Nelly Hutin Britton (24 April 1876 — 3 September 1965), usually credited as Hutin Britton was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actress. She was best known for her performances in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

roles early in the 20th century. She also appeared in leading roles in two silent British films.

Biography

Nelly, the daughter of Thomas Britton, was born in

Bucklebury Bucklebury is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, about north-east of Newbury and north of the A4 road. The parish has a population of 2,116, but the village is much smaller. Bucklebury Common, with an area of over , is one ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, England in 1876. Her first appearance on stage was with Frank Benson's company in 1901, in ''Henry V''. Among the

parts she played were ''Hero'' in ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1903), ''Ophelia'' in ''Hamlet'' (1909), ''Lady Elizabeth'' in ''Richard III'' (1909) and ''Lady Macbeth'' at Stratford (1911). In 1903 she married actor

Matheson Lang Matheson Alexander Lang (May 15, 1879 – April 11, 1948) was a Canadian-born stage and film actor and playwright in the early 20th century. He is best remembered for his performances roles in Great Britain in Shakespeare plays. Biography Lang w ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and thereafter they often appeared together on stage and later on film. In 1906 she played ''Arganthael'' in Joseph Comyns Carr's play ''Tristram and Iseult'' at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

, with Lang as ''Tristram''. Britton and Lang subsequently formed their own company, which toured

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

from 1910-13 performing Shakespeare. Her roles included ''Katherine'' in ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'', ''Portia'' in ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'', ''Juliet'' in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', as well as reprising the roles of ''Ophelia'' and ''Lady Macbeth''. In 1914, she and Lang successfully produced ''The Taming of the Shrew'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', and ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' at the

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Theatre. She also appeared with him in ''Mr Wu'', which became his signature role. In 1916 they appeared together in a silent film of ''The Merchant of Venice'' in which she once again played ''Portia''. She also joined her husband in the film ''The Wandering Jew'' (1923) playing the part of ''Judith''. After a four-year illness and a temporary retirement, she returned to the Old Vic stage in 1923 for the Shakespeare Birthday Festival and the following year as ''Volumnia'' in ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...

'', and continued to act until 1936. In 1940 the Langs were staying with their old friend

Dornford Yates Cecil William Mercer (7 August 1885 – 5 March 1960), known by his pen name Dornford Yates, was an English writer and novelist whose novels and short stories, some humorous (the ''Berry'' books), some Thriller (genre), thrillers (the ''Chandos ...

and his wife at their house near Pau in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

when France surrendered and had to escape from the advancing Germans through

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Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

.Smithers, A.J. ''Dornford Yates - A Biography'' (1982) London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, - they apparently knew her as "Brittie" (pg. 182) In later life she sat on the governing board of the Old Vic Theatre. Britton died in 1965 aged 89 - although the registration of her death (Nellie H Lang) in

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

has her aged 90.

Selection of Britton's performances

* ''Tristram and Iseult'' as Arganthael (

, 1906) * ''Pete'' as Kate Cregeen (1908) * ''Oliver Twist'' as Nancy

Filmography

* ''

'' (1916) * ''

The Wandering Jew The Wandering Jew is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. In the original legend, a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion was then cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming. Th ...

'' (1923)

References

Sources

* ''Mr Matheson Lang and Miss Hutin Britton'' - Rudolph De Cordova, Westminster Abbey Press, 1909. * ''Mr Wu Looks Back'' (1940) - Lang's Memoirs

External links

* *
Hutin Britton's profile at the Emory University Shakespeare Project, with numerous photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Hutin 1876 births 1965 deaths Place of death missing English Shakespearean actresses English silent film actresses English film actresses English stage actresses People from Bucklebury 20th-century English actresses