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May Fortescue
May Fortescue (9 February 1859 – 2 September 1950) was an actress, singer and actor-manager of the Victorian era and a protégée of playwright W. S. Gilbert. She was a member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1881 to 1883, when she left the company following her engagement to a nobleman, young Arthur William Cairns, 2nd Earl Cairns, Arthur William Cairns, Lord Garmoyle (later the 2nd Earl Cairns). Cairns soon broke off the engagement under pressure from his friends, and Fortescue returned to the stage in leading roles. With the £10,000 that she received in her breach of promise lawsuit, Fortescue started her own touring theatre company, often performing the plays of W. S. Gilbert. Coincidentally, Gilbert visited Fortescue on the day he died. Her acting career continued until 1926. Early career Born Emily May Finney in Kensington, London, to a coal merchant father, Fortescue was educated as a lady, but following her father's business failure she became an actress to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. After the Norman Conquest, it became the equivalent of the continental count (in England in the earlier period, it was more akin to a duke; in Scotland, it assimilated the concept of mormaer). Alternative names for the rank equivalent to "earl" or "count" in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as the '' hakushaku'' (伯爵) of the post-restoration Japanese Imperial era. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. Etymology The term ''earl'' has been compared to the name of the Heruli, and to runic '' erilaz''. Proto-Norse ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irene Vanbrugh
Dame Irene Vanbrugh DBE ( Barnes; 2 December 1872 – 30 November 1949) was an English actress. The daughter of a clergyman, Vanbrugh followed her elder sister Violet into the theatrical profession and sustained a career for more than 50 years. In her early days as a leading lady she was particularly associated with the plays of Arthur Wing Pinero and later had parts written for her by J. M. Barrie, Bernard Shaw, Somerset Maugham, A. A. Milne and Noël Coward. More famous for comic rather than dramatic roles, Vanbrugh nevertheless played a number of the latter in both modern works and the classics. Her stage debut was in Shakespeare, but she seldom acted in his works later in her career; exceptions were her Queen Gertrude in ''Hamlet'' in 1931 and her Meg Page in ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'', opposite her sister Violet as Alice Ford, in 1937. Vanbrugh appeared frequently in fundraising shows for various charities. She was active over many years in the support of the Royal Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Hare (actor)
Sir John Hare (16 May 1844 – 28 December 1921), born John Joseph Fairs, was an English actor and theatre manager of the later 19th– and early 20th centuries. Born and brought up in London, with frequent visits to the West End, Hare had a passion for the theatre from his childhood. After acting as an amateur as a young man he joined a professional company in Liverpool, before making his London debut in 1865 at the age of 21 with Marie Wilton's company. Wilton was a pioneer of naturalistic theatre, with which Hare was greatly in sympathy, and he quickly gained a reputation in character roles, particularly in comedies. Within a decade Hare was well enough established to go into management. He was in partnership with the actor W. H. Kendal at the Court Theatre from 1875 to 1879, and from 1879 to 1888 at the St James's Theatre with Kendal and the latter's wife, Madge. They presented, mostly successfully, a succession of new British plays, adaptations of French works, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gay Lord Quex (play)
''The Gay Lord Quex'' is an 1899 comedy play by the British playwright Arthur Wing Pinero. It depicts the vicissitudes of a reformed philanderer attempting to embark on monogamy. The original production provoked controversy, some critics finding the plot at best questionable and at worst immoral. The play premiered at the Globe Theatre, London, on 8 April 1899, and ran for 300 performances. It was produced by John Hare, who also played the title role. Others in the cast included Charles Cherry, Frank Gillmore, May Fortescue, Irene Vanbrugh and Mabel Terry-Lewis. The play was revived in the West End in five productions during the 20th century and has been adapted for the cinema, radio and television. Background and original production By 1899 Pinero was established as a leading playwright, with a series of long-running plays from the mid 1880s onwards. His works ranged from farces such as '' The Magistrate'' (1885) and '' Dandy Dick'' (1887) to more serious pieces including '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (24 May 185523 November 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor. Pinero was drawn to the theatre from an early age, and became a professional actor at the age of 19. He gained experience as a supporting actor in British provincial theatres, and from 1876 to 1881 was a member of Henry Irving's company, based at the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyceum Theatre, London. Pinero wrote his first play in 1877. Seven years later, having written 15 more, three of them highly successful, he abandoned acting and became a full-time playwright. He first became known for a series of farces, of which ''The Magistrate (play), The Magistrate'' (1885) was the longest-running. During the 1890s he turned to serious subjects. ''The Second Mrs Tanqueray'' (1893), dealing with a woman with a scandalous past, was regarded as shocking, but ran well and made a large profit. His other successes included ''Trelawny of the 'Wells', Trelawny of the "Wells"'' (1898), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fortune Hunter
''The Fortune Hunter'' is a drama in three acts by W. S. Gilbert. The piece concerns an heiress who loses her fortune. Her shallow husband sues to annul the marriage, leaving her pregnant and taking up with a wealthy former lover. The piece was produced on tour in Britain in 1897, never playing in London. Gilbert was the librettist of the extraordinarily successful Savoy operas, written in collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan. Their last work together was ''The Grand Duke'', produced in 1896. Gilbert's later dramas were mostly unsuccessful, and ''The Fortune Hunter'' was no exception; its poor reception provoked Gilbert to announce retiring from writing for the stage. Background Beginning in 1871, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote fourteen comic operas together. Most of these were tremendously popular, both in London and on tour.Crowther, Andrew"The Carpet Quarrel Explained" ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', 28 June 1997, accessed 7 October 2009 Their success eclipsed G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wicked World
''The Wicked World'' is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts. It opened at the Haymarket Theatre on 1873 and ran for a successful 145 performances, closing on 1873. The play is an allegory loosely based on a short illustrated story of the same title by Gilbert, written in 1871 and published in Tom Hood's ''Comic Annual'', about how pure fairies cope with a sudden introduction to them of "mortal love." Set in "Fairy Land", the action occurs within the space of 24 hours. Gilbert envisioned the set as resembling John Martin's 1853 painting ''The Plains of Heaven'': vaporous mountains and headlands around ethereal blue and a flowering slope on which sit white-clad angels. Gilbert also specified that the women characters 'in costume & general appearance – should suggest the idea rather of angels than of conventional fairies, and they exhibit an 'overweening sense of righteousness,' arising from their freedom from sin. Background W. S. Gilbert created several blan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygmalion And Galatea (play)
''Pygmalion and Galatea, an Original Mythological Comedy'' is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts based on the Pygmalion story. It opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 9 December 1871 and ran for a very successful 184 performances.Moss, Simon"Pygmalion and Galatea"at ''Gilbert & Sullivan: a selling exhibition of memorabilia'', c20th.com, accessed 16 November 2009 It was revived many times, including an 1883 production in New York starring Mary Anderson as Galatea, an 1883–84 revival at the Lyceum Theatre, again with Anderson, and an 1888 production at the Lyceum Theatre, with Julia Neilson as Cynisca. ''Pygmalion'' was Gilbert's greatest success to that date and is said to have earned him £40,000 during his lifetime. ''Pygmalion and Galatea'' was so popular that other Pygmalions were rushed to the stage. In January 1872, ''Ganymede and Galatea'' opened at the Gaiety Theatre. This was a comic version of Franz von Suppé's '' Die schöne Galathee'', c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweethearts (play)
''Sweethearts'' is a comic play billed as a "dramatic contrast" in two acts by W. S. Gilbert. The play tells a sentimental and ironic story of the differing recollections of a man and a woman about their last meeting together before being separated and reunited after 30 years. It was first produced on 7 November 1874 at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in London, running for 132 performances until 13 April 1875. It enjoyed many revivals, thereafter, into the 1920s. The first professional production of ''Sweethearts'' in Britain in recent memory was given in 2007 at the Finborough Theatre in London, along with Arthur Sullivan's ''The Zoo''. Background This romantic comedy of manners was written for Squire Bancroft and his wife Marie (née Wilton), managers of the Prince of Wales's Theatre, and starred Mrs. Bancroft. Gilbert wanted his friend John Hare to play the male lead, to take advantage of Hare's naturally boyish appearance and of his talent for impersonating elderly men, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gretchen (play)
''Gretchen'' is a tragic four-act play, in blank verse, written by W. S. Gilbert in 1878–79 based on Goethe's version of part of the Faust legend. The play was first performed at the Olympic Theatre on 24 March 1879. The piece starred Marion Terry in the title role, H. B. Conway as Faustus and Frank Archer as Mephisto. The play was not a success and closed after about 18 performances on 12 April 1879. Background Gilbert and Sullivan produced their hit comic opera ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' in May 1878, and Gilbert turned to ''Gretchen'' as his next project. Gilbert was by then one of the most famous playwrights in England, but he was known more for comedies than dramas, and so ''Gretchen'' was anticipated with much curiosity.Stedman, p. 168 Although Gilbert had met with some success in earlier dramas, his last such piece, '' The Ne'er-do-Weel'' (also at the Olympic), had met with a difficult reception in 1878. Gilbert was inspired to write ''Gretchen'' after seeing a picture calle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
