic plays, approving only his performances in comic roles like Falstaff and Bottom. But in his prime, he was the most versatile actor of his generation. A definitive biography, Samuel Phelps & the Sadler's Wells Theatre, was written by Shirley S. Allen in 1971.
Phelps was buried in a family grave (plot no.15452) on the western side of Highgate Cemetery.
References
Samuel Phelps and Sadler's Wells Theatre Shirley S. Allen (Wesleyan, 1971) ISBN0-8195-4029-3
^The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, Cambridge University Press, 1988
^Jeffrey Richards (2014). The Golden Age of Pantomime. p. 201. ISBN1780762933.