Oscar Asche

{{short description|Australian actor and director (1871–1936)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2014}}  [[File:Asche in Chu Chin Chow.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Asche in ''[[Chu Chin Chow]]'', 1916]] '''John Stange'''('''r''') '''Heiss Oscar Asche''' (24 January 1871 – 23 March 1936) was an Australian actor, director, and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical ''[[Chu Chin Chow]]'', both on stage and film, and for acting in, directing, or producing many Shakespeare plays and successful musicals.<ref name=maid>[http://www.nla.gov.au/collect/prompt/asche.html#maid "Oscar Asche (1871-1936)"], National Library of Australia, accessed 5 April 2015</ref><ref name=dnb/>

After studying acting in Norway and London, Asche made his London stage debut in 1893 and soon joined the [[Francis Robert Benson|F R Benson Company]], where he remained for eight years, playing more than a hundred roles including important Shakespearean parts. He married the actress [[Lily Brayton]] in 1898, and the two were often paired onstage for many years. He played Maldonado in [[Arthur Wing Pinero]]'s ''Iris'' in the [[West End theatre|West End]] in 1901. He repeated the role on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] the following year, and then joined [[Herbert Beerbohm Tree]]'s theatre company in London in 1902, playing more Shakespearean roles over the next few years.

Asche and his wife became managers of the [[Adelphi Theatre]] in 1904 and [[Her Majesty's Theatre|His Majesty's Theatre]] in 1907; he made his first tour of Australia in 1909–10, and was much moved by his reception in his native land. In 1911 [[Edward Knoblock]] wrote the play ''Kismet'' for him; Asche revised and shortened it, and the production enjoyed great success in London and on tour with Asche in the leading role of Hajj.

Asche most famously wrote and produced ''Chu Chin Chow'', starring himself and his wife, which ran for an unprecedented 2,238 performances, from 31 August 1916 to 22 July 1921. During the run, among other projects, he directed the hit London production of ''[[The Maid of the Mountains]]''. From 1922 to 1924 he toured in Australia with the [[J. C. Williamson Ltd.|J C Williamson]] company. As a result of his high-spending lifestyle, he was declared bankrupt in 1926. Though his success as a producer waned, he continued to direct and act, including in several films, until the mid-1930s.

==Life and career== Asche was born in [[Geelong]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], Australia. His father, Thomas, born in Norway, studied law at [[University of Oslo|Christiania University]]; he did not pursue a legal career in Australia because he failed to master the English language.<ref name=dnb> Foulkes, Richard, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30464 "Asche, (Thomas Stange Heiss) Oscar (1871–1936)"], Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011, accessed 17 April 2019 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> After being a digger, a mounted police officer and a storekeeper, Thomas Asche became a prosperous hotel-keeper and publican in [[Melbourne]] and [[Sydney]].<ref name=maid/> Asche's mother, Thomas Asche's second wife, Harriet Emma (''née'' Trear), was born in England.<ref name=dnb/>

===Early life and training=== [[File:Oscar Asche.jpg|right|thumb|Asche in ''The Two Pins'', 1908]] Asche was educated at Laurel Lodge in [[Dandenong, Victoria|Dandenong]] and the [[Melbourne Grammar School]].<ref>Asche pp. 16 and 21</ref> He began training with an architect who soon died.<ref>Asche, p. 26</ref> He next worked as a [[Jackaroo (trainee)|jackaroo]] and then in an office, but he wished to be an actor, and soon began to study acting in Norway.<ref>Asche, pp. 40–48</ref>

At [[Bergen]], Asche was instructed in deportment, voice production and theatre arts.<ref>Asche, pp. 64–67</ref> He began to study acting in Christiania,<ref name=who/> but [[Henrik Ibsen]] suggested that he return to Australia to gain acting experience in English.<ref name=dnb/> By 1892, Asche travelled to London where, after repeated viewings of ''[[Henry VIII (play)|Henry VIII]]'' at the [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]] (1892), he continued his acting studies and focused on losing his Australian accent.<ref>Asche, p. 72</ref>

===Early stage career=== In 1893 Asche played the role of Roberts in ''Man and Woman'' at the [[Opera Comique]] in London, and for the next eight years, he was engaged by the [[Francis Robert Benson|F. R. Benson Company]].<ref name=dnb/> Among other venues, they played at the summer [[Stratford-upon-Avon|Stratford]] festivals. His more than 100 roles with that company included Charles the Wrestler in ''[[As You Like It]]'' and Biondello in ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'', Brutus in ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' and Claudius in ''[[Hamlet]]''. While his father had supported him during his training, he suffered losses in the [[Australian banking crisis of 1893]], and so Asche supported himself on his meager salary of £2 10s. a week.{{citation needed|date=December 2025}}

His resonant voice and his dignified, formal bearing are often mentioned in the reviews of his performances.{{#tag:ref|For example, ''The Times'' described his appearance as the Prince of Morocco in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' as "magnificent".<ref>"Comedy Theatre", ''The Times'', 17 January 1901, p. 3</ref>|group= n}} He said that he owed his place in Benson's company as much to his cricketing as to his acting abilities: the Benson company fielded a cricket team wherever it toured in the summer months.<ref name=dnb/>

In 1898 Asche married [[Lily Brayton]], who also acted with the Benson company.{{citation needed|date=December 2025}}

In 1900 Asche appeared with the Benson Company at the [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]] in London. Asche's biographer Richard Foulkes writes, "When Benson brought his itinerant troupe to the Lyceum Theatre in the spring of 1900 Asche appeared in six of the eight productions, most notably as Pistol, Claudius, and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, raising that smallish part to one of sinister grandeur."<ref name=dnb/> In 1901 he played Maldonado in [[Arthur Wing Pinero]]'s ''Iris'' at the [[Garrick Theatre]].<ref name=dnb/> Both ''[[The Times]]'' and ''[[The Observer]]'' remarked that Asche had a difficult role but carried it off.<ref>"Garrick Theatre", ''The Times'', 23 September 1901, p. 5; and "Mr. Pinero's New Play: "Iris" at The Garrick" ''The Observer '', 22 September 1901, p. 5</ref> He travelled to America to repeat the role on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1902.<ref name=who/> Back in London, he joined [[Herbert Beerbohm Tree]]'s theatre company in 1902, and in 1903 he played Benedick in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' opposite the Beatrice of Ellen Terry.<ref name=dnb/> Other parts were Bolingbroke in ''[[Richard II (play)|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]]''.<ref name=who>Parker, pp. 29–30</ref>

===Actor-manager years=== [[File:Oscar Asche Vanity Fair 29 November 1911.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Caricature of Asche in ''[[Kismet (play)|Kismet]]'']] In 1904 Asche became [[Actor-manager|co-manager]] with [[Otho Stuart]] of the [[Adelphi Theatre]] on a three-year lease.<ref>Singleton, Brian. [https://books.google.com/books?id=rctWatwI84EC&pg=PA49 ''Oscar Asche, Orientalism, and British Musical Comedy''], Praeger Publishing (2004), p. 49</ref> Their productions included ''The Prayer of the Sword'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''The Taming of the Shrew'', ''[[Measure for Measure]]'', ''Count Hannibal'' (which he wrote with [[Conal Holmes O'Connell O'Riordan|F. Norreys Connell]]) and [[Rudolf Besier]]'s ''The Virgin Goddess''. 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.<ref name=who/> In 1907 Asche and his wife took over the management of [[Her Majesty's Theatre|His Majesty's Theatre]] and 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. They made their first tour in Australia in 1909–10, with Asche playing Petruchio, Othello and other roles.<ref name=who/> In his 1929 autobiography he said, "What a home-coming it was! Nothing, nothing can ever deprive me of that."<ref>Asche, p. 126</ref>

He produced the play ''[[Kismet (play)|Kismet]]'' in London in 1911, also playing the leading role, Hajj.<ref>[http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-frames.html?http&&&www.stagebeauty.net/produce/kismet/th-kismeta.html ''Kismet''] in ''[[The Play Pictorial]]'' Vol. XVIII, No. 106 (1911), accessed at the Stagebeauty website on 22 December 2009</ref> The production ran for two years, and a successful tour in Australia followed in 1911–12, with ''Kismet'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]''.<ref name=who/>

In 1916, Asche produced his play ''[[Chu Chin Chow]]'', music by [[Frederic Norton]], starring himself as Abu Hassan and his wife;<ref>Asche, p. 166</ref> the production ran for 2,238 performances, from 31 August 1916 to 22 July 1921. The run easily broke the existing record of 1,466 performances, set by ''[[Charley's Aunt]]'' in the 1890s. The new record stood for decades.<ref name=gaye>Gaye, p. 1525</ref> The show drew some criticism for the ladies' scanty costumes, which Tree described as "more navel than millinery", but it was just what war-weary audiences wanted.<ref>[http://liveperformance.com.au/halloffame/oscarasche2.html "Oscar Asche 1871–1936"], Liveperformance.com.au, 2007, accessed 8 February 2018</ref> ''Chu Chin Chow'' also played in New York City in 1917 and Australia in 1920.<ref name=who/> Asche collaborated in 1919 with [[Dornford Yates]] on a musical adaptation of ''[[Eastward Ho]]!''<ref>"Theatres", ''The Times'', 10 September 1919, p. 8</ref> Also during the run of ''Chu Chin Chow'', Asche directed the hit London production of ''[[The Maid of the Mountains]]'' for [[Robert Evett]] and the [[George Edwardes]] Estate, which had an outstanding run of 1,352 performances.<ref name=gaye/> As a director, Asche was an innovator in stage lighting and one of the first to use it as a dramatic factor in productions rather than as mere illumination.{{citation needed|date=December 2025}}

===Later years=== Asche's income was considerable by this time, but so were his expenses, including gambling expenses. He bought a farm [[Gloucestershire]] and later sold it to pay off debts.<ref name="blake">Blake, L. J., [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/asche-thomas-stange-heiss-oscar-5063/text8441 "Asche, Thomas Stange Heiss Oscar (1871–1936)"], Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 5 April 2013</ref>

[[File:Asche and Brayton.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Asche and his wife, Lily Brayton]] After the success of ''Chu Chin Chow'', Asche wrote another musical that opened on Broadway in 1920 under the name ''Mecca'' and then in London the following year under the name ''Cairo''.<ref name=who/> It was not a huge success on either side of the Atlantic; in London it ran for 267 performances at His Majestys's.<ref>Gaye, p. 1529</ref> In 1922, Asche visited Australia again, under contract to [[J. C. Williamson Ltd.]], and played Hornblower in [[John Galsworthy]]'s ''[[The Skin Game (play)|The Skin Game]]'', Maldonado in Pinero's ''Iris'', his usual roles in ''Chu Chin Chow'' and ''Cairo'', the title character in ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'', and in other Shakespeare plays.<ref name=dnb/> His wife declined to join him on this tour. After disagreements with the Williamson company, his contract was abruptly terminated in June 1924.<ref name=blake/> On his return to Britain, as a result of excessive gambling, tax debts and unwise investments, he was declared bankrupt in 1926.{{#tag:ref|Asche was discharged from bankruptcy two years later.<ref>"Mr. Oscar Asche's Affairs", ''The Times'', 5 April 1928, p. 4</ref>|group= n}}

Further successes eluded Asche as he tried to mount musicals, including ''The Good Old Days of England'' (1928), financed by his wife.<ref name=blake/> He continued to direct shows. His 1930 production of ''The Intimate Revue'' at the [[Duchess Theatre]]<ref>"Entertainments" ''The Times,'' 27 February 1930, p. 12</ref> was a failure. {{#tag:ref|This revue is sometimes cited as the shortest-running musical show in West End history, with less than one complete performance. The claim is not wholly correct: after a few days' additional work the revue re-opened later in March 1930. ''[[The Times]]'' remained unimpressed by the show: "The amusing hitches which varied the monotony of the first performance did not conceal the thinness of the humour and the lameness of the invention".<ref>"Duchess Theatre", ''The Times'', 31 March 1930, p. 12</ref>|group= n}} In 1933 Asche made his last stage appearance in ''The Beggar’s Bowl'' at the [[Duke of York's Theatre]]. Asche also made appearances in seven films between 1932 and 1936, including in ''[[Two Hearts in Waltz Time (1934 film)|Two Hearts in Waltz Time]]'' (1934), as the [[Spirit of Christmas Present]] in the 1935 film ''[[Scrooge (1935 film)|Scrooge]]'', and in ''[[The Private Secretary (1935 film)|The Private Secretary]]'' (1935).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120722155530/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2ba54776df "Oscar Asche"], British Film Institute, accessed 5 March 2013</ref> He also wrote several books, including his autobiography, but these ventures did not solve his financial troubles.

In his final years, Asche became obese, poor, argumentative and violent. He and his wife separated, but, at 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.<ref name=dnb/>

==Writings==

=== Novels and autobiography === * ''Oscar Asche: His Life'' (1929) * ''Saga of Hans Hansen'' (1930) * ''The Joss Sticks of Chung'' (1931)

=== Plays === * ''Mameena'' (1914) * ''Cairo'' (1921) * ''Chu Chin Chow'' (1931) * ''The Good Old Days'' * The Spanish Main (under the pen name Varco Marenes) * ''Cairo'' (libretto)

==Notes== {{Reflist|group=n}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== * {{cite book | last= Asche | first= Oscar | year= 1929| title= Oscar Asche, his life: by himself| location=London | publisher= Hurst & Blackett | oclc= 1968577}} * {{cite book|editor-last= Gaye|editor-first=Freda |year= 1967|title=Who's Who in the Theatre |edition=fourteenth|location=London |publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons |oclc=5997224 }} * {{cite book | last= Parker | first= John | year=1925 | title= Who's Who in the Theatre | location=London |edition=fifth| publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons | oclc=10013159 }}

==External links== {{Commons category|Oscar Asche}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Oscar Asche}} *[http://collections.artscentremelbourne.com.au/paminter/imu.php?request=browse&irn=2002 Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton Collection], in the [[Performing Arts Collection]], at [[Arts Centre Melbourne]]. *[https://ozvta.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/asche-oscar-1632013.pdf "Oscar Asche"] biography at the ''Australian Variety Theatre Archive'' *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060910173339/http://shakespeare.emory.edu/actordisplay.cfm?actorid=4 Oscar Asche's profile at the Emory University Shakespeare Project] *[http://www.ausstage.edu.au/indexdrilldown.jsp?xcid=59&f_contrib_id=227255 List of some of Asche's performances in Australia (AusStage)] *{{IBDB name|7964}} *[https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1974133 Biography, bibliography, Australian tour information and resource listing for Oscar Asche] in the [[National Library of Australia]] *{{IMDb name|0038488|Oscar Asche}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asche, Oscar}} [[Category:1871 births]] [[Category:1936 deaths]] [[Category:Actor-managers]] [[Category:Australian male dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:Australian male film actors]] [[Category:Australian film directors]] [[Category:20th-century Australian novelists]] [[Category:20th-century Australian male writers]] [[Category:Australian male novelists]] [[Category:Australian people of Norwegian descent]] [[Category:People educated at Melbourne Grammar School]] [[Category:Male actors from Geelong]] [[Category:20th-century Australian male actors]] [[Category:20th-century theatre managers]]