Herbert Beerbohm Tree

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Shakespeare

Under Tree however Her (later His) Majesty's Theatre was most famous for its work with Shakespeare building an international reputation as the premier British playhouse for his works during the Edwardian era which had for so long belonged to Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre during the Victorian period. Tree mounted new plays by prominent British playwrights such as Carnac Sahib (1899) by Henry Arthur Jones.

His daughters were Viola an actress Felicity and Iris a poet; and his illegitimate children included film director Carol Reed. Again he promoted a mix of Shakespeare and classic plays with new works and adaptations of popular novels giving them spectacular productions in this large house and often playing leading roles. Although Tree was regarded as a versatile and skilled actor particularly in character roles by his later years his technique was seen as mannered and old fashioned.