30th May 1832 Charles Mayne Young retires from the stage

In 1832 the great Tragedian Charles Mayne Young retired from the stage after playing Hamlet for the last time at Covent Garden. Young had begun his career in Liverpool before moving through the provinces and into the London theatre scene. He worked hard and found his talent started to become recognised as he played numerous parts at the Haymarket and understudied the great John Philip Kemble. People started to compare Young to Kemble and it became known that Young was a better actor than Kemble but Young never gained the same sort of star power. Young was a humble performer who understood that there was always performers looking to move up to his level and by the time he retired he knew his time was up on the stage. He had recognised that it was the time for actors like Edmond Kean to become the stars and he felt that at the age of 55 his strength was going and his talent was fading. Out of respect for him the great actors Charles Mathews and William Macready played Polonius and the Ghost in Young's final performance. Young lived for another 20 years and passed away in 1856 living his final years as a man of society in Brighton.