Henry and Ellen is a powerful and moving two character play that tells the love story of two of the greatest actors of all time, Sir Henry Irving and his leading lady, Ellen Terry. Henry is brilliant, eccentric, deeply inhibited offstage, narrow in range but astonishingly powerful, meticulous and driven. Ellen is spontaneous, utterly charming, much more inclined to take things as they come, and compulsively makes fun of him. But they are two wounded people who find each other, love each other, and work together wonderfully for many years before Ellen’s growth and Henry’s inflexibility threaten to tear them apart forever.
A tribute to two great performers and extraordinarily compelling people, this play contains a wealth of exceptional monologue and scene material for actors.