28. The Question of Whether an American or British Shakespearean Actor Was Best Turned Deadly
With nationalist feelings aroused – especially on the US side of the Pond, a heated controversy developed as to whether or not American actor Edwin Forrest was better than Britain’s best Shakespearean actor, William Charles Macready. Edwin Forrest was a great actor, but he was also a great jerk. Among other things, he followed Macready around – sailing to Britain to do so – in order to heckle and criticize his performances. Media, especially in America, ate it up, and devoted countless columns over the years to the rival actors and their merits.
The thespian rivalry fed into a growing alienation from Britain in American cities – fueled by Irish immigrants who loathed the British. There was also a class divide component, with working-class Americans supporting Forrest, while Anglophile upper-class elites backed Macready. By 1849, the rivalry between Forrest and Macready had grown so heated that the British actor feared to perform in NYC. Against his instincts, however, he decided to tour the Big Apple. As things turned out, perhaps he should have heeded his instincts: it all came to a head in a bout of deadly unrest that claimed dozens of lives.
