AEH, A. E. Housman, aged 77
Housman, A. E. Housman, aged from 18 to 26
Alfred William Pollard, aged from 18 to 26
Moses John Jackson, aged from 19 to 27
Charon, ferryman of the Underworld
In Act One:
Mark Pattison, Rector of Lincoln College, aged 64, a classical scholar
Walter Pater, critic, essayist, scholar, fellow of Brasenose, aged 38
John Ruskin, pre-eminent art critic, aged 58
Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol, aged 60
Robinson Ellis, a Latin scholar, aged 45 In addition, the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and a Balliol Student
In Act Two:
Katharine Housman, sister of AEH, at the ages of 19 and 35
Henry Labouchere, Liberal MP and journalist, at the ages of 54 and 64
Frank Harris, writer and journalist, at the ages of 29 and about 40
W. T. Stead, editor and journalist, at the ages of 36 and 46
Chamberlain, a clerk in his 20s, then 30s
John Percival Postgate, a Latin scholar, aged about 40
Jerome K. Jerome, humourist and editor, aged 38
Oscar Wilde, aged 41
In addition, Bunthorne, a character in Patience by Gilbert and Sullivan, and the Chairman and Members of the Selection Committee
The two groups of characters appearing only in Act One or Act Two, respectively, may be played by the same group of actors. References in the stage directions to river, boats, garden, etc., need not be taken at face value.