Frustrated at not being accepted as a serious actor, Leno became obsessed with the idea of playing "Richard III" and other great Shakespearean roles, inundating the actor–manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree with his proposals. After his final run of "Mother Goose" at the Drury Lane Theatre in early 1903, Leno's delusions overwhelmed him. On the closing evening, and again soon afterwards, he travelled to the home of Constance Collier, who was Beerbohm Tree's leading lady at His Majesty's Theatre, and also followed her to rehearsal there. He attempted to persuade her to act alongside him in a Shakespearean season that Leno was willing to fund. On the second visit to her home, Leno brought Collier a diamond brooch. Recognising that Leno was having a mental breakdown, she gently refused his offer, and Leno left distraught.