Comments on: David Garrick In Aldgate

By: Jill Wilson

Jill Wilson — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 14:33:43 +0000

I must confess to feeling a bit ambivalent about this post as I am a big fan of the real Richard 111, and hate the way Shakepeare’s distorted version of his character and the historical events has come to be accepted as the true story…

I recommend the book The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey to anyone who would like to get a fairer picture of the much maligned monarch.

And yes – I did go up to Leicester to pay my respects when his body was interred in the Cathedral.

By: Sebastiaan Eldritch-Böersen

Sebastiaan Eldritch-Böersen — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 08:30:55 +0000

I work in the City of London. I regularly walk past the Garrick café on Aldwych, between Strand and Fleet Street. I often wondered if the connection was to the theatre. Not far from Aldwych, just few minutes, is Drury Lane.
Now I’m curious again, and wonder if it is named from the wine selling business, set up by William and Peter?
Similarly, is Goodman’s Fields a different place to Lincoln’s Inn Fields?

On a side note, Samuel Johnson lived for a time in Gough Stret, off Fleet Street. A great museum exists there to showcase his work. A favourite part of there is the opportunity to sit and reflect quietly by the monument to his favourite cat, Hodge, in the courtyard outside the building.

By: Bernie

Bernie — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 18:31:21 +0000

What does it signify that both the ceramic figure and the tombstone illustrate opened curtains? Coincidence or design?

By: Chris Webb

Chris Webb — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 13:59:56 +0000

I notice the female parts (and the princes) are played by actresses. We “did” The Scottish Play for O Level and were told that in Shakespeare’s day the female parts would be played by boys. Being an actress in those days was not considered respectable, to say the least.

By: Chris Webb

Chris Webb — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 13:48:49 +0000

It’s intriguing what acting was like before Garrick’s “naturalistic” style. We’ll never know.
Was the theatre built as such? It looks like a converted warehouse.

By: Helen Breen

Helen Breen — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 13:21:08 +0000

Greetings from Boston,

GA, I enjoyed your reflection on David Garrick, ever new in your Staffordshire figurine. Garrick, of course, was such a major figure in the world of one of my literary giants – the good Doctor Johnson.

Great reading that old playbill too.