was staging plays "with a scrupulous concern for realistic detail", and Bulwer Lytton was already writing "the sort of play that would later be called 'Robertsonian'". Booth (2004) comments that Robertson "was neither the herald of a new drama nor the apostle of a new realism, in spite of the claims of some of his successors and of later historians. He affirmed middle-class values rather than questioned them". Although Robertson's reputation as a revolutionary dramatist is debated, his importance in the development of modern stagecraft is generally agreed. Before him, star actors usually had control of scripts, and theatre managers had control of casting. Robertson insisted on retaining control over his scripts and casting and required that his actors follow his directions – a novel concept at that time. Dion Boucicault had been a forerunner, directing spectacular productions of his own plays, but Robertson applied the directorial precept to English domestic drama for the first time. Unlike Boucicault he did not act in his plays but applied himself exclusively to directing (or as it was called at the time "stage management") and in that capacity he could focus on ensemble and balance. Gilbert attended Robertson's rehearsals and later directed his own plays and operas based on what he had learned. He said of Robertson: The actor-manager John Hare, who appeared under Robertson's direction at the Prince of Wales's, wrote: As well as Gilbert, Hare and Shaw, leading theatrical figures who were influenced by Robertson included Arthur Wing Pinero and Harley Granville-Barker. The idealistic young playwright Tom Wrench in Pinero's Trelawny of the 'Wells' (1898) is an affectionate portrait of Robertson, of whom Pinero said, "If it hadn't been for Robertson I should never have been able to do what I have done, and that applies to the other fellows". Original plays by Robertson Source: T. Edgar Pemberton's edition of Society and Caste, 1905. Adaptations Source: Pemberton. Unperformed Source: Pemberton. Notes, references and sources Notes References Sources External links Biography of Gilbert that includes info on Robertson Photo of Robertson Article on realism, naming Robertson as a proponent Schoch, Richard, Performing Bohemia (2004) People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan 1829 births 1871 deaths People from Newark-on-Trent Burials at Abney Park Cemetery English male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century British male writers