Drama And Theatre (Theater), Acting On Stamps

Happy Birthday to Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828-1906), a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theater director, and poet who is often referred to as "the father of realism," and is one of the founders of Modernism in theater. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of the playwright, designed by A. Zavialov, printed by photogravure, and issued by Russia (USSR) on October 17, 1956, Scott No. 1883, Zagorski No. 1857, plus a detail from a photographic portrait of Henrik Ibsen by Gustav Borgen.

- nethryk

Here are images of the six stamps in a set honoring Polish dramatists and the National Theater, Warsaw, printed by lithography, and issued by Poland on November 11, 1978, Scott Nos. 2294-99.

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Wojciech Boguslawski (1757-1829), an actor, theater director and playwright who is considered the "father of Polish theater," and who wrote the libretto for the opera Krakowiacy I Górale (1794).


Aleksander Fredro (1793-1876), a playwright, poet and author active during Polish Romanticism, plus an illustration for his comedy Zemsta ("Revenge," 1838).


Juliusz Slowacki (1809-1849), a playwright and poet, one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature, a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of modern Polish drama, plus an illustration for his play Kordian (1834).


Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (1798-1855), a playwright, poet, essayist, publicist, translator, professor of Slavic literature, and political activist, plus an illustration for his play Dziady ("Forefathers' Eve") in four parts published from 1822 to after the author's death.


Stanislaw Wyspianski (1869-1907), a playwright, painter and poet, and plus an illustration for his play Wesele ("The Wedding," 1901).


Maria Gabriela Stefania Korwin-Piotrowska (1857-1921), known as Gabriela Zapolska, a playwright, novelist, theater critic and stage actress, plus an illustration for her play Skiz (1908).

Vera Fyodorovna Komissarzhevskaya (1864-1910) was one of the most celebrated actresses and theater managers of the late Russian Empire. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of the actress, designed by M. Suchov, printed by photogravure, and issued by Russia (USSR) on February 5, 1960, Scott No. 2299, Zagorski No. 2310, plus an image of a publicity photograph of Vera Komissarzhevskaya in stage costume, and a YouTube link to a video tribute to her.

- nethryk

Happy Birthday to Georges Courteline (1858-1929), a French dramatist, novelist, and satirist. Here is an image of a semi-postal (charity) stamp featuring a portrait of the playwright, and depicting a poster for a 1910 performance at the Comédie-Française of Courteline's two-act comedy Boubouroche, designed and engraved by Michel Monvoisin, and issued by France on June 25, 1979, Scott No. B517, Y&T No. 2032, plus a photograph of Georges Courteline in 1921 which was surely a model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

Happy Birthday to George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), an Irish playwright, essayist, novelist, and short story writer, and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Shaw, designed by Czech artist Karel Svolinský (1896-1986), combined engraved by Ladislav Jirka (1914-1986) and photogravure, and issued by Czechoslovakia on March 10, 1981, Scott No. 2354, plus a photo of G.B. Shaw, and a YouTube link to a film clip from the 1952 RKO film adaptation of Shaw's comedy play Androcles and the Lion (1912), a retelling of the folktale of Androcles, a Christian slave who is saved from martyrdom by the requited mercy of a lion.

- nethryk

Leandro Fernández de Moratín (1760-1828) was a Spanish dramatist, translator and neoclassical poet. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Moratín designed after a detail from a painting by Spanish artist Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828), printed by photogravure, and issued by Spain on February 13, 1961 as one of a set of two similar stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of the playwright's birth, Scott No. 971, plus an image of the relevant detail from Goya's original portrait of Leandro Moratín.

- nethryk

For the topic:

Happy Birthday to French playwright, novelist, essayist, and diplomat Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (1882-1944). Here is an image of a semi-postal (charity) stamp featuring a portrait of the playwright and depicting characters from his plays, designed and engraved by Jacques Combet (1920-1993), and issued by France on February 23, 1974, Scott No. B476, Y&T No. 1822, plus a photograph of Jean Giraudoux in 1927, and a YouTube link to a video showing publicity photos from a performance of one of his most successful plays, La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu ("The Trojan War Will Not Take Place," 1935).

- nethryk

Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Brazilian stage and screen actress Apolônia Pinto (1854-1937), printed by photogravure, and issued by Brazil on June 21, 1954 to commemorate the actress's birth centenary, Scott No. 785, plus an image of a portrait of Apolônia Pinto, age 16. Bonus: Masks.

- nethryk