The life of actor David Garrick (1717-1779), told through five pieces of interesting trivia

1. He helped to bring a new degree of realism to acting. In his An Essay on Acting (1744), Garrick offered a new take on the art of stage-acting. Of Macbeth’s movement after the murder of Duncan, he wrote, ‘He should at that time be a moving Statue, or indeed a petrify’d Man; his Eyes must Speak, and Tongue be metaphorically Silent; his Ears must be sensible of imaginary Noises, and deaf to the present and audible Voice of his Wife; his Attitudes must be quick and permanent; his Voice articulately trembling, and confusedly intelligible; the Murderer should be seen in every Limb, and yet every Member, at that Instant, should seem separated from his Body, and his Body from his Soul.’ Garrick brought a new level of emotional investment to the role of the actor.  Read the rest of this entry →