215:"The thing Irving set out to do was to show us the sorrow which slowly and remorselessly beat him down. The sorrow, which he suffers, must appeal to our hearts. Irving set out to wring our hearts, not to give a clever exhibition of antics such as a murderer would be likely to go through. Here is a strong human being who, through a moment of weakness, falls into error and for two hours becomes a criminal - does what he knows he is doing - acts deliberately but acts automatically, as though impelled by an immense force, against which no resistance is possible."
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seen for many a long day, and there was a storm of cheers. Then, still pale, still haggard, still haunted, as it were, by the terror he had so perfectly counterfeited, the actor came forward with the sort of smile that did not destroy the character of the
Burgomaster or dispel the illusion of the stage."
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and family man
Mathias, who, fifteen years before, on the night of 24 December 1818, to pay off his mortgage debt, had robbed a wealthy Polish Jewish seed merchant named Koveski who had come to Mathias' inn, killing him with an axe and throwing his body into a lime kiln. Over time Mathias goes insane
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The play left the first-nighters a little dazed. Old fashioned playgoers did not know what to make of it as a form of entertainment. But when the final curtain fell the audience, after a gasp or two, realised that they had witnessed the most masterly form of tragic acting that the
British stage had
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The critics declared Irving a new star, and he was immediately established at the forefront of
British drama. The play ran for 150 nights, which was an unusually long run at the time. It would prove a popular vehicle for Irving for the rest of his professional life.
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on 25 November 1871 was held before a small audience, and during the performance a woman fainted in the stalls. The audience sat in stunned silence at the end of the play. However, they then gave the play, and Irving's performance, a great ovation.
131:, a play about a man haunted by a murder he has committed. The Lyceum Theatre season opened in September 1871, and the first two plays were box office failures. By late October Bateman was facing financial ruin. Again Irving urged him to stage
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Finally, Mathias dreams that he is on trial for the murder and, confessing his guilt, is condemned to death by hanging. Waking, he tries to pull the imaginary noose from around his neck, and dies of a heart attack.
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a property which Irving had found for himself. Bateman had been looking for a leading man when he saw Irving in a play, and the two discussed terms and possible roles for Irving, including a new version of
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in London and initially ran for 151 performances. Irving was to stage the play repeatedly throughout his career, playing the role of
Mathias for the last time the night before his death in 1905.
252:, Irving's wife, Florence, criticised his profession: "Are you going on making a fool of yourself like this all your life?" (She was then pregnant with their second son,
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with guilt, and begins to hallucinate the ghost of the Polish Jew. Only the murderer and the audience, but nobody on stage, could hear the bells on the Jew's
245:, Singla conducted on the opening night. In future productions Irving deleted many of the musical themes in order to heighten the drama in various scenes.
135:, convinced that the play would be a dramatic and financial success. An unsuccessful version of the play was running at the Royal Alfred Theatre in
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was not very enthusiastically received, but the audience was undoubtedly held by the big scene. In the stalls there was a general agreement that
211:, who saw Irving perform the play 30 times, described Irving's performance as "the finest point the craft of acting could reach". Craig added,
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to meagre audiences, which failed to convince
Bateman that another version could be a success; but Irving persuaded him and gave him a copy of
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Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight
Marquee Press. p. 283.
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Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight
Marquee Press. p. 106.
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181:"... There were plenty of stalls vacant at the Lyceum, and the author and I sat in two of them... The first part of
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122:. The fortunes of the house were at a low ebb when the tide was turned by Irving's sudden success as Mathias in
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was originally composed by
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had fulfilled the promise of dramatic intensity which he had shown in his recitation of
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Mayer, David (editor) 'Henry Irving and The Bells: Irving's
Personal Script of the Play
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produced the play regularly throughout his career. Other actors who have played the
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Kinnard, Roy (1995). "Horror in Silent Films". McFarland and Company Inc. Page 61.
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Henry Irving and the Bells: Irving's Personal Script of the Play
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which was one of the greatest successes of the British actor
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Mathias in subsequent productions include Irving's son
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brought Singla to the Lyceum to arrange his score for
523:. The Online Encyclopaedia of British Theatre History
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two more versions in 1914 — one British, one American
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The play was adapted into numerous film adaptations:
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707:"Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List"
648:Horror in Silent Films: A Filmography, 1896-1929
114:In 1871, Irving began his association with the
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46:. The play opened on 25 November 1871 at the
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118:with an engagement under the management of
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305:Hans, a friend of Mathias - F W Irish
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332:Period - 24 & 26 December 1833.
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342:Act III - The Burgomaster's Bedroom
339:Act II - The Burgomaster's Parlour
311:Sozel, a servant - Miss Ellen Mayne
25:Programme for the opening night of
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38:is a play in three acts by
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97:opera of the same name
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795:Full text of the play
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645:Kinnard, Roy (1995).
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500:George Rowell (1953)
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146:The opening night of
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800:Images of Irving in
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581:Benedict Nightingale
412:1911 Australian film
143:, by Leopold Lewis.
519:Over the Footlights
452:1926 Hollywood film
317:Notary - Mr Collett
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209:Edward Gordon Craig
40:Leopold David Lewis
782:by Leopold Lewis'
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752:"The Bells"
568:(1980) pg 6
517:"Review in
422:Oscar Apfel
402:Adaptations
376:Burgomaster
367:Productions
352:burgomaster
282:Vanity Fair
193:Eugene Aram
82:The Polish
823:Melodramas
818:1871 plays
812:Categories
488:References
472:as Mathias
273:Caricature
137:Marylebone
124:The Bells,
109:Henri Caïn
54:Background
802:The Bells
606:3 October
586:The Times
527:3 October
454:starring
277:The Bells
250:The Bells
243:programme
239:The Bells
233:in 1869.
225:The Bells
183:The Bells
163:The Bells
148:The Bells
141:The Bells
74:The Bells
68:The Bells
35:The Bells
27:The Bells
328:Synopsis
254:Laurence
221:overture
105:libretto
786:(1980)
738:"Ozcin"
346:Set in
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357:sledge
348:Alsace
761:9 May
394:and
87:) by
763:2016
721:ISBN
690:ISBN
673:ISBN
653:ISBN
608:2013
529:2013
458:and
219:The
107:by
84:Jew
66:in
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