Charles John Kean (18 January 181122 January 1868), was an English actor and theatre manager, best known for his revivals of Shakespearean plays.

Life

Kean was born at Waterford, Ireland, a son of actor Edmund Kean and actress Mary Kean (''nee'' Chambers). After preparatory education at Worplesdon and at Greenford, near Harrow, he was sent to

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, where he remained three years. In 1827, he was offered a cadetship in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

's service, which he was prepared to accept if his father would settle an income of £400 on his mother. The elder Kean refused to do this, and his son determined to become an actor. He made his first appearance at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks T ...

on 1 October 1827 as Norval in

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

's ''Douglas'', but his continued failure to achieve popularity led him to leave London in the spring of 1828 for the provinces. In

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, on 1 October in that year, father and son acted together in Arnold Payne's ''Brutus'', the elder Kean in the title-part and his son as Titus. Charles Kean as Macbeth 1858

After a visit to the United States in 1830, where he was received with much favour, he appeared in 1833 at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

as "Sir Edmund Mortimer" in Colman's ''The Iron Chest'', but his success was not pronounced enough to encourage him to remain in London, especially as he had already won a high position in the provinces. In January 1838, however, he returned to Drury Lane, and played

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

with a success which gave him a place among the principal tragedians of his time. He married the actress

Ellen Tree Ellen Kean (12 December 1805 – 20 August 1880) was an English actress. She was known as Ellen Tree until her marriage in 1842, after which she was known both privately and professionally as Mrs Charles Kean and always appeared in productions ...

(1805–1880) on 25 January 1842, they performed on the Lincoln Circuit in April and May 1845 appearing at Stamford, Peterborough, Boston, Lincoln (where the theatre was uncommonly well attended) and the Georgian Angles Theatre, Wisbech before making a second visit to America with her from 1845 to 1847. Returning to England, he entered on a successful engagement at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

, and in 1850, with Robert Keeley, became lessee of the

Princess's Theatre, London The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 1 ...

. The most noteworthy feature of his management was a series of gorgeous

Shakespearean 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 natio ...

revivals that aimed for "authenticity". Kean also mentored the young

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

in juvenile roles. In melodramatic parts such as the king in Dion Boucicault's adaptation of

Casimir Delavigne Jean-François Casimir Delavigne (4 April 179311 December 1843) was a French poet and dramatist. Life and career Delavigne was born at Le Havre, but was sent to Paris to be educated at the Lycée Napoleon. He read extensively. When, on 20 Marc ...

's ''Louis XI'', and Louis and Fabian dei Franchi in Boucicault's adaptation of Dumas's ''The Corsican Brothers'', his success was complete. In 1854 the writer

Charles Reade Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for '' The Cloister and the Hearth''. Life Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring, and had at lea ...

created a play '' The Courier of Lyons'' for Kean to appear in, which became one of the most popular plays of the Victorian era. From his "tour round the world" Kean returned in 1866 in broken health, and died in London on 22 January 1868 at the age of 57. He is buried at Horndean, Hampshire.

Family

His daughter Mary Maria Kean, married the eminent military surgeon, Surgeon general Cosmo Gordon Logie.

Notes

References

* *''The Life and Theatrical Times of Charles Kean'', by John William Cole (1859). *''Emigrant in Motley: The Journey of Charles and Ellen Kean in Quest of a Theatrical Fortune in Australia and America, as told in their hitherto unpublished letters'', edited by J. M. D. Hardwick (1954).

External links

* *
Theater Arts Manuscripts:
An Inventory of the Collection at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kean, Charles 1811 births 1868 deaths People from County Waterford People educated at Eton College English male Shakespearean actors English male stage actors 19th-century English male actors