Interview with Ned Shuter
1. Where are you from and what was your family like?
I am from St. Giles, London. My father was a chairman and my mother was a vendor, she had oysters in the winter and cucumbers in the summer. Some say that my father was a clergyman and a billiard- marker, but I’ll let them think what they want. (Wikisource 2011)
2. What made you interested in the arts when you were a child?
It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I got interested in the arts. I lived near a place called the Covent Garden which was like a “mini town” if you will. Covent Garden had many buildings including Drury Lane, which was a very popular theatre (Covent Garden Life 2012). Later on I became an apprentice to a man named Chapman. Seeing people on stage and learning about actors and playwrights such as Colley Cibber inspired me and I wanted to be like them (Wikisource 2011).
3. Who were your mentors and how did they help you develop the interests and talents you have as an artist?
Chapman was my first mentor. As I said before he took me as his apprentice and he taught me about life as an actor and the life of theatre. He introduced me to different companies and introduced me to the world of poverty. In 1744 at Chapman’s theatre, Richmond, I played Catesby in Richard III. Chapman also led me to the role in 1745 of “Master” Shuter in Cibber’s The Schoolboy. I later found out that some of my performances were mostly for his benefit but Chapman pushed my acting career (Wikisource 2011).
David Garrick is my other mentor. David managed Drury Lane Theatre when I was first starting off (Theatre 2002). He gave me the opportunity to work in many shows in Drury Lane under him such as William in As You like It and Taylor in Provoked Wife (Wikisource 2011). David was behind my more popular roles in my early career.
4. What was the world of acting like when you entered it?
When I entered the acting world, comedies and operas were the main types of shows. I wasn’t really into operas, even though I was in one, but it was all about comedy for me. As I said earlier, Chapman led me behind the scenes of the acting world and his theatre, Richmond, was where I started acting. Theatre Royal, Drury Lane was very popular. Many popular shows were performed there and that’s where my acting career really started. Shakespeare was obviously very popular also. The Licensing Act of 1737 allowed plays written before 1737 to be performed without permission so many theatres performed Shakespeare [Historical Register for the Year 1736 (2006)].
5. How did the major cultural, economic, and political situations of the time impact your work?
The Licensing Act of 1737 impacted everyone’s work. It limited our acting, it limited the plays we could perform, and it limited the theatres we performed at. The Licensing Act eliminated illegitimate theatres and plays were denied because Lord Chamberlain found them “distasteful to the public” [Historical Register for the Year 1736 (2006)].
6. What were your major accomplishments? What methods did you use while acting?
My major accomplishments were being Justice Woodcock in Love in a Village, Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer, and Sir Anthony Absolute in The Rivals (Wikisource 2011). Portraying Justice Woodcock was a great deal to me because I was the original. Love in a Village was an opera but luckily I didn’t have to sing, it was also something out of my comfort zone. She Stoops to Conquer takes place in the 18th century near London so I related to that play very much (Cumming’s Study Guides 2010). The Rivals is witty and brings many emotions together but most of all, it’s funny (eNotes 2012). When I’m acting I like to have fun and just try to bring a smile to the audience’s faces and make them laugh.
7. What were the key opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life and acting?
Being in The Schoolboy got me noticed and was the role that started my acting life. Also being in plays such as The Rivals, The Liar, and Love in a Village (Find a Grave 2007). Those were the roles that I was most famous for. The role that really started my back-to-back roles was being Trapland in Love for Love. After that I started to portray more comedic roles. And I gradually got bigger roles such as Old Mirabel in Inconstant, and Corbaccio in Volpone.
But the one thing that sent my career down was drinking. I would forget big parts of my lines and I would constantly be gagging. After I started drinking my acting skills became weaker but people still gave me a chance to perform (Wikisource 2011)
8. What hardships did you have to overcome in order to be an actor?
I have a limited education. For most of my career I did whatever I wanted to. My work was my own work and it was difficult to read scripts and learn different roles. I also have a hard time with my drinking (Theatre Database 2002).Alcoholism was frowned upon, but because drinking alcohol was so common, beer was considered nutritious and healthy. As I said earlier I forgot chunks of lines and gagged a lot (Wikisource 2011). I turned to church to help me. I would go to the Tottenham Court Road Chapel and other churches multiple times a day to attend meetings and pray (Theatre Database 2002).
9. Who are people that you admire both in the arts and beyond and why do they inspire you?
I admire David Garrick. I performed many times under him and he guided me in the right path to being a successful actor and comedian. David said that I was the greatest comedian ever and I truly wouldn’t be that without him. David was a fantastic comedian and I only hoped to be like him (Wikisource 2011).
10. What personal stories best illustrate how you became successful in the arts?
I had done shows for a little while before I was in Schoolboy. When I performed in Schoolboy they made and inaccurate announcement that it was my first time performing. Many people think that Schoolboy was my first show but it made my audience pay attention to me more (Wikisource 2011).
Works Cited
· Cumming’s Study Guides. (2010). She Stoops to Conquer. Retrieved from http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/Goldsmith.html
· eNotes. (2012) The Rivals. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/rivals
· Find A Grave. (2007) Edward Shuter. Retrieved from http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18038289
· Theatre Database. (2002) David Garrick. Retrieved from http://theatredatabase.com/18th_century/david_garrick_001.html
· Theatre Database. (2002) Ned Shuter. Retrieved from http://theatredatabase.com/18th_century/ned_shuter_001.html
· Wikisource. (2011, March 30) Shuter, Edward. Retrieved from http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Shuter,_Edward_(DNB00)
· Historical Register for the Year 1736. (2006) Damage Done: Effects of the Licensing Act of 1737 on the London Theatre and beyond. Retrieved from http://loki.stockton.edu/~kinsellt/projects/hr1736/storyReader$22.html
· Total War Center. (2009, April 17) Alcohol, its History and Place in Britain’s Society. Retrieved from
· Covent Garden Life. (2012) History. Retrieved from http://www.coventgardenlife.com/info/history.htm
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