Edgar Bruce (c. 1845–1901) was an English

actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...

, appearing in comedies and later producing plays. He built the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in 1884.

Life

Bruce's first stage appearance was in 1868 at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in Liverpool. His London debut was in August 1869 at the

Royal Strand Theatre The Royal Strand Theatre was located in the Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps. It was demolished in 1905 to ma ...

, in a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

''The Pilgrim of Love''. In August 1871 he became a member of the Wyndham Comedy Company, which performed in the US and Canada. In the company Bruce played leading parts in plays by T. W. Robertson: as D'Alroy and Hawtree in ''

Caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

'', Mcalister and Chalcot in ''Ours'', and Lord Beaujoy in ''School''."Bruce, Edgar". Charles E Pascoe, editor. ''The Dramatic List: a record of the performances of living actors and actresses of the British stage''. 1880. In 1873 in London he joined the company of the Court Theatre, where he appeared in plays including ''About Town'', ''Marriage Lines'' and ''Wedding March''.

As theatre manager

In June 1875 he opened the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

under his management, for a period of six weeks. In February 1876 he produced at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

the play ''Jo'', based on Charles Dickens's ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...

'', with Jennie Lee in the title role. In the following year at the same theatre he produced ''Cora'', with Mrs Hermann Vezin in the title role. In 1878 at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...

he appeared as Greythorne'' in The Pink Dominos'' by

James Albery James Albery (4 May 1838 – 15 August 1889) was an English dramatist. Life and career Albery was born in London. On leaving school he entered an architect's office and started to write plays. His farce ''A Pretty Piece of Chiselling'' was ...

. He then toured with

George Honey George Honey (25 May 1822 – 28 May 1880) was a British actor, comedian and singer. He was in the original productions of '' Caste'' by T. W. Robertson, and ''Engaged'' by W. S. Gilbert. Opera Honey's acting career began in November 1848 at the P ...

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

's play ''

Engaged An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

''. In April 1879 the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

, under his management, produced ''Crutch and Toothpick'', adapted by

George R. Sims George Robert Sims (2 September 1847 – 4 September 1922) was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and ''bon vivant''. Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for ''Fun'' magazine and ''The Referee'', but he was soon co ...

from a French farce; it ran for 240 nights.

Prince's Theatre

From 1880 Bruce managed the

Prince of Wales's Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was kn ...

, where in the following year he produced '' The Colonel'' by

F. C. Burnand Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''. The son of ...

, which ran for 550 nights. The theatre building was condemned in 1882, and with the profits from ''The Colonel'' he built the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

. It opened in January 1884 with W. S. Gilbert's ''

The Palace of Truth ''The Palace of Truth'' is a three-act blank verse "Fairy Comedy" by W. S. Gilbert first produced at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 19 November 1870, adapted in significant part from Madame de Genlis's fairy story, ''Le Palais de Vérite''. ...

''."The Prince Of Wales Theatre, Coventry Street, London"
''ArthurLloyd.co.uk''. Retrieved 19 December 2021. The theatre was renamed the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1886, and in December of that year he staged there the original production of the musical ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''.

Family

Sybil Etonia Bruce, daughter of Bruce and his wife Lucy, was born in 1892; she became, as

Toni Edgar-Bruce Toni Edgar-Bruce (4 June 1892 – 28 March 1966) was a British actress, frequently seen on stage. Her theatre work included the original West End production of Somerset Maugham's '' The Circle'' in 1921. The actor-manager Edgar Bruce was h ...

, a stage and screen actress."Bruce, Tonie Edgar (1892–1966)"
''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved 20 December 2021. Bruce died in 1901.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Edgar 1845 births 1901 deaths 19th-century English male actors English male stage actors Actor-managers