Henry Brodribb Irving

Henry Brodribb Irving (1870-1919) was a British actor and actor-manager.

Biography

He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Irving and his wife Florence (née O'Callaghan), and father of designer Laurence Irving and actress Elizabeth Irving.

He attended Marlborough College and New College, Oxford where he studied law and appeared in some student productions. Afterwards, in 1894, he was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple, but instead of pursuing a career as a barrister he decided to become an actor, taking the stage name H. B. Irving to distinguish himself from his father. In 1896, he married Dorothea Baird.

After his father's death, he established his own company, which included his wife, and toured most provincial cities, playing mainly repeats of Sir Henry Irving's best remembered performances. In 1911, Irving, Baird and their London Company toured Australia. Two years later, Baird retired from the stage, while Irving kept on performing. In 1913 he visited South Africa, and a photograph records his dinner with the Owl Club in Cape Town.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

In 1913, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Comyns-Carr was presented by H.B. Irving and his London Company at His Majesty's Theatre, Johannesburg in January, and at the Opera House, Cape Town in May.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._B._Irving

Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.

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