Phelps, Samuel (1804–78), English actor and manager, who toured the provinces for several years, making a name for himself as a tragedian, and in 1837 made his first appearances in London at the
Haymarket Theatre under Ben
Webster, playing Hamlet, Richard III, Othello, and Shylock with considerable success. Later in that year he joined the company at
Drury Lane, where he appeared with Macready in Shakespeare and also created the role of Lord Trensham in
Browning's A Blot in the ‘Scutcheon (1843). In 1844 he took advantage of the abolition of the
Patent Theatres' monopoly in serious drama in 1843 to assume the management of
Sadler's Wells Theatre, which he made for the first time a permanent home of Shakespeare, though other plays also figured in his repertory. With his fine and imaginative productions he did much to redeem the English stage from the triviality into which it had fallen. The plays he directed during his long tenancy were remarkable for their scenic beauty, but he always made sure that the author's text was paramount. By the time he retired in 1862 he had produced all but six of Shakespeare's plays. In 1854
Pericles was seen in its original form for the first time since the Restoration. Phelps appeared in most of the plays himself, his best parts being considered Lear and Othello. He was not suited to romantic comedy; he was, however, good in pathetic parts, and in spite of being mainly a tragedian gave an excellent comic performance as Bottom in
A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was also much admired as Sir Pertinax McSycophant in
Macklin's The Man of the World. He remained on the stage until almost the end of his life, making his last appearance as Wolsey in
Henry VIII on 31 Mar. 1878 at the Aquarium (later the
Imperial) Theatre.
