The Bells is a play in three acts by Leopold David Lewis which was one of the greatest successes of the British actor Henry Irving. The play opened on 25 November 1871 at the Lyceum Theatre in London and initially ran for 151 performances. Irving was to stage the play repeatedly throughout his career, playing the role of Mathias for the last time the night before his death in 1905.
Programme for the opening night of The Bells, 25 November 1871
Caricature of Henry Irving in The Bells
Henry Irving as Mathias in The Bells
Caricature of Irving in The Bells. Vanity Fair, 19 December 1874.
Sir Henry Irving, christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the West End's Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as representative of English classical theatre. In 1895 he became the first actor to be awarded a knighthood, indicating full acceptance into the higher circles of British society.
Portrait of Irving in 1878
Image: Henry Irving Signature
Sir Henry Irving, as Hamlet, in an 1893 illustration from The Idler magazine
Caricature (by Ape) of Irving in The Bells. Vanity Fair, 19 December 1874.