Henderson, John

1747

1785

Considered by the playwright Richard Cumberland as next to Garrick in some respects, John Henderson was born in Cheapside in February 1747. Most of his contemporaries commented on his lack of physical appeal and his inadequate voice, though they praised his feeling, perfect ear, good sense and remarkable memory. So his road to stardom was rocky almost from the beginning. He decided in 1768 on a stage career and was auditioned by David Garrick’s brother George, who told him his voice was too weak for the theatre. John then approached the dramatist Hiffernan for help in meeting the Garrick, but Hiffernan’s excuse for turning him down was that he was afraid Henderson was too short (though so was Garrick). Then Henderson tried to earn the attention of the Drury Lane manager by giving recitations at a hall in Islington, including an imitation of Garrick’s Stratford Jubilee Ode. Perhaps Garrick saw Henderson at work, for he gave him a hearing, but the manager criticized the young man’s poor articulation. With his retirement not many years away Garrick clearly did not want to encourage a possible successor who was wanting some of the fundamentals in an actor, so he persuaded Henderson to go to Bath and gain experience. Using the stage name Courtney, Henderson appeared at Bath on 6 October 1772 as Hamlet (G0296). Thomas Davies, Garrick’s (and Henderson’s) biographer, said that when word got around that Henderson had Garrick as his patron, the posh people of Bath flocked to the theatre and made his debut a great success. The choice of Hamlet for his Bath debut must have had Garrick’s approval, if not his blessing, and the rest of Henderson’s career consisted largely of the other greatest roles in English drama; from the beginning, Henderson seems to have aimed for the top, despite his deficiencies. At Bath he acted Richard III, Benedick in “Much Ado about Nothing”, Macbeth (G0297), Bobadil in “Every Man in His Humour”, and Bayes in “The Rehearsal” – all before the end of the month. He then added Don Felix in “The Wonder”, the title role in “The Earl of Essex”, Hotspur in “Henry IV part 1” (on 26 December, using his own name) and King Lear. His repertoire looked very like Garrick’s, and, of course, he was inviting comparison. In the summer of 1773, when Henderson was in London trying to get an engagement for the winter season, Garrick showed little interest. John signed on at Bath again and added to his repertoire Pierre in “Venice Preserv’d”, Don John in “The Chances”, Comus, Othello, Archer in “The Beaux’ Stratagem”, Ranger in “The Suspicious Husband”, Sir John Brute in “The Provok’d Wife”, Belville in “The School for Wives” and Beverly in “The Man of Business”. Garrick still wasn’t interested, and Henderson stayed at Bath for a third season. The master’s reluctance was probably due, in part, to his own situation; with retirement in the offing, he clearly hoped for a new leader for Drury Lane, but Henderson did not qualify. He was good, but not very very good. Further, Henderson was a difficult negotiator, insisting on control over what parts he would act; Garrick was not yet willing to give up that kind of control to young John. What Garrick wanted was another Garrick. Henderson had powerful friends who supported his cause, and they probably protested too much, making Garrick all the more adamant. Henderson signed on for a second three-year engagement at Bath, and in April 1775 Garrick (finally) went to see him act. He was not impressed, though he saw ‘sparks of fire which might be blown to warm even a London Audience.’ But he wished Cumberland and Henderson’s other supporters would stop corrupting the young man with their advice. For the summer of 1777 Henderson negotiated an engagement at the Haymarket Theatre in London, using, with reservations, Shylock for his London debut. It occurred on 11 June 1777, and he pulled it off with fair success and was compared favourably with Charles Macklin, who was still London’s favourite Shy