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| Caption: | Matheson Lang was born in Montreal, Canada, the son of Rev. Gavin Lang of Inverness, Scotland on 15th May 1879. (One of Gavin Lang's grandchildren, Cosmo Lang, became Archbishop of Canterbury). He was educated at Inverness College and the University of St Andrews and made his stage debut in 1897, becoming known for his Shakespearean roles in such plays as 'Hamlet,' 'Macbeth,' and 'Romeo and Juliet.' He also appeared in plays by Ibsen and Shaw and performed in the theatrical companies of Sir Frank Benson, Lillie Langtry and Ellen Terry. In 1903 he married actress Nellie Hutin Britton (1876-1965) in London. In 1906 he played Tristram in 'Tristram and Iseult' at the Adelphi Theatre, with Lily Brayton as Iseult and Oscar Asche as King Mark; Lang's wife played Arganthael. Lang and his wife subsequently formed their own company, which toured India, South Africa, and Australia from 1910-13 performing Shakespeare. In 1913, Lang returned to England and created one of his most memorable roles, the title character in 'Mr. Wu.' He reprised this part in a 1919 silent film, and became so identified with the role that he titled his 1940 memoirs 'Mr. Wu Looks Back.' In 1914, he and Britton successfully produced 'The Taming of the Shrew,' 'The Merchant of Venice,' and 'Hamlet' at the Old Vic. In 1916, Lang became one of the first major theatre stars to act in a silent film, as Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice,' with his wife as Portia. He went on to appear in over 30 films and was one of Britain's leading movie stars of the 1920s. Among his memorable roles were Guy Fawkes (1923), Matthias in 'The Wandering Jew' (1923) (which also featured his wife as Judith), Henry IV in 'Henry, King of Navarre' (1924), and Henry V in 'Royal Cavalcade' (1935). Lang also wrote the plays 'Carnival' (1919) and 'The Purple Mask' (1920), both of which were produced on Broadway and made into films. In 1940 the Langs were staying with their old friend Dornford Yates and his wife at their house near Pau in France when France surrendered, and they had to escape from the advancing Germans through Spain to Portugal. Matheson Lang died in Bridgetown, Barbados on 11th April 1948 at age 68. These promotional shots of Lang and Britton were probably taken for the Inverness performance of 'The Wandering Jew' in October 1936, which played to a packed house for several days at the Empire Theatre. Matheson Lang received a rapturous welcome and at the end of the performance he was recalled time and again, and he said it had been a most memorable night for him. |
| Added: | 09/05/2012 |
| Keywords: |
theatre costume stage play production
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