J. B. Fagan
Encyclopedia
James Bernard Fagan was an Irish-born actor, theatre manager, producer and playwright in England. After turning from the law to the stage, Fagan began an acting career, including four years from 1895 to 1899 with Herbert Beerbohm Tree
's company at Her Majesty's Theatre
. He then began writing plays, returning eventually to acting during World War I. In 1920 he took over London's Court Theatre
as a Shakespearean playhouse and soon began to produce plays at other West End theatre
s. His adaptation of Treasure Island
in 1922 was a hit and became an annual Christmas event.
He was the first manager of the Oxford Playhouse for several years in the 1920s. As a producer, he popularised Anton Chekhov
and Sean O'Casey
in Britain. In 1929, he was a director of the Festival Theatre, Cambridge. Several of his plays were adapted for film, and he moved to Hollywood in his last years.
near Clane
, County Kildare and then moved to England. Initially interested in a career in the church, Fagan began studying Law at Trinity College, Oxford
in 1892 but left in 1893 without a degree. He worked for a time in the Indian Civil Service but abandoned this career for the stage.
Fagan began his career as an actor with the company of Sir Frank Benson for two years, then joining, from 1895 to 1899, the company of Herbert Beerbohm Tree
at Her Majesty's Theatre
. There he appeared in Katherine and Petruchio, A Man's Shadow, Julius Caesar, The Musketeers and Carnac Sahib. He started writing plays in 1899, with The Rebels, for the time forsaking acting. Other early plays were The Prayer of the Sword (1904); Under Which King, a revue
, Shakespeare v. Shaw, and Hawthorne, USA (all 1905); Gloria (1907); A Merry Devil and False Gods (a translation of Eugène Brieux's La foi (1909); The Dressing Room (1910); Bella donna (1911; adapted from Robert Hitchens's novel); and The Happy Island (1913). In 1913 he returned to the stage touring as the Rt Hon. Denzil Trevena in his own play, The Earth (originally produced in 1909). He next wrote The Fourth of August (1914) and Doctor O'Toole (1917). In 1917 he produced his first play, his own adaptation of the Brieux play Damaged Goods at St Martin's Theatre
. He next produced The Wonder Tales and The Little Brother at the Ambassadors' Theatre in London.
He took over the Court Theatre
in London's Sloane Square
as a Shakespearean playhouse in 1920. The Times
called his revivals of Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice
, Henry the Fourth (Part Two) and A Midsummer Night's Dream
"memorable for their freshness, sanity and distinction, and [deserving of] a place in theatrical history". The Merchant of Venice transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre
, where Fagan also produced The Government Inspector and Madame Sand (both 1920). At the Court, he revived Damaged Goods and, in 1921, with the assistance of the author, produced G. B. Shaw's Heartbreak House, with Edith Evans
as "Lady Utterwood". This was not a success and folded after 63 performances. In 1922 he produced his play The Wheel at the Apollo Theatre. Its success allowed him to repay his creditors. Even more successful was his adaptation of Treasure Island
at the Savoy Theatre
with Arthur Bourchier
as "Long John Silver", which opened 26 December 1922. It was to be revived every Christmas until the outbreak of WWII.
caught fire at Gerrard's Cross, and his rare book collection and irreplaceable original writings were destroyed, as well as stage properties and costumes. His attempt to license the theatre was stymied by the University's Vice-Chancellor, Dr Lewis Farnell, who had the power to prohibit staging of plays of which he disapproved (he had banned a Grand Guignol
play starring Sybil Thorndike
in Oxford in 1922 and a lecture by birth-control pioneer Marie Stopes
in 1923). But Fagan's supporters, including the Chancellor George Curzon
, forced a partial backdown.
His first production at the Oxford Playhouse was a restaging of Heartbreak House and numbered Shaw among the audience. Flora Robson
, John Gielgud
, Raymond Massey
, Margaret Rutherford
, Robert Donat
and Tyrone Guthrie
were among his players there. He produced The Cherry Orchard
, at various theatres, to favourable reviews, popularising Chekhov
in Britain. From 16 November 1925, with Dennis Eadie, he presented Juno and the Paycock
at the Royalty Theatre
, thus bringing Sean O'Casey
to the attention of London's theatre-going public. O'Casey's The Plough followed the next year.
At the Oxford, Fagan produced Full Moon, the first play by Emlyn Williams
, and gave him a role in his own play, And So to Bed (1926), based on the life of Samuel Pepys
, in London. Fagan received little support from Oxford University or the play-going public and resigned in 1929. His successor was Stanford Holme, who broadened its appeal and, despite the straitened times, made it financially viable. Other productions in these years included Strindberg's The Spook Sonata at the Globe Theatre (1927), as well as some New York City productions. His own plays in this period included The Greater Love (1927) and an adaptation of The Beetle (1928). In 1929, he was a director of the Festival Theatre, Cambridge, where his friend Terence Gray was director. Fagan also produced many works for the Irish Players.
Beginning in the 1920s, several of Fagan's plays were adapted for film. Fagan moved to Hollywood in 1929 for the filming by Paramount of his play The Wheel as The Wheel of Life. Other film work included his co-adaptation of the screenplay for the 1932 film Smilin' Through
, and he co-wrote Paramount's Forgotten Commandments the same year. His play Bella donna was filmed four times, including poshumously in 1946 (as Temptation), and a 1936 film, The Improper Duchess
was based on his 1931 play of the same name.
He died in Hollywood, California
, at the age of 59 of a heart attack following a bout of influenza.
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
's company at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
. He then began writing plays, returning eventually to acting during World War I. In 1920 he took over London's Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
as a Shakespearean playhouse and soon began to produce plays at other West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
s. His adaptation of Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
in 1922 was a hit and became an annual Christmas event.
He was the first manager of the Oxford Playhouse for several years in the 1920s. As a producer, he popularised Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
and Sean O'Casey
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
in Britain. In 1929, he was a director of the Festival Theatre, Cambridge. Several of his plays were adapted for film, and he moved to Hollywood in his last years.
Early life and career
Fagan was born in Belfast, the eldest of the five children (three boys and two girls). His father, Sir James Fagan, was a surgeon at the Belfast Royal Hospital and an inspector of Irish reformatories, and his mother was Mary Catherine Fagan, née Hughes. He attended Clongowes Wood CollegeClongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College is a voluntary secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools, and featured prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the...
near Clane
Clane
Clane is a town on the River Liffey and in the barony of Clane in County Kildare, Ireland, from Dublin.Its population of 4,968 makes it the eighth largest town in Kildare and the 78th largest in the Republic of Ireland....
, County Kildare and then moved to England. Initially interested in a career in the church, Fagan began studying Law at Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
in 1892 but left in 1893 without a degree. He worked for a time in the Indian Civil Service but abandoned this career for the stage.
Fagan began his career as an actor with the company of Sir Frank Benson for two years, then joining, from 1895 to 1899, the company of Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
. There he appeared in Katherine and Petruchio, A Man's Shadow, Julius Caesar, The Musketeers and Carnac Sahib. He started writing plays in 1899, with The Rebels, for the time forsaking acting. Other early plays were The Prayer of the Sword (1904); Under Which King, a revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
, Shakespeare v. Shaw, and Hawthorne, USA (all 1905); Gloria (1907); A Merry Devil and False Gods (a translation of Eugène Brieux's La foi (1909); The Dressing Room (1910); Bella donna (1911; adapted from Robert Hitchens's novel); and The Happy Island (1913). In 1913 he returned to the stage touring as the Rt Hon. Denzil Trevena in his own play, The Earth (originally produced in 1909). He next wrote The Fourth of August (1914) and Doctor O'Toole (1917). In 1917 he produced his first play, his own adaptation of the Brieux play Damaged Goods at St Martin's Theatre
St Martin's Theatre
St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre, located in West Street, near Charing Cross Road, in the London Borough of Camden. It was designed as one of a pair of theatres with the Ambassadors Theatre by W.G.R...
. He next produced The Wonder Tales and The Little Brother at the Ambassadors' Theatre in London.
He took over the Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
in London's Sloane Square
Sloane Square
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The square is part of the Hans Town area designed in 1771 by Henry...
as a Shakespearean playhouse in 1920. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
called his revivals of Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, Henry the Fourth (Part Two) and A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
"memorable for their freshness, sanity and distinction, and [deserving of] a place in theatrical history". The Merchant of Venice transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
, where Fagan also produced The Government Inspector and Madame Sand (both 1920). At the Court, he revived Damaged Goods and, in 1921, with the assistance of the author, produced G. B. Shaw's Heartbreak House, with Edith Evans
Edith Evans
Dame Edith Mary Evans, DBE was a British actress. She was known for her work on the British stage. She also appeared in a number of films, for which she received three Academy Award nominations, plus a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award.Evans was particularly effective at portraying haughty...
as "Lady Utterwood". This was not a success and folded after 63 performances. In 1922 he produced his play The Wheel at the Apollo Theatre. Its success allowed him to repay his creditors. Even more successful was his adaptation of Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
with Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier was an English actor and theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh....
as "Long John Silver", which opened 26 December 1922. It was to be revived every Christmas until the outbreak of WWII.
Oxford Playhouse and later years
Fagan was persuaded by Jane Ellis, the actress who with Alfred Ballard founded the Oxford Playhouse "Red Barn" in 1923, to be its first manager. A misfortune occurred while his effects were being transferred from London to Oxford; the lorryLorry
-Transport:* Lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle* Lorry, or a Mine car in USA: an open gondola with a tipping trough* Lorry , a horse-drawn low-loading trolley-In fiction:...
caught fire at Gerrard's Cross, and his rare book collection and irreplaceable original writings were destroyed, as well as stage properties and costumes. His attempt to license the theatre was stymied by the University's Vice-Chancellor, Dr Lewis Farnell, who had the power to prohibit staging of plays of which he disapproved (he had banned a Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
play starring Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
in Oxford in 1922 and a lecture by birth-control pioneer Marie Stopes
Marie Stopes
Marie Carmichael Stopes was a British author, palaeobotanist, campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of birth control...
in 1923). But Fagan's supporters, including the Chancellor George Curzon
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC , known as The Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and as The Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman who was Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary...
, forced a partial backdown.
His first production at the Oxford Playhouse was a restaging of Heartbreak House and numbered Shaw among the audience. Flora Robson
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
, Margaret Rutherford
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...
, Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
and Tyrone Guthrie
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Life and career:Guthrie...
were among his players there. He produced The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
, at various theatres, to favourable reviews, popularising Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
in Britain. From 16 November 1925, with Dennis Eadie, he presented Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock is a play by Sean O'Casey, and one of the most highly regarded and oft-performed plays in Ireland. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924...
at the Royalty Theatre
Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
, thus bringing Sean O'Casey
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
to the attention of London's theatre-going public. O'Casey's The Plough followed the next year.
At the Oxford, Fagan produced Full Moon, the first play by Emlyn Williams
Emlyn Williams
George Emlyn Williams, CBE , known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh dramatist and actor.-Biography:He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Mostyn, Flintshire....
, and gave him a role in his own play, And So to Bed (1926), based on the life of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
, in London. Fagan received little support from Oxford University or the play-going public and resigned in 1929. His successor was Stanford Holme, who broadened its appeal and, despite the straitened times, made it financially viable. Other productions in these years included Strindberg's The Spook Sonata at the Globe Theatre (1927), as well as some New York City productions. His own plays in this period included The Greater Love (1927) and an adaptation of The Beetle (1928). In 1929, he was a director of the Festival Theatre, Cambridge, where his friend Terence Gray was director. Fagan also produced many works for the Irish Players.
Beginning in the 1920s, several of Fagan's plays were adapted for film. Fagan moved to Hollywood in 1929 for the filming by Paramount of his play The Wheel as The Wheel of Life. Other film work included his co-adaptation of the screenplay for the 1932 film Smilin' Through
Smilin' Through (1932 film)
Smilin' Through is a 1932 MGM film based on the play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin, also named Smilin' Through.The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1932. It was adapted from Cowl and Murfin's play by James Bernard Fagan, Donald Ogden Stewart, Ernest Vajda and Claudine...
, and he co-wrote Paramount's Forgotten Commandments the same year. His play Bella donna was filmed four times, including poshumously in 1946 (as Temptation), and a 1936 film, The Improper Duchess
The Improper Duchess
The Improper Duchess is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Yvonne Arnaud, Hugh Wakefield, Wilfrid Caithness and Arthur Finn. The film is based on the 1931 play of the same name by J. B...
was based on his 1931 play of the same name.
Personal
Fagan married first actress Elizabeth Kirby in 1897 and then another actress, who acted under the stage name of Mary Grey. She was previously Mrs. Ada Bevan Ritchie, nee Ada Bryant). Among their children was Gemma Fagan, who also became an actress. His hobbies included golf and tennis.He died in Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, at the age of 59 of a heart attack following a bout of influenza.
Selected plays
- The Prayer of the Sword 1904
- The Earth 1910
- The Wheel 1922
- And So to Bed 1926
- The Improper Duchess 1931
- Doctor O'Toole 1938
Sources
- Chapman, Don. Oxford Playhouse: high and low drama in a university city, University of Hertfordshire Press (2009) ISBN 9781902806860
External links
- James B. Fagan at the IMDB database