Kean hits the brandy in Guernsey!

The famous Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean (1787 –1833) visited Guernsey where his drinking got him into trouble a few times!

While he was there he played a variety of roles, including Richard III and Hamlet.

B.W. Proctor's biography The Life of Edmund Kean describes what happened when the actor visited in the early part of May 1812. His wife followed afterwards and was greeted by an exultant Kean, delighted that brandy only cost 18p a bottle in the island!

During his stay, the actor performed his repertoire of tragic characters and he also did readings of Shakespeare. Although some performances went well, people also saw him a little worse for wear and some avoided his performances altogether.

He also quarrelled with the theatre manager over his lead role in a non-Shakespearean play, Charles the First as he didn’t like the part nor the play. His refusal to perform led to the manager reading the part accompanied by heckles from the drunken Kean, who had managed to get a seat in the audience.

As his interruptions became more raucous, eventually the constables were called and the disruptive actor was thrown out of the theatre.

A later visit, In 1813, was also marked by an incident where Kean got into a stand-off with his audience. His rendition of Richard III was attacked by shouts of laughter from the spectators and then hissing. An account in The Life of Edmund Kean by F.W. Hawkins relates that the actor addressed the boisterous spectators with the words “Unmannered dogs, stand ye when I command!"

There was a short silence and then an uproar ensued. Eventually the manager was forced to evict Kean from the stage and give the part to a lesser performer, but one who was held in higher standing with the audience.

Here is the playbill for a performance of Hamlet on the 28th of July 1813 and an extract from a local newspaper (Le Miroir Politique) showing an advert for the same play, but in French. The theatre is not listed but it is likely to have been the Theatre Royal in New Street, St Peter Port. This building does not exist anymore.