British postcard by Rotary Photo E.C., no. 1236R. Photo: Histed. Oscar Asche as Count Hannibal de Tavannes in the play 'Count Hannibal'. In 1908-1909, Asche wrote the play with F. Norreys Connell. He played the lead himself, also with Lily Brayton, his wife and regular co-actor in the 1900s. The play was based on Stanley Weyman's 1901 eponymous novel and is set against the background of the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Night Massacre, in which 10,000 protestants were murdered.
British postcard in the Philco Series, no. 3044 A. Photos: Bassano and Lizzie Caswall Smith. Lily Brayton and Oscar Asche as Bolingbroke in 'Richard II' by William Shakespeare.
Meeting Henrik Ibsen
Born in Geelong, Victoria, Australia in 1871, John Stange(r) Heiss Oscar Asche was the son of Thomas Asche, a Norwegian graduate of the University of Oslo (at that time the Norwegian capital was still called Christiania) who later became a prosperous hotel-keeper and publican in Melbourne and Sydney. Asche's mother, Thomas Asche's second wife, Harriet Emma, née Trear, was born in England.
Oscar Asche was educated at Laurel Lodge, Dandenong, near Melbourne and then at Melbourne Grammar School, which he left at the age of 16. After a trip to China, he returned to Australia and it was some time before he decided to embrace a career in theatre.
Office life did not satisfy him and, after staying in Fiji, he was sent by his father to Norway to study acting in Bergen. In Christiania, he met Henrik Ibsen, who advised him to study and act in his own language and country.
In London, Oscar Asche was so impressed by a production of 'Henry VIII' starring Ellen Terry and Henry Irving that he saw the play six nights in a row.
He stayed in the British capital to study and correct his strong Australian pronunciation, supporting himself with the £10 a week his father gave him. When Oscar returned to Norway, he was finally able to earn his first pay by performing a recital of William Shakespeare.
British postcard by Rotary Photo, no. E.C. 7466A. Photo: Foulsham and Banfield. Oscar Asche as Count Hannibal, Lily Brayton as Clotilde, Caleb Porter as Father Pezelay, and Elfrida Clement as Mme. St. Lo, in the play 'Count Hannibal' (1909).
Serious financial problems
On 25 March 1893, Oscar Asche made his first stage appearance, at the Opera Comique Theatre in London, in 'Man and Woman', where he played the role of Roberts.
For eight years, he was part of the F. R. Benson Company, acquiring much of his acting experience. Among the plays he took part in were performances at the summer festivals in Stratford. In the meantime, his father faced serious financial problems and could no longer send him the money from the annuity. So Asche, who occasionally earned small amounts, had to make do with finding places to sleep and eat.
With the company, Asche played over a hundred roles, including that of Brutus and King Claudius. His imposing and dignified appearance and resonant voice were often mentioned in the press of the time.
In 1898, he married a fellow actress Lily Brayton, also a member of the company. The two often appeared together in the same plays. In London, Asche performed at the Lyceum Theatre and the Garrick Theatre. Here, he had the opportunity to tackle his first major part in a modern work, Arthur Wing Pinero's 'Iris', a work he did again on Broadway in 1902.
Back in Britain, Oscar Asche joined Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company for a range of Shakespeare plays. In 1903 he played Benedick in 'Much Ado About Nothing' opposite the Beatrice of Ellen Terry. Other parts were Bolingbroke in 'Richard II', Christopher Sly and Petruchio in 'The Taming of the Shrew', Bottom in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', and Angelo in 'Measure for Measure'.
British postcard by J. Beagles & Co, Ltd., no. 431 X. Photo: Daily Mirror. Oscar Asche in 'Kismet' (1911).
A huge and long-lasting success
In 1904 Oscar Asche became co-manager with Otho Stuart of the Adelphi Theatre on a three-year lease. They performed 'The Prayer of the Sword', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The Taming of the Shrew', and modern plays such as his own 'Count Hannibal' (1909) which he wrote with F. Norreys Connell. In 1906 he played King Mark in J. Comyns Carr's play 'Tristram and Iseult' at the Adelphi Theatre, with Lily Brayton as Iseult and Matheson Lang as Tristram.
In 1907 Asche and his wife took over the management of His Majesty's Theatre. They produced Laurence Binyon’s 'Attila', with Asche in the title role, and innovative productions of Shakespeare plays, such as 'As You Like It', with Asche as Jacques, and 'Othello', with Asche in the title role. while in 1909-1910 they did a big Australian tour. On Asche's return to London in 1911, Edward Knoblock wrote the play 'Kismet' for him, with the understanding that Asche could revise it. Asche shortened and partly re-wrote it and produced it with much success, playing Hajj. The production ran for two years. He also performed it on his second Australian tour in 1911-1912. Asche also starred in a silent film version, Kismet (Leedham Bantock, 1914).
In 1916 Asche produced 'Chu Chin Chow', with music by Frederic Norton, which was a success that beat the classic 'Charley's Aunt'. 'Chu Chin Chow' also played in New York City in 1917 and Australia in 1920. Asche also directed the hit London production of 'The Maid of the Mountains' for Robert Evett and the George Edwardes Estate. Yet, afterwards, his decline set in. Another musical that opened on Broadway in 1920 under the name 'Mecca' and then in London the following year under the name 'Cairo' was not a huge success. Further stage successes eluded Asche. He lost tens of thousands of pounds betting on greyhounds.
'Chu Chin Chow' was turned into a silent film, Chu Chin Chow (Herbert Wilcox, 1923) starring Betty Blythe, and a sound version, Chu Chin Chow (Walter Forde, 1934) starring Anna May Wong. Asche himself played various supporting parts in British cinema of the 1930s, including the British version of Don Quichotte (G.W. Pabst, 1933), Don Quixote (G.W. Pabst, 1933) opposite Feodor Chaliapin Sr. and George Robey. He also appeared in the British version of the film operetta Zwei Herzen im 3/4 Takt (Géza von Bolváry, 1930), Two Hearts in Waltz Time (Carmine Gallone, Joe May, 1934) and The Private Secretary (Henry Edwards, 1935) starring Edward Everett Horton. He also played the Spirit of Christmas Present in Scrooge (Henry Edwards, 1935) starring Seymour Hicks, and finally in the little gem The Robber Symphony (Friedrich Feher, 1936).
Asche's autobiography, 'Oscar Asche: His Life' (1929), must be read with caution whenever figures are mentioned, according to Wikipedia. He also wrote two novels: 'The Saga of Hans Hansen" (1930) and 'The Joss Sticks of Chung' (1931). His play 'Chu Chin Chow' was published in 1931, and the vocal score of 'Cairo' was published in 1921. In 1933 Asche made his last stage appearance in 'The Beggar’s Bowl' at the Duke of York's Theatre. In his final years, Oscar Asche became obese, poor, argumentative and violent. He and Lily Brayton separated, but, in the end, he returned to her and died at the age of 65 in Bisham, Berkshire, of coronary thrombosis. He was buried in the riverside cemetery there. He had no children.
British postcard by Rotary Photo, no. E.C. 1236Q. Photo: Daily Mirror Studios. Oscar Asche in the stage play 'The Two Pins' (1908).
British postcard by Rotary Photo, no. 1811 A. Photo: Johnston & Hoffmann. Lily Brayton and Oscar Asche in 'The Taming of the Shrew' by William Shakespeare.
Sources: Wikipedia (English, French and Italian) and IMDb.
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