Janet Achurch (17 January 1863 – 11 September 1916) was an English stage actress and

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 ...

. She made her London debut in 1883. She played many Shakespearean roles, but is best known as a pioneer of major roles in the works of Ibsen and

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

. Her most notable role was as Nora in the first English production of ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...

'' (1889). She was married to actor

Charles Charrington Charles Charrington Martin (1854 – 1926), often known as Charles Charrington, but at times as Charles Martin, was a British actor and barrister. Charrington studied law at the University of Cambridge, and became a barrister. He also worked ...

Background

Born as Janet Sharp on 17 January 1863 in

Chorlton-on-Medlock Chorlton-on-Medlock or Chorlton-upon-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, Chorlton-on-Medlock is bordered to the north by the River Medlock, which runs immediately south of Manchester city centre ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, her mother died during childbirth and she was reared by her father William Prior Sharp, an insurance agent. Her maternal grandparents, James and Mary Achurch, managed the Theatre Royal in

. She became an actress after ending her education in 1881 and joining

Sarah Thorne Sarah Thorne (10 May 1836 – 27 February 1899) was a British actress and actress-manager of the 19th century who managed the Theatre Royal at Margate for many years. She ran a school for acting there which is widely regarded as Britain's fir ...

's stock company in

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

Career

Janet Achurch's first appearance on stage was in 1883 at the

Olympic Theatre The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout ...

in London in the farcical ''Betsy Baker''. From 1883 to her retirement in 1913, she appeared in a wide range of roles, in London, touring England, as well as Australia, New Zealand, India, and Egypt. In 1889 she took over management of the

Novelty Theatre The Novelty Theatre (later renamed the Great Queen Street Theatre from 1900 to 1907, and the Kingsway Theatre from 1907 to 1941) was a London theatre. It opened in 1882 in Great Queen Street and was accessed off Little Queen Street until 1905, ...

in London. That year she played one of her most notable roles as Nora in the English premiere of Ibsen's ''

''. This enhanced her own fame as well as Ibsen's standing in England.

wrote the title role of his play ''Candida'' with her in mind and would only allow the play to be performed if Achurch played the title role, which took place in 1897 at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

. In 1889, during her tour with her actor husband Charles Charrington in Egypt, she gave birth to a stillborn child in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

, almost dying herself during the birth. The lingering pains increased her addiction to

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

Retirement and death

Her last performance was in 1913 as Merete Bery in Wiers-Jenssen's ''The Witch''. Due to exhaustion and illness, she declared her retirement as soon as the production closed. She died of "morphine poisoning" on 11 September 1916, aged 52, at

Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the sea. ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

References

Sources

* * *

External links

''New York Times'' review of Janet Achurch's performance in ''A Doll's House'' findagrave.com
* Janet Achurch and Charles Charrington Correspondence. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Achurch, Janet Drug-related deaths in England English stage actresses People from Chorlton-on-Medlock People from Ventnor 1864 births 1916 deaths Actor-managers 19th-century English actresses 19th-century theatre managers 19th-century English businesswomen 19th-century English businesspeople