Wilson Barrett was an English manager, actor, and playwright. With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his success with melodrama, an instance being his production of The Silver King (1882) at the Princess's Theatre of London. The historical tragedy The Sign of the Cross (1895) was Barrett's most successful play, both in England and in the United States.
Wilson Barrett
Barrett's production of Claudian at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Poster for Hoodman blind
Wilson Barrett and Maud Jeffries: The Sign of the Cross (1895)
Exeter Theatre Royal fire
On 5 September 1887, a fire broke out in the backstage area of the Theatre Royal in Exeter, England, during the production of The Romany Rye. The fire caused panic throughout the theatre, with 186 people dying from a combination of the direct effects of smoke and flame, crushing and trampling, and trauma injuries from falling or jumping from the roof and balconies.
Contemporary illustration of the fire
An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing the scene inside in the dress circle
An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing the stairway where many died
An illustration in Police Illustrated of the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, showing an actress dropping from a window
