Who was David Garrick?
Actor in the natural style, Theatrical Manager,
and Dramatist.
Date and Place of Birth:
19th February 1717, Hereford, Herefordshire,
England.
Family Background:
Son of Peter Garrick a Captain in the English
Army and Arabella Clough daughter of a Vicar choral at Lichfield
Cathedral of Irish extraction.
Education:
Lichfield Grammar School. Samuel
Johnson's Academy at Edial, Near Lichfield, Staffordshire. Lincoln's
Inn Fields, London.
Chronology/Biography of David Garrick:
1725: Birth of his
brother George.
1728: Visits Lisbon
in Portugal to learn the wine trade.
1731: His father
rejoins his regiment in Gibraltar.
1737: Goes to London
with Samuel Johnson. Both have very little money in their pockets.
He is enrolled in Lincoln's Inn Fields but decides not to continue
with the law. Death of his father.
1738: His elder brother
Peter and he start a wine business in London and Lichfield with
the help of £1,000 from his uncle. David works from London.
1740: His first dramatic
works are premiered at Drury Lane Theatre including "Lethe
or Aesop in the Shades" and "The Lying Valet."
1741: Appears in
one of his first acting roles at Ipswich in "The Inconstant"
by George Farquhar under the pseudonymn of Mr Lydall. Debut's in
London as King Richard the Third at Goodman's Fields and by the
end of the year he is acting under his own name. Alexander Pope
who watched him perform several times said: "that young man
never had his equal as an actor, and he will never have a rival."
1742: Plays Dublin
during the summer where he was accompanied by Margaret (Peg) Woffington
and later plays at Drury Lane in London.
1743: Leads an actors'
walkout at Drury Lane with his colleague Charles Macklin but is
reinstated into the company in December.
1745: Becomes a co-manager
with Thomas Sheridan in Dublin.
1746: Arrival of
Eva Maria Veigel the dancer at the Haymarket Theatre. Acts at Covent
Garden under the management of John Rich.
1747: Becomes a co-manager
at Drury Lane Theatre with James Lacy. He is to Manage and act there
until he retires. Amongst many other dramatic parts he plays over
seventeen Shakespearean Characters.
1749: After his marriage
he settles at a house at 27 Southampton Street, London.
1751: Does the summer
season in Paris.
1754: Is financially
better off and buys a country villa at Hampton.
1763: Goes on a long
tour of France where he and his wife meet Denis Diderot one of the
Philosophes then on to Milan, Florence Rome and Naples. Afterwards
they travel to Venice and Munich where he gets typhoid fever.
1768: The unauthorised
version of his dramatic works are published which run to three volumes.
1769: Organises the
Shakespeare celebrations at Stratford-Upon-Avon
which were a failure.
1772: Moves house
to No 5, The Adelphi Buildings.
1773: Plays Hamlet
at Drury Lane.
1774: The official
version of his dramatic works are published.
1775: Performs in
his last season at Drury Lane Theatre and sells his shares.
1776: Sets up a Theatrical
Fund via a Bill through Parliament. Acts his last performance as
Don Felix in "The Wonder" by Mrs Centlivre.
Written Works:
- 1740: "Lethe
or Aesop in the Shades" and "The Lying Valet"
- 1747:
"Miss in her Teens"
- 1766: "The
Clandestine Marriage" jointly with Colman
- 1767: "The
Guardian" "Linco's Travels"
- 1775: "Bon
Ton, or Life Above Stairs".
Marriage:
22nd June 1749 to Eva Maria Veigel a Viennese
Opera dancer. (Married for over thirty years with no children).
Date and Place of Death:
20th January 1779, London, England.
Age at Death:
62.
Site of Grave:
Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey, London,
England
Westminster Abbey, London
(© Anthony Blagg)
Places of Interest:
AVON:
Visited Bath several times to take the waters.
BIRMINGHAM:
Stone Roundel Commemorating Garrick in the Central
Library, Chamberlain Square.
LICHFIELD:
Monument to Garrick in Lichfield Cathedral.
Lichfield Garrick Theatre.
LONDON:
Theatre Museum, 1E Tavistock Street, WC2E 7PA.
Garrick Theatre on Charing Cross Road was named
after him but did not open until 1889.
British Museum has a collection of the plays
which he collected.
