Conrad Theodore Knowles (1810 – 19 May 1844), born in England, was an Australian actor and theatre manager. With no formal training, he became a versatile and accomplished actor, and his roles included several Shakespearian parts; he was the first actor in the country to play Hamlet and King Lear.

Early years in Australia

Knowles was born in England in 1810. His father John Knowles, a Wesleyan minister, "was induced to let his son indulge his natural disposition for travel and adventure"; Knowles was an early emigrant to the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

(later Perth). The colony experienced difficulties and in April 1830 he arrived in Hobart Town, where he was a tutor of drawing and languages."The late Mr Conrad Knowles"
''The Australian Daily Journal'', 4 June 1844. He later moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where distant relatives lived. The Theatre Royal opened in 1832 and, although he had no theatrical experience, he became an actor at the theatre. He was unwilling to lose the friendship of his Wesleyan relatives, and at first appeared as Mr Cooper, but eventually he left the Methodist church. From the second season he used his own name; he was acting manager, and played melodramatic, tragic and comic roles. He played major Shakespearian roles; he was Australia's first Hamlet and King Lear. He was a favourite with Sydney audiences. Although he was criticized for not closely studying his parts, it was acknowledged that he played many roles and had managerial duties. He had a relationship with

Harriet Jones Harriet Jones is a fictional character played by Penelope Wilton in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Having worked previously with lead writer and executive producer Russell T Davies, Wilton was keen ...

, an actress who had appeared in Sydney since 1826; from 1839 she was usually known as Mrs Knowles. In May 1837 he sailed for England to join his brother's legal firm; he returned, for his health, in October 1838. Having seen

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 ...

and other notable actors in London, his subsequent acting was more refined.

Rival theatres in Sydney

In 1838 the Royal Victoria Theatre opened in Sydney, and Knowles performed there, in 1840 becoming stage manager. He wrote a play, ''Salathiel'', a dramatization of ''

Leila; or, The Siege of Granada ''Leila; or, The Siege of Granada'' is a historical romance novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton published in 1838. The novel is set in Granada, Spain at the end of the Middle Ages — beginning in the summer of 1491. It was originally published in an ...

'' by

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secret ...

, and it was produced in 1842, being performed twice. In 1842 the Olympic Theatre, an elaborate tent created by Luigi Dalle Case for his circus performances, opened in Hunter Street. Knowles and Harriet moved there, and Knowles soon became manager After a few months they returned to the Victoria Theatre, where there was a new leading player with a professional background, F. Nesbitt McCrone. In May 1843 he moved to the Royal City Theatre, a small theatre in

Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...

opened by Joseph Simmons, an actor-manager; however it closed after a few weeks.

Final year

Later that year Knowles, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, opened a temporary 500-seat theatre, The Pavilion, in Bourke Street. On 4 September he produced ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'', the first Shakespeare play performed in the colony.Stanley Wells, Editor. ''Shakespeare Survey'', volume 35. Page 31.
Cambridge University Press, 2002. Knowles died on 19 May 1844, after a short illness. An obituary commented that since he began his acting career, "he has laboured... to advance the interests of the profession, of which he was so distinguished an ornament, with credit to himself and gratification to the play-going public, who have now to regret the loss of a sterling actor, and an accomplished but unfortunate gentleman."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Conrad Theodore 1810 births 1844 deaths 19th-century Australian male actors Australian male stage actors Male actors from Sydney