Look to the Lady: Sarah Siddons, Ellen Terry, and Judi Dench on the Shakespearean Stage (review)

Russ McDonald's text adds to the field of historical-performance criticism by describing the careers and Shakespeare performances of three leading ladies: Sarah Siddons, Ellen Terry, and Judi Dench, each having dominated the London stage in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries respectively. Although much of the contextualizing material is familiar, the isolating of three lives from succeeding centuries allows the reader to compare and contrast their approaches to acting. With each of the three actresses McDonald follows a similar pattern. Beginning with the fame of the actress, he then, in the case of Siddons and Terry, briefly places them in the theatre of their respective centuries. Keeping biographical details brief, he shows each actress as having worked hard for her fame and suffered early setbacks. Each is also described as attractive, persistent, and highly intelligent. More space is devoted to describing the acting style of each, and in the case of the two earlier actresses, contrasting their particular approach with the style prevalent in the period. Finally, the Shakespearean roles of each are compared, with particular consideration given to their portrayals of Lady Macbeth. The author thus provides sufficient background material while privileging the individuality of the three ladies.

In contrast to many actresses since the Restoration, Siddons was respected for her upright moral character. The mother of six, she excelled in virtuous maternal roles, especially those that allowed her to "suffer nobly" (34). Playing only a handful of comic roles, she preferred tragic and historic plays. Adjectives used to describe her were "heroic," "majestic," and especially "sublime." McDonald describes her commanding presence as coming from a sense of high seriousness and the thorough preparation with which she approached her roles.

Siddons also did much to change the style of acting that was then current. In the late eighteenth century, actors learned a set of conventions for portraying various emotions. Purple passages were scored like opera arias and young performers were expected to learn the points as they had been passed down: "Mrs. Siddons decided to re-think these conventions, to approach the points in a fresh and sometimes controversial manner" (25). Rather than declaiming Portia's "Quality of Mercy" speech as a recitation, Siddons gave it as an answer to Shylock's question, thereby rendering it more spontaneous, sincere, and natural. As hard as it is for us to believe, Siddons gained fame by staying in character all the time she was on stage and continuously responding to what was going on in the play: "Many respected star actors simply stood around, bored, until the arrival of their big moments. Mrs. Siddons thus achieved distinction by sustaining her characterization at all times" (30). Commentators of the period found this intensity of concentration overwhelming.

Up to this point, Lady Macbeth had been played as a monstrous fiend who manipulated her weaker husband. Siddons viewed her as being more complex and fragile. She prepared the part in consummate detail, reconsidering every gesture and inflection. This gave her performance increased variety, and even surprise. While Lady Macbeth was one of "the most thoroughly codified of dramatic parts" in the Shakespeare canon (40), Siddons tossed away traditional business and line readings. In the sleepwalking scene, she stunned her audience by setting down the candle to wash her hands. Convention had directed that she continue holding the candle.

Whereas Sarah Siddons was respected, Ellen Terry was adored. This best-loved actress of the late nineteenth century embodied the charm and beauty of the Pre-Raphaelite style of femininity so popular in Victorian England, and she excelled in the comic roles her predecessor avoided. Along with Garrick and Siddons, she accelerated the trend toward the natural in acting, and is said to have spoken Shakespeare in an unaffected and spontaneous manner. Her voice was famously versatile, while her movement was said to be "nimble," "graceful," "gliding," or "floating." She was said...