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George Vining
George James Vining (1824 – 17 December 1875) was an English actor and theatre manager, appearing in London theatres. For several years he was manager of the Princess's Theatre. Family background George Vining was a member of a family of actors and actresses. His grandparents and their common ancestors were Charles Vining, a silversmith in Kirby Street, Hatton Garden, and his wife Mary. They had eight children, and all became connected with the theatre. James Vining (1795–1870), George's father, was first seen in London at Covent Garden Theatre in 1828, as Tybalt in ''Romeo and Juliet''. He was with Madame Vestris at the Olympic Theatre in 1831. One of his later parts was Doctor Manette in Tom Taylor's adaptation of ''A Tale of Two Cities'' in 1860, and his last appearance was at the Lyceum in that year. John Joseph Knight wrote that "he was seen to most advantage in lovers and fops". James's brothers William (1783–1861) and Frederick (1790–1871) were also actors. Willia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princess's Theatre, London
The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 1836 as the Princess's Theatre, named for then Princess Victoria before her accession as queen. After an unsuccessful series of promenade concerts, alterations were made on the interior, and the theatre was reopened on 26 December 1842 with Vincenzo Bellini's opera ''La sonnambula''. The theatre, by now under the management of John Medex Maddox, presented operas and other entertainments, such as General Tom Thumb. The theatre is best remembered for Charles Kean's Shakespeare revivals, beginning in 1849 and continuing for ten years. Kean presented these in lavish and well-researched "authentic" productions and also presented French drama. Dion Boucicault became the theatre's leading actor, and Ellen Terry and Henry Irving got their s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Macready
William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the theatre is named after him, it was his initial intention to go to University of Oxford, but in 1809 financial problems experienced by his father, the lessee of several provincial theatres, called him to share the responsibilities of theatrical management. On 7 June 1810, he made a successful first appearance as Romeo at Birmingham. Other Shakespearian parts followed, but a serious rupture between father and son resulted in the young man's departure for Bath in 1814. Here he remained for two years, with occasional professional visits to other provincial towns. On 16 September 1816, Macready made his first London appearance at Covent Garden as Orestes in ''The Distressed Mother'', a translation of Racine's ''Andromaque'' by Ambrose Philips. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horace Wigan
Horace Wigan (1815/16 – 7 August 1885) was an actor, dramatist and theatre manager. He was the original Hawkshaw, the detective in the play '' The Ticket-of-Leave Man'' by Tom Taylor. Early career He was born in Blackheath, London, son of James Wigan, a teacher of languages and at one time Secretary of the Dramatic Authors' Society; he was younger brother of the actor-manager Alfred Wigan. He was first seen on stage in Dublin on 1 August 1853, in ''Sweethearts and Wives'' by James Kenney. His first London appearance was at the Olympic Theatre from 1 May 1854, in ''The Happy Man'' by Lever. Wigan first attracted attention in 1858 when he opened on 4 December 1858 in the original production of ''The Porter's Knot'' by John Oxenford, playing Smoothly Smirk. From 11 April 1859 he was in the original production of ''Nine Points of the Law'' by Tom Taylor, playing Mr. Cunninghame. He played The Baron de Beaupré in John Maddison Morton's ''A Husband to Order'' from 17 October ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Sheridan Knowles
James Sheridan Knowles (12 May 1784 – 30 November 1862) was an Irish dramatist and actor. Biography Knowles was born in Cork. His father was the lexicographer James Knowles (1759–1840), cousin of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The family moved to London in 1793, and at the age of fourteen Knowles published a ballad entitled ''The Welsh Harper'', which, set to music, was very popular. His talents secured him the friendship of William Hazlitt, who introduced him to Charles Lamb and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He served for some time in the Wiltshire and afterwards in the Tower Hamlets militia, leaving the service to become a pupil of Dr Robert Willan (1757–1812). He obtained the degree of M.D., and was appointed vaccinator to the Jennerian Society. Although Dr Willan offered him a share in his practice, Knowles decided to give up medicine for the stage, making his first appearance as an actor probably at Bath, and played Hamlet at the Crow Theatre, Dublin. At Wexford he marrie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Love Chase
''The Love Chase'' is an 1837 comedy play by the Irish-born writer James Sheridan Knowles. It premiered at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 10 October 1837 with a cast that included Robert Strickland as Sir William Fondlove, Edward William Elton as Waller, Benjamin Nottingham Webster as Wildrake, Julia Glover as Widow Green and Charlotte Vandenhoff Charlotte Elizabeth Vandenhoff (1818 – 31 July 1860), became Charlotte Swinbourne, was a British actress who appeared in leading theatres in London, New York and Philadelphia. Life Vandenhoff was born in Liverpool in 1818. Her parents were ... as Lydia. Louisa Cranstoun Nisbett's role as Constance became one of her two signature parts. The Haymarket had just come under the management of Benjamin Webster that year.Schlicke p.597 References Bibliography * Bratton, Jacky. ''The Making of the West End Stage: Marriage, Management and the Mapping of Gender in London, 1830–1870''. Cambridge University Press, 2011. * Nicoll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred De Musset
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007, webpageBio9413"Chessville – Alfred de Musset: Romantic Player", Robert T. Tuohey, Chessville.com, 2006, webpage. Along with his poetry, he is known for writing the autobiographical novel ''La Confession d'un enfant du siècle'' (''The Confession of a Child of the Century''). Biography Musset was born in Paris. His family was upper-class but poor; his father worked in various key government positions, but never gave his son any money. Musset's mother came from similar circumstances, and her role as a society hostess – for example her drawing-room parties, luncheons and dinners held in the Musset residence – left a lasting impression on young Alfred. An early indication of his boyhood talents was his fondness for acting impromptu m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Dance (playwright)
Charles Dance (1794–1863) was an English playwright active in the early 19th century. Biography Dance was the son of George Dance, architect. During thirty years he was in the office of the late insolvent debtors' court, in which he was successively registrar, taxing officer, and chief clerk, retiring ultimately upon a superannuation allowance. Alone or in collaboration with James Planché or others he wrote many pieces, chiefly of the lightest description, which were produced at the Olympic or other theatres. So great was his success in supplying Madame Vestris with extravaganzas that he was spoken of as a founder of a new order of burlesque. His pieces, which are mostly printed in Lacy's ‘Acting Edition of Plays,’ John Duncombe's ‘British Theatre,’ Webster's ‘Acting National Drama,’ and John Miller's ‘Modern Acting Drama,’ cover a period of nearly a quarter of a century. Some of his comediettas or farces, as ''The Bengal Tiger'', ''Delicate Ground'', ''A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Oxenford
John Oxenford (12 August 1812 – 21 February 1877) was an English dramatist, critic and translator. Life Oxenford was born in Camberwell, London, his father a prosperous merchant. Whilst he was privately educated, it is reported that he was mostly self-taught in Greek, Latin and modern languages. He began his literary career by writing on finance, though later became the author of many translations from German, notably of Goethe's ''Dichtung und Wahrheit'' (1846) and Eckermann's '' Conversations with Goethe'' (1850). Oxenford's primary interest was in the theatre and over sixty-eight plays are attributed to him. His first play was ''My Fellow Clerk'', produced at the Lyceum Theatre in 1835. This was followed by a long series of pieces, the most famous of which was perhaps the ''Porter's Knot'' (1858) and ''Twice Killed'' (1835). He also wrote many operatic libretti, including eight for George Alexander Macfarren, including ''Robin Hood'' (1860) and ''Helvellyn'' (1864). Oxenf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palgrave Simpson
John Palgrave Simpson (1807–1887), commonly referred to as "Palgrave Simpson", was a Victorian playwright. He wrote more than fifty pieces in a variety of genres, including dramas, comedies, operas, and spectacles, between 1850 and 1885. Simpson also published novels, travel books and journalistic commentaries. He served as secretary of the Dramatic Authors' Society from 1868 to 1883. He is buried in St Thomas's Roman Catholic cemetery in Fulham. Biography John Palgrave Simpson was born on 13 June 1807 in Norwich, the second of the six children of William and Katherine Simpson. His father was town clerk of Norwich and treasurer of the county of Norfolk. Simpson was educated by private tutors and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. in 1829 and M.A. in 1832. When he completed his studies, his parents encouraged him to enter the priesthood; instead, for the next fifteen years he traveled on the Continent, mainly living in Germany, at his father's expens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The School For Scandal
''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Snake discuss her various scandal-spreading plots. Snake asks why she is so involved in the affairs of Sir Peter Teazle, his ward Maria, and Charles and Joseph Surface, two young men under Sir Peter's informal guardianship, and why she has not yielded to the attentions of Joseph, who is highly respectable. Lady Sneerwell confides that Joseph wants Maria, who is an heiress, and that Maria wants Charles. Thus she and Joseph are plotting to alienate Maria from Charles by putting out rumours of an affair between Charles and Sir Peter's new young wife, Lady Teazle. Joseph arrives to confer with Lady Sneerwell. Maria herself then enters, fleeing the attentions of Sir Benjamin Backbite and his uncle, Crabtree. Mrs. Candour enters and ironically talks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Wigan
Alfred Sydney Wigan (24 March 1814Some sources say 24 March 1818 – 29 November 1878) was an English actor-manager who took part in the first Royal Command Performance before Queen Victoria on 28 December 1848.Gillan, DonA History of the Royal Command Performance StageBeauty.net, accessed 23 April 2011 Life Born at Blackheath to James Wigan, a teacher of languages and Secretary of the Dramatic Authors' Society, the actor and playwright Horace Wigan was his younger brother. Little is known of Wigan's early career, but it is believed he toured for a period as a singer. Using his middle name, he acted as Sidney or Sydney Wigan at the Lyceum Theatre in 1834, and 1835 he appeared with Louisa Cranstoun Nisbett at the Queen's Theatre. He then appeared under the name of Sidney Wigan with John Braham at the newly built St James's Theatre, creating the role of John Johnson in ''The Strange Gentleman'' by Charles Dickens. With Lucia Elizabeth Vestris he appeared from 1839 to 1844 at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Winter's Tale
''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics consider it to be one of Shakespeare's " problem plays" because the first three acts are filled with intense psychological drama, while the last two acts are comic and supply a happy ending. The play has been intermittently popular, revived in productions in various forms and adaptations by some of the leading theatre practitioners in Shakespearean performance history, beginning after a long interval with David Garrick in his adaptation ''Florizel and Perdita'' (first performed in 1753 and published in 1756). ''The Winter's Tale'' was revived again in the 19th century, when the fourth " pastoral" act was widely popular. In the second half of the 20th century, ''The Winter's Tale'' in its entirety, and drawn largely from the First Fol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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