Henry VIII, directed by Charles Kean, 1855: Queen Katherine's Dream (4.2.82)

Charles Kean set the stage for the later elaborate settings of Irving's and Tree's productions of Henry VIII. This famous spectacle in his 1855 production was developed along lines suggested by Fuseli and Blake (see two previous pictures). Mrs Kean played Queen Katherine, and in the 1858 revival Ellen Terry is supposed to have played the topmost angel on the concealed ladder. This sketch was printed in the Illustrated London News for 2 June 1855. Most modern directors find such effects unacceptable.