3-021-342 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Scene from "King John", at the Drury Lane Theatre, 1865. London stage production. 'This revival of one of Shakspeare's noblest historical plays has continued, since the first week of November, to attract very good audiences to Drury-lane - Mr. Phelps still maintaining the part of the King, and Miss Atkinson that of Queen Constance; while that of the bastard Falconbridge is played by Mr. James Anderson, and Mr. Swinburne represents the gaoler Hubert. The scenery, painted by Mr. Beverley, is most effective and characteristic, especially the interior of the ancient Gothic hall, with its rich tapestries and hangings; the walls and castle of the beleagured town of Angiers; Northampton Castle likewise, and Swineshead Abbey, near Boston, in Lincolnshire, are set before the spectators with Mr. Beverley's usual success. The last scene, of which we present an Illustration, shows the death of King John on his couch in the cloistered-garden of Swineshead Abbey, where the soft moonlight, mixed with the rays of few lamps or torches, struggles through the mist of the evening, and harmonises with the solemn interest of the occasion'. From "Illustrated London News", 1865.