On the Actor’s Side: immaterial direction in the second half of the 19th century

Abstract

Within the composite process of affirmation of theatre directing, actors plays a fundamental role, as confirmed by the most accurate studies on the subject. Actors were not only privileged mediators between the play and its interpretation through the characters. At least until the beginning of the XXth century, they acted in fact as directors ante litteram, re-interpreting the text to the point of subvert- ing its meaning, as Frédéric Lemaître did, and in some cases taking care of the overall staging. This phenomenon does not concern only the great Italian actors. It is particularly striking if we analyze some acting editions, such as the one of Charles Fechter’s Othello published in 1861. Seeking for verisimilitude, the edition suggests a reductive explanation to the Moor’s jealousy, going well beyond the text and proposing a very questionable re-interpretation of the character.