by Beth Farwell
The year is 1773.
The curtain rises for a new Christmas play by David Garrick in the famous Drury Lane Theatre in London, England.
The author, David Garrick (1717-1779), was a well-known Shakesperean actor, producer, dramatist, poet, and manager of the theater on Drury Lane. During his long career in the theater, Mr. Garrick introduced a more natural acting style and reformed the theater experience.
242 years later, this same play "A Christmas Tale" comes to life again with the help of Sam Henderson; a modern day actor, writer, director and adjunct professor in Baylor University's Department of Theatre Arts. He is reading from the original play housed in the Central Libraries Special Collections.
Sit back and imagine yourself in this 1773 audience.
Listen to the prologue with Father Christmas inviting you, the audience, to experience the story.
This particular play in its entirety is available to you through the Baylor Digital Collections. Click here You are also invited to visit the library to see these wonderful pieces of history in person. More information can be found on our webpage:
https://www.baylor.edu/lib/centralspecialcollections/.
If you'd like to know more about our wonderful reader, Sam Henderson, you can read more on the department's webpage Sam Henderson.
We hope you've enjoyed this visit into our wonderful treasures. May your holiday season be blessed and full of peace.
We are so grateful for Sam Henderson's help and talents and Stephen Bolech's expertise as our audio engineer. Many thanks!
I only know of this play but am happy to see it being done. Congrats to Baylor!