William Poel (1852-1934) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actor, theatrical manager and dramatist best known for his presentations of Shakespeare.

Life and career

A son of

William Pole William Pole FRS FRSE MICE (22 April 181430 December 1900) was an English engineer, astronomer, musician and an authority on Whist. Life He was born in Birmingham on 22 April 1814, the son of Thomas Pole. Pole was apprenticed as an engineer t ...

, he grew up among

Pre-raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

painters and reportedly sat for

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism. ...

in his painting ''

The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple ''The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple'' (1854–1860) is a painting by William Holman Hunt intended as an ethnographically accurate version of the subject traditionally known as " Christ Among the Doctors", an illustration of the child Jesus ...

.'' He took on the name ''Poel'' following a misspelling of his own name on a theatre billing. At St. George's Hall,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in 1881 he revived ''Hamlet,'' using the text of the first quarto and doing without scenery. From 1881 to 1883 he was manager of

Royal Victoria Hall Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, London, and then for a year manager of F. R. Benson's company. In 1895 he founded the

Elizabethan Stage Society The Elizabethan Stage Society was a theatrical society dedicated to putting on productions of drama from the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, particularly (but not exclusively) those of William Shakespeare. It was founded in 1895 by William Poel. It ...

and spent much of his career researching and lecturing on Elizabethan performance. He put his studies to work on stage, as he tried to recreate performances using an open stage, a unified acting ensemble, an uncut text, very little scenery and a swift pace of performance. His work affected many theatre practitioners, most of all

Harley Granville Barker 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 directi ...

. His presentations included

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' (1893) and ''

Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tent ...

'' (1910), plays by

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and

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

, Milton's ''Samson Agonistes'' (1900) and Swinburne's ''Locrine'' (1900). Poel also dramatized W. D. Howells's ''A Foregone Conclusion'' under the title ''Priest and Painter'' (produced 1884) and Baring-Gould's novel ''Mehala'' (produced 1886). He wrote several comediettas and a book, ''Shakespeare in the Theatre.'' The National Portrait Gallery contains a number of pictures by

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist. He became an influential art teacher. He was one of the first British arti ...

of Poel in the role as Father Keegan in G. B. Shaw's play ''John Bull's Other Island.'' His great-nephew

Rupert Pole Rupert Pole (February 18, 1919 – July 15, 2006) was an American actor and the husband of author Anaïs Nin, as well as her literary executor. Early life and education Pole was born in Los Angeles. His father, Reginald, was a highly regarded S ...

(1919-2006) was married to

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

The Poel Workshops

The Poel Workshops, run and promoted by

The Society for Theatre Research ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

since 1952, emphasize Poel's approach to text in the delivery of which he desired speed, lightness, musicality and the effect of true speech. The Society for Theatre Research's project has constantly evolved and is now known as the Poel Workshops, but still keeps to its aims of the text-centric and verse-faithful to the plays of Shakespeare.

References

* Claris Glick, "William Poel: His Theories and Influence," Shakespeare Quarterly 15.1 (Winter, 1964): 15-25. * C. E. Montague, ''Dramatic Values'' (New York, 1911). * Speaight, Robert, ''William Poel and the Elizabethan Revival'' (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Univ Press, 1954). *

Life and career

The Poel Workshops

References

External links