Oscar Asche
Who was Oscar Asche?
Australian actor and director (1871–1936)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Oscar Asche (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
John Stanger Heiss Oscar Asche was born on 24 January 1871 in Geelong, Australia. He went to Melbourne Grammar School before starting his stage career. After actor training in Norway and London, he debuted in London in 1893 and soon joined the F R Benson Company. Over eight years, he performed more than a hundred roles, including major Shakespearean ones. His strong presence and powerful voice made him perfect for commanding characters, and he became known as one of the best Shakespearean actors of his time. In 1898, he married actress Lily Brayton, who became his frequent stage partner for many years.
Asche's career expanded significantly in the early 1900s. He played Maldonado in Arthur Wing Pinero's Iris in the West End in 1901 and performed the role on Broadway in 1902. He then joined Herbert Beerbohm Tree's theatre company in London for more Shakespearean work. He and Brayton managed the Adelphi Theatre from 1904 and His Majesty's Theatre from 1907, making them prominent theatrical managers in Edwardian London. In 1909 and 1910, he toured Australia for the first time and was deeply moved by the reception. In 1911, Edward Knoblock wrote the play Kismet specifically for him. Asche revised it, and it became a big hit in London and on tour, with Asche starring as the beggar Hajj.
Asche's career highlight was Chu Chin Chow, which he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in with his wife. The musical opened on 31 August 1916 and ran for an incredible 2,238 performances, closing on 22 July 1921. This was the longest run for a British stage production at the time, making Asche famous and wealthy. During this period, he also directed the popular London production of The Maid of the Mountains. He later adapted Chu Chin Chow into a film, reaching new audiences.
Despite earning a lot, Asche's extravagant spending led to financial trouble. He was declared bankrupt in 1926, marking a significant downturn in his life. From 1922 to 1924, he toured Australia again with the J C Williamson company, but his career as a producer faded after the mid-1920s. He continued to work as a director and actor into the 1930s, appearing in several films and stage productions, though none matched his earlier success. Oscar Asche died on 23 March 1936 in Marlow, England, at 65.
Before Fame
Oscar Asche grew up in Geelong, in the colony of Victoria, and went to school at Melbourne Grammar School, a well-known secondary school in Australia. The Australian theater scene in the 1870s and 1880s was lively but somewhat limited, so ambitious performers often looked to Britain and Europe for training and opportunities. Asche did the same, traveling to Norway and then London to study acting before making his professional stage debut in 1893. His early years with the F R Benson Company offered him rigorous training in a wide range of classical works, providing the technical foundation for his long career.
Key Achievements
- Wrote, directed, produced, and starred in Chu Chin Chow, which ran for a then-unprecedented 2,238 performances on the London stage from 1916 to 1921.
- Performed over a hundred roles with the F R Benson Company, establishing himself as a leading Shakespearean actor of his era.
- Managed His Majesty's Theatre and the Adelphi Theatre in London with his wife Lily Brayton in the early twentieth century.
- Starred in the title role of Kismet, a major West End and touring success, after the play was written expressly for him.
- Adapted Chu Chin Chow for film, extending the production's reach beyond the stage to cinema audiences.
Did You Know?
- 01.Chu Chin Chow, which Asche wrote and starred in, ran for 2,238 performances between 1916 and 1921, a record for a British stage musical that stood for decades.
- 02.Edward Knoblock wrote the play Kismet in 1911 specifically for Asche to perform, and Asche then revised and shortened the script himself before the production went on tour.
- 03.Asche performed more than a hundred different roles during his eight years with the F R Benson Company alone, gaining an unusually broad classical grounding early in his career.
- 04.Despite earning substantial sums from Chu Chin Chow, Asche's high-spending lifestyle left him bankrupt by 1926, just five years after the record-breaking show closed.
- 05.Asche and his wife Lily Brayton jointly managed two prominent London theatres, the Adelphi from 1904 and His Majesty's from 1907, making them a notable husband-and-wife producing team of the Edwardian era.