A portrait of the legendary actor, as drawn by GEORG CHRISTOPH
LICHTENBERG in his
Letters from England
1 Having been a law student, he appeared in his 24th year on the stage at Goodman's Fields as Richard III. And it was at this first appearance that he surpassed all the players of his age and became the idol of the people, the spice of society, and the darling of the quality.'
In the fifth of seven readings related to the preceding Bookshelf programme, Donald Sinden reads from the letters of the 18th-century German philosopher in which he gives eye-witness accounts of several of Garrick's greatest performances. Producer JOHN KNIGHT
(Donald Sinden is a member of the RSC)