Full length print of the actor Edmund Kean (1787-1833) as Gloster in Richard III, painted by G. Clint (A.R.A) (1770-1854) and engraved by R.Cooper (fl.1793-1836), printed by John Tallis & Company, London, ca. early nineteenth century.

Kean, thought of in his time as the greatest ever actor, was also a controversial and somewhat eccentric figure. Famous for his sincere interpretations of Shakespeare on the London stage, his performance as Shylock at Drury Lane in 1814 roused the audience’s fervour and his reputation exploded. He garnered world-wide acclaim, playing in New York and Canada in the 1820s. Accusations of adultery, however, and a growing dependence on alcohol and stimulants, meant his decline on the London stage was inevitable.

Kean first played Richard III at the Drury Lane Theatre on 12 February 1814. It became one of his most admired roles, along with Macbeth and Iago. Kean's natural passion and fiery spirit suited a melodramatic style of acting, but he nevertheless made his name playing in Shakespeare. He was said to be at his best in death scenes, and scenes that required intensity of feeling or violent transitions from one mood to another, prompting the poet Coleridge to note that watching Kean act was like 'reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning'.