Sarah Siddons visits the Norwich Theatre Royal

"Celebrated actress suffers from exhaustion". Today it is almost a tabloid cliché, necessitating a restorative stay at the Priory or somewhere similar.

For a Regency actress, famed as a Shakespearean performer, there was nowhere to hide from the rigours of life on the road.

In the late 18th century, as provincial towns grew larger, some began to desire a permanent playhouse with a resident theatre company.

A select few were issued with ‘patents’ by act of parliament to allow them to take on the name ‘Theatre Royal’.

In 1768, Norwich was the second provincial venue in England to secure this coveted title, Theatre Royal, Norwich. This granted it the same rights as established London venues such as Covent Garden and Drury Lane, the rights to perform all drama, Shakespeare included.

It was a sign of prestige, meaning that the provincial Theatres Royal, (as they became known) attracted the top London stars when they went on tour.

And so it was that London stars began to arrive on the Norwich stage. Stars such as the famous female performer Sarah Siddons, who played the role of Hamlet several times – as well as Juliet, or Lady Macbeth.

In 1788 a theatre playbill, now lodged in the British Library, advertises her performance playing Rosalind in “As You Like It” in what the playbill says will be her final performance at the theatre.

On it there is an explanation why this celebrated performer is choosing to appear in the play only.

It is not only the pop stars of today who plead exhaustion. The life of an 18th century actor was testing and required a robust constitution. Touring involved lengthy, sometimes dangerous, and uncomfortable travel by coach across the country. Performances in drafty theatres could also take their toll.

Here Siddons is managing her energy and her audience expectations. But it’s a careful calculation as the company’s livelihood depended on the receipts at the door.

She’s best known for her Shakespearean roles, and Rosalind in “As You Like It” is the best showcase for her talents on this particular evening.

Touring prominently around the country at this time, and particularly in the East of England between 1847 and 1848, was the first black Shakespearean actor, the American Ira Aldridge.

Othello playbill (c) Norfolk Heritage Centre

He was later referred to as the African Roscius, after the famous Roman actor of the first century BC

In this playbill we see Ira’s reputation being defended in the face of criticism from certain quarters of the audience. Ira is asked to do an extra show at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, in January 1848: “That the Public may have the opportunity of judging of the cruel injustice of the attack upon him and the theatre..”

Ira Aldridge was an American actor who made his career on the London stage, largely as a result of his roles in Shakespeare. He impressed reviewers and some critics:

"In Othello (Aldridge) delivers the most difficult passages with a degree of correctness that surprises the beholder."

Interestingly, he had limited experience of acting when he arrived from New York. As a result he played up his African lineage, claiming to be descended from the Fulani princely line.

In 1831 he took the name Keene, a homonym for the then famous actor, Edmund Kean. Taking on a similar name to somebody who was already a celebrity on the stage was a common way of gaining recognition.

He was later referred to as the African Roscius, after the famous Roman actor of the first century BC.

He left his native New York for England and played Othello at Covent Garden, but wasn’t accepted by the London audiences. The traditional story is that this is because of racism – and some papers, including one national newspaper of the day, wrote appallingly racist reviews – but another view suggests it’s less clear-cut, and that a flu outbreak was responsible for a low turn-out and slave supporters bribed reviewers.

Either way, he spent the rest of his career in the British provinces as well as continental Europe, and was hugely successful there.