Arthur Bourchier

Arthur Bourchier (22 June 1863 – 14 September 1927) was an English actor and theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh.

Bourchier was noted for roles both in classical drama, particularly Shakespeare, and in contemporary plays, including works by W. S. Gilbert, Anthony Hope, Arthur Wing Pinero and Alfred Sutro. He managed several West End theatres during his career, including the Royalty, the Criterion, the Garrick (for a total of eight years), His Majesty's and the Strand.

In his later years Bourchier became active in British politics as a member of the Labour Party.

Bourchier was born in Speen, Berkshire, England. He was the only son of Fanny (née Farr) and Captain Charles John Bourchier. He was educated at Eton, where he played cricket, and at Oxford University, chiefly at Christ Church. At Oxford he acted with an amateur group called the Philothespian Society, with whom he played Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. With the encouragement of the Vice-Chancellor, Benjamin Jowett, Bourchier founded the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), which succeeded the Philothespians. With the OUDS, Bourchier played Hotspur, Falstaff, Feste, Thanatos (in Alcestis), and Brutus to the Caesar of H. B. Irving.

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