Grace Pervades by David Hare is a drama-documentary about the life and theatrical work of the great Victorian thesp, Sir Henry Irving. He was a morose and obsessive perfectionist whose style was considered dated even in the 19th century. Success arrived relatively late in life. He was making his way as a jobbing actor until he took the lead in an overheated French melodrama, The Bells, which turned him into a star in 1871.

Ralph Fiennes delivers a dour, mirthless and deliberately stiff performance as the cranky and unapproachable actor. In drawing rooms, he shifts his feet awkwardly as if trying to find a floorboard that doesn’t creak. On stage, his mannered performances are presented as absurdities, full of grimacing, eye-rolling, jaw grinding and head tossing. Irving’s personality catches fire only once – when he denounces playwrights such as Ibsen and Shaw whose work he despises because they confine their characters to suburban homes. He rages about his need for palaces, cathedrals and royal courts to bring his mythical heroes to life.

The staging by Bob Crowley, Peter Mumford and Fotini Dimou is miraculous

The staging by Bob Crowley, Peter Mumford and Fotini Dimou is miraculous

Tiring of Irving, Hare’s script moves to his on-stage colleague,........

© The Spectator