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Henry Erskine Johnston
Henry Erskine Johnston (1777–1838?) was a Scottish actor given the sobriquet The Edinburgh Roscius. . Early life Born in Edinburgh in May 1777 the son of a former barber on the High Street, his father was allegedly shaving Henry Erskine when he received news of his son's birth. John Kay alternatively states his father Robert Johnston (d.1826) thereafter ran the oyster tavern next to the Theatre Royal at Shakespeare Square in Edinburgh. He was apprenticed to a lawyer but did not enjoy this and joined a linen draper for three years. He made his first appearance on the Edinburgh stage as an amateur in the part of Prince Hamlet, 9 July 1794. In 1797 while reciting "Collins Ode on the Passions" he came to the attention of Stephen Kemble who acted as his mentor; the ''Thespian Dictionary'' claimed that he also played Harlequin. His success was immediate. After playing a few nights, he crossed the sea to Dublin, where he acted twelve nights, appearing on seven of them as Norva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Erskine Johnston Mitchell
Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal (father of Portugal's first king) ** Prince Henry the Navigator, Infante of Portugal ** Infante Henrique, Duke of Coimbra (born 1949), the sixth in line to Portuguese throne * King of Germany **Henry the Fowler (876–936), first king of Germany * King of Scots (in name, at least) ** Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545/6–1567), consort of Mary, queen of Scots ** Henry Benedict Stuart, the 'Cardinal Duke of York', brother of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who was hailed by Jacobites as Henry IX * Four kings of Castile: **Henry I of Castile **Henry II of Castile **Henry III of Castile **Henry IV of Castile * Five kings of France, spelt ''Henri'' in Modern French since the Renaissance to italianize the name and to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Morton (playwright)
Thomas Morton (1764 – 28 March 1838) was an English playwright. Life Morton was born in the city of Durham. He was the youngest son of John and Grace Morton of Whickham, County Durham. 26 January 1935, p. 69. After the death of his father he was educated at Soho Square school at the charge of his uncle Maddison, a stockbroker. Here amateur acting was in vogue, and Morton, who played with , acquired a taste for the theatre. He entered at , 2 July 1784, but was not called to the bar. His first drama, ''Colu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Innes Pocock
Isaac Pocock (2 March 1782 – 23 August 1835) was an English dramatist and painter of portraits and historical subjects. He wrote melodramas, farces and light operatic comedies, many being stage adaptations of existing novels. Of his 40 or so works, the most successful was ''Hit and Miss'' (1810), a musical farce.Christine L. Krueger, George Stade, Karen Karbiener. ''Encyclopedia of British Writers: 19th and 20th Centuries'' (Infobase Publishing, 2003) p. 274-5. The mariner Sir Isaac Pocock (1751–1810) was his uncle. Life Isaac Pocock was born in Bristol on 2 March 1782, the eldest son of Nicholas Pocock, marine painter, and Ann Evans (daughter of John Evans of Bristol). William Innes Pocock (1783–1836), a naval officer and author, was his brother. About 1798, Isaac became a pupil of George Romney, with Thomas Alphonso Hayley, son of the writer William Hayley, as a fellow student. After Romney's death in 1802, he studied under Sir William Beechey.DNB, 1885–1900, vol. 46, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rob Roy (novel)
''Rob Roy'' (1817) is a historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. It is probably set in 1715, the year of the first Jacobite uprising, and the social and economic background to that event are an important element in the novel, though it is not treated directly. The depiction of Rob Roy bears little relation to the historical figure: 'there are two Rob Roys. One lived and breathed. The other is a good story, a lively tale set in the past. Both may be accepted as "valid", but they serve different needs and interests.' Frank Osbaldistone narrates the story. He is the son of an English merchant who parted from his family home in the north of England near the border with Scotland when he was a young man, being of different religion and temperament than his own father or his younger brother. Frank is sent by his father to live at the long unseen family home with his uncle and his male cousins, when he refuses to join his father's successful business. In exchange, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Soane
George Soane (1790–1860) was an English writer and dramatist. Life The younger son of John Soane, he was born in London. He graduated B.A. from Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1811. Shortly afterwards he married Agnes Boaden, against his parents' wishes. His writing career was not enough to earn a living. Soane fell into debt, and was imprisoned. In 1814 he was editing the ''Theatrical Inquisitor'', but also served time for fraud. He gave evidence on the King's Bench Prison, from his experience of it, to a committee of enquiry in 1815. In ''The Champion'' during September 1815 Soane attacked his father's reputation as an architect, in two anonymous articles. His mother died shortly afterwards. These pieces led to a family rupture, and indirectly to the foundation of Sir John Soane's Museum. Soane attempted to block the private Act of Parliament of 1833 that set up the museum's endowment. The matter was debated in the House of Commons for an hour, with William Cobbett putting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venice Preserved
''Venice Preserv'd'' is an English Restoration play written by Thomas Otway, and the most significant tragedy of the English stage in the 1680s. It was first staged in 1682, with Thomas Betterton as Jaffeir and Elizabeth Barry as Belvidera. The play was soon printed and enjoyed many revivals through to the 1830s. In 2019, the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a modern adaptation, ''Venice Preserved'', at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. Plot Jaffeir, a noble but impoverished Venetian, has secretly married Belvidera, the daughter of a proud senator named Priuli, who has cut off her inheritance. Jaffeir's friend Pierre, a foreign soldier, stokes Jaffeir's resentment and entices him into a plot against the Senate of Venice. Pierre's own reasons for plotting against the Senate revolve around another senator (the corrupt, foolish Antonio) paying for relations with Pierre's mistress, Aquilina. Despite Pierre's complaints, the Senate does nothing about it, explaining that Antoni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joanna Baillie
Joanna Baillie (11 September 1762 – 23 February 1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist, known for such works as ''Plays on the Passions'' (three volumes, 1798–1812) and ''Fugitive Verses'' (1840). Her work shows an interest in moral philosophy and the Gothic. She was critically acclaimed in her lifetime, and while living in Hampstead, associated with contemporary writers such as Anna Barbauld, Lucy Aikin, and Walter Scott. She died at the age of 88. Early life Background Baillie was born on 11 September 1762 in Bothwell. Her mother, Dorothea Hunter (c. 1721–1806), was a sister of the Scottish physicians and anatomists William and John Hunter. Her father, Rev. James Baillie (c. 1722–1778), was a Presbyterian minister, and in his last two years Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow. Her aunt, Anne Home Hunter, was a poet. The Baillies were an old Scottish family which claimed descent from the Scottish patriot, Sir William Wallace. Wallace is not known to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Macklin
Charles Macklin (26 September 1699 – 11 July 1797), (Gaelic: Cathal MacLochlainn, English: Charles McLaughlin), was an Irish actor and dramatist who performed extensively at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Macklin revolutionised theatre in the 18th century by introducing a "natural style" of acting. He is also famous for accidentally killing a man during a fight over a wig at the same theatre. Macklin was born in County Donegal in the Irish region of Ulster in the north of Ireland. He was raised in Dublin, where he attended school in Islandbridge after his father's death and his mother's remarriage. Macklin became known for his many performances in the tragedy and comedy genre of plays. He gained his greatest fame in the role of Shylock in ''The Merchant of Venice.'' Macklin enjoyed a long career which was often steeped in controversy before dying aged 97. Early life It is thought that Macklin was born near Culdaff, a village in Inishowen in the north of County Donegal in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rugantino (play)
''Rugantino'' is an 1805 melodrama by the British writer Matthew Lewis. An afterpiece, it was originally staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 18 October 1805. It was inspired by the 1801 French play ''L'Homme à Trois Visages'' by René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt. The original cast included Charles Murray as Andreas, Duke of Venice, John Liston as Meme, William Abbot as Poole, Henry Erskine Johnston as Rugantino and Isabella Mattocks as Camilla. It premiered in Ireland at Dublin's Crow Street Theatre on 26 January 1807.Greene p.4516 It was revived at Drury Lane in 1820 with a cast featuring James William Wallack as Rugantino, Thomas Cooke as Contarino, William Oxberry as Memme, John Pritt Harley as Stephane, Walter Maddocks as Harald, Sarah Sparks as Camilla and Charlotte Tidswell Charlotte Tidswell (c. 1760 – 3 September 1846) was an English actress. Life Tidswell was born in 1759 or 1760 and her father may have been a soldier. She may have been acting f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monk Lewis
Matthew Gregory Lewis (9 July 1775 – 14 or 16 May 1818) was an English novelist and dramatist, whose writings are often classified as "Gothic horror". He was frequently referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his 1796 Gothic novel ''The Monk''. He also worked as a diplomat, politician and an estate owner in Jamaica. Biography Family Lewis was the first-born child of Matthew and Frances Maria Sewell Lewis. His father, Matthew Lewis, was the son of William Lewis and Jane Gregory and was born in England in 1750. He attended Westminster School before proceeding to Christ Church, Oxford, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1769 and his master's in 1772. During his time at Westminster, Lewis's parents separated, and he idolised his mother without disregarding his father. Mrs Lewis moved to France in this period; while there, she was in continuous correspondence with Matthew. The correspondence between Matthew and his mother consisted of discussion regarding the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Tobin (dramatist)
John Tobin (28 January 17707 December 1804) was a British playwright, who was for most of his life unsuccessful, but in the year of his death made a hit with ''The Honey Moon''. Other plays were ''The Curfew'' and '' The School for Authors''. Life Tobin was born in Salisbury, the son of James Tobin, a merchant, and his wife, born Webbe, the daughter of a rich West India sugar planter. George Tobin was his elder brother. Another brother, James Webbe Tobin (died 1814), an acquaintance of Charles Lamb and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, went to Nevis. About 1775 the father set out with his wife to Nevis in the West Indies. The children were left behind, and John was placed for a while under the care of Dr. Richard Mant, the father of Richard Mant the bishop, at Southampton. After the American War of Independence, James Tobin having returned to England and settled at Redland, near Bristol, John was sent to Bristol Grammar School under Dr. Charles Lee. In 1787 he left Bristol to be articled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth Inchbald
Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson, 15 October 1753 – 1 August 1821) was an English novelist, actress, dramatist, and translator. Her two novels, '' A Simple Story'' and '' Nature and Art'', have received particular critical attention. Life Born on 15 October 1753 at Stanningfield, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Elizabeth was the eighth of the nine children of John Simpson (died 1761), a farmer, and his wife Mary, ''née'' Rushbrook. The family, like several others in the neighbourhood, was Roman Catholic. Her brother was sent to school, but Elizabeth and her sisters were educated at home. Inchbald had a speech impediment. Focused on acting from a young age, she worked hard to manage her stammer, but her family discouraged an attempt in early 1770 to gain a position at the Norwich Theatre. That same year her brother George became an actor. Still determined, Inchbald went to London to become an actress in April 1772 at the age of 18. It was a difficult beginning: some observer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
