One of the greatest actor-managers of the 19th century, William Macready was the man
to whom his best friend Charles Dickens dedicated his novel Nicholas Nickleby. Despite
becoming head of his profession, Macready never wanted to be an actor. Instead, he
dreamed of being a barrister and a gentleman. But when his father’s theatre company
collapsed, the young Macready had to step in to save it, and found himself unwillingly
plunged into the ungentlemanly world of the stage…
“I wish I were anything rather than an actor – except a critic!” (William Charles Macready)
Invited back by popular demand following his performances of Jekyll & Hyde last
November, Mark Stratford returns to the Studio with another highly acclaimed show.
With passion, humour, emotion, and an array of characters and anecdotes, Stratford takes
us on a journey through the sheer graft, tribulations and joys of Macready’s life, and the
fascinating world of Victorian theatre.
