William
Archer
William
Archer was born in Scotland in 1856. He became a drama critic
and helped establish the work of Henrik Ibsen. The first of
his translations of Ibsen, Quicksands, was performed in London
in 1880. His five-volume edition of Ibsen's prose dramas appeared
in 1891.
In 1898
Archer joined with the actress and writer, Elizabeth Robins,
to form the New Century Theatre to sponsor non-profit productions
of Ibsen. The company produced several plays including John
Gabriel Borkman and Peer Gynt.
Archer published
the collected works of Ibsen in 1906. He also supported the
work of other progressive playwrights and by the outbreak of
the First World War he was considered to be the most important
drama critic in London.
In September,
1914, Archer accepted the invitation of Charles Masterman, the
head of Britain's War Propaganda Bureau (WPB), to attend a meeting
to discuss how writers and critics could help the war effort.
Soon afterwards Archer joined the staff of the WPB.
After the
war Archer helped establish the New Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon.
In his book, The Old Drama and the New (1923), he pressed the
merits of Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw and John Galsworthy. His
own play, The Green Goddess was also very successful when it
was first produced in 1923. William Archer died on 27th December,
1924, during an operation to remove a cancerous tumour.
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