Charles Doran

Charles Doran (1 January 1877 – 5 April 1964) was an Irish actor, one of the last of the touring actor-managers in the tradition of Frank Benson, John Martin-Harvey and Ben Greet.

His parts included the title role in The Merchant of Venice, Lodovico in Othello, Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew and the Soothsayer in Julius Caesar.

[2] In October 1910, returning to England, Doran played La Tribe in Count Hannibal at the New Theatre, after which he was Pistol in The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Garrick to the Falstaff of Asche.

[1] In February 1920 he began touring with his own Shakespearean company, playing Hamlet, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Brutus in Julius Caesar, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Prospero in The Tempest, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Falstaff, Henry V, and Jaques in As You Like It.

[1] He had a keen eye for rising talent, and among his recruits were Noel Streatfeild,[3] Cecil Parker, Ralph Richardson, Edith Sharpe, Norman Shelley, Abraham Sofaer, Francis L Sullivan and Donald Wolfit.

[6] An article on him published by Emory University in 2003 sums up his career thus: On stage in one role or another, Doran's fifty-seven years in the theatre made him a major force in the profession, particularly in his productions of Shakespeare.