Ann Street Barry aka Ann Dancer later Ann Crawford (1734 – 29 November 1801), was a British singer, dancer and stage actress.

Life

Barry was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, England, to an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

named James Street. Her brother, William Street, later became the Mayor of Bath in 1784 and died in office. She began her acting career with her first husband, William Dancer, with her first known performance in 1758 as Cordelia in

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

. Lear was played by

Spranger Barry Spranger Barry (23 November 1719 – 10 January 1777) was an Irish actor. Life He was born in Skinner's Row, Dublin, the son of a silversmith, to whose business he was brought up. He took over the business but was not successful. His fir ...

in the same play and the two began an affair. Barry's then-husband William Dancer died in 1759, allowing the couple to continue their relationship and later marry in 1768. In 1759 she appeared in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, where she played a number of leading roles to limited success. At some point during the following nine years, she moved to London with Spranger Barry and performed at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

. Her performances at Drury Lane were well received and raised her reputation as an actress. Barry left Drury Lane for

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, where she continued to perform with her second husband. After his death, she remained at Covent Garden and later remarried, first billed under her new married name of Mrs Crawford in 1778. Her last known appearance was as Lady Randolph in

John Home Rev John Home FRSE (13 September 1722 – 4 September 1808) was a Scottish minister, soldier and author. His play ''Douglas'' was a standard Scottish school text until the Second World War, but his work is now largely neglected. In 1783 he wa ...

's ''

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

'' in 1798. Her portrayal of Lady Randolph and

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

were credited as her greatest roles, with one contemporary actress (

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of John ...

) writing a letter in which she describes her fear of Barry's skill. Barry married again to a barrister and actor and became Ann Crawford. However she was buried with Spranger Barry in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

following her death in 1801.

Selected roles

Barry and Garrick-victoria-and-albert-museum-london

* Countess of Salisbury in ''

The Countess of Salisbury ''The Countess of Salisbury'' is a 1767 tragedy by Hall Hartson.Watson p.835 It is inspired by the 1762 novel ''Longsword'' by Irish writer Thomas Leland, who had been Hartson's tutor. It is based on the life of William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Sa ...

'' by Hall Hartson (1767) * Mrs Harley in ''

False Delicacy ''False Delicacy'' is a 1768 comic play by the Irish playwright Hugh Kelly, with some assistance by David Garrick. It premiered at the Drury Lane Theatre on 23 January. The play was a major success for Kelly, being performed over twenty times dur ...

'' by Hugh Kelly (1768) * Zenobia in ''

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city, ...

'' by Arthur Murphy (1768) * Rivine in ''

The Fatal Discovery ''The Fatal Discovery'' is a 1769 tragedy by the British writer John Home. The original cast included Spranger Barry as Ronan, Samuel Reddish as Orellan, Francis Aickin as Connan, John Palmer as Durstan, Thomas Jefferson as Kathul, James Aickin ...

'' by

(1769) * Miss Montague in '' A Word to the Wise'' by Hugh Kelly (1770) * Euphrasia in ''

The Grecian Daughter ''The Grecian Daughter'' is a 1772 tragedy by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. The original Drury Lane cast included Spranger Barry as Evander, Ann Street Barry as Euphrasia, John Palmer as Dionysius, Samuel Reddish as Philotus, Joseph Inchba ...

'' by Arthur Murphy (1772) * Orisminda in ''

Alonzo Alonzo is both a given name and a Spanish surname. Notable people with the name include: Mononym *Alonzo (rapper), French singer and hip hop artist, formerly Segnor Alonzo of Psy 4 de la Rime Given name *Alonzo de Barcena, 16th-century Spani ...

'' by

(1773) * Sethona in ''

Sethona ''Sethona'' is a 1774 tragedy by the British writer Alexander Dow.Nicoll p.257 It is set in Ancient Egypt at a time when Menes is heir to the crown. The original Drury Lane cast included Spranger Barry as Serapis, Samuel Reddish as Menes, Fran ...

'' by

Alexander Dow Alexander Dow (1735/6, Perthshire, Scotland – 31 July 1779, Bhagalpur) was a Scottish Orientalist, writer, playwright and army officer in the East India Company. Life He was a native of Crieff, Perthshire. Alexander Dow's father worked at th ...

(1774) * Eleonora in '' Edward and Eleonora'' by James Thomson (1775) * Elwina in ''

Percy The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

'' by

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at a s ...

(1777) * Ethelswida in ''

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

'' by

(1778)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Ann Street 1734 births 1801 deaths English stage actresses 18th-century English actresses People from Bath, Somerset