Mary Gladstane (born 1830) was an Irish-American actress of the 19th-century who had a considerable career in Australia, along with her husband and manager, L. M. Bayless.

History

According to one researcher, Gladstane was born Mary Jane Carson, eldest of three actress daughters of Peter Carson, an Irish compositor, and his wife Catherine; married William Cockerill Gladstane, an American solicitor, in 1845. Another researcher found Mary Gladstane married L. M. Bayless on 1 June 1868; no further details. She arrived in Australia with Bayless, as husband and manager, and from 9 July 1870 played

Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...

's newly published drama ''Mary Warner'' at the

Princess Theatre, Melbourne The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1854 and rebuilt in 1886 to a design by noted Melbourne architect William Pitt, it is the oldest surviving entertain ...

. That was followed by the first Australian production of

Paolo Giacometti Paolo Giacometti (1816–1882) was an Italian dramatist born at Novi Ligure. He was educated in law at Genoa, but at the age of twenty had some success with his play ''Rosilda'' and then devoted himself to the stage. Depressed circumstances made h ...

's ''Elizabeth, Queen of England'' at the

on 23 July 1870 and played the queen. :On 10 August 1875 a full production in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

was presented at the Opera House, Melbourne with Madame Ristori in the title role and Eduardo Majeroni as Robert, Earl of Sussex. On 6 August 1870 she opened at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, with ''

Frou-Frou ''Frou-Frou'', is a French comedy film from 1955, directed by Augusto Genina, written by A. E. Carr, starring Dany Robin and Louis de Funès. The film is also known as "A Girl from Paris". Plot Frou-Frou is a 16-year-old peddler. She comes to ...

'', in a translation by F. Williams, stage-manager of the Boston Museum theatre. On 26 September she opened at the

Victoria Theatre, Sydney The Royal Victoria Theatre was a theatre in Sydney, Australia, the first large theatre in the city. It opened in 1838; operas, plays, pantomimes and other events were held, and leading entertainers performed at the theatre. It was destroyed by f ...

in the same production. That same night, Mrs Bandmann opened at the

Prince of Wales Opera House, Sydney The Prince of Wales was a theatre in Castlereagh Street, Sydney, New South Wales. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt twice; the second time as the Theatre Royal. History The theatre, near the corner of King and Castlereagh streets, was built ...

, in the "correct translation" of Frou-Frou by Sutherland Edwards of the ''

Pall Mall Gazette ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed int ...

'', as performed 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 m ...

, London. One critic found Gladstane, not unnaturally, better settled into the part and on the whole gave the better performance but was over-melodramatic in the final (reconciliation and death) scene; both deserved a better vehicle. Neither production was a great success — Bandmann's folded after four nights and Gladstane's after little more than a week. In February 1873 after 233 performances in that Melbourne alone, she left Australia, giving farewell performances of ''Queen Elizabeth'', ''Frou-Frou'', ''Camille'', ''East Lynne'' and finally Reade and Taylor's ''

Masks and Faces ''Masks and Faces'' is a 1917 British silent biographical film directed by Fred Paul and starring Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Irene Vanbrugh and Henry S. Irving. The film depicts episodes from the life of the eighteenth-century Irish actress P ...

'' and Boucicault's ''

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'' though comedy was not her forté. In October 1876 Gladstane and Bayless returned to Melbourne after three years working in Great Britain and elsewhere. There were no theatres available for lease so she toured ''East Lynne'' and ''Camille'' and

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's comedy ''The Serious Family'' at the Academy of Music, Ballarat and the Mechanics' Institute, Geelong; ''Lucretia Borgia'' and Schiller's '' Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland'' at the Royal Princess Theatre, Bendigo and the Theatre Royal, Castlemaine. In 1877 she played the

Theatre Royal, Hobart Theatre Royal is an historic performing arts venue in central Hobart, Tasmania. It is the oldest continually operating theatre in Australia; Noël Coward once called it "a dream of a theatre" and Laurence Olivier launched a national appeal for ...

, the

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, and the

. In September Bayless took leases on both the

Queen's Theatre, Sydney Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018 * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", a song by C ...

and the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, refitting the latter and opening it December 1977 as the New Princess. In November 1879 Gladstane appeared at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne to relive scenes from some of her past triumphs. The one published review was not entirely complimentary and this may have been her last appearance on the Australian, or any, stage. :In June 1880 Bayless leased the Academy of Music, Adelaide, intending to mount a production of ''

Struck Oil ''Struck Oil'' is an 1874 play set during the American Civil War and a 1919 Australian silent film, now considered lost. The play, which introduced Maggie Moore to Australian theatre-goers, was popular with the Australian public and the basis of ...

'', but was frustrated by J. C. Williamson threatening legal action, so substituted performances by Edward McLean's Juvenile Dramatic Troubadors of ''Milky White'' and ''The Two Bailiffs'', followed by ''Pinbehind'', F. H. Linklater's burlesque on ''

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''. :Later that year Bayless and John Solomon took over the Guild Hall, on

Castlereagh Street, Sydney Castlereagh Street is a major street located in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs in a north-to-south, in a one way direction only. Description Castlereagh Street's northern terminus is at the ...

, which after extensive renovation they renamed the Gaiety Theatre, reopening in December 1880, with Bayless leasing the theatre from Solomon. Bayless and Gladstane announced they would return to America in June or July 1881, prior to which Mrs Gladstane would reprise some of her triumphs in a brief season. In May 1882 he announced his imminent departure for America to recruit new acts, and recruited Walter Reynolds as a partner. He is reported as being presented by admirers with valuable gifts including a gold ring with three

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s. He did not leave immediately however, as in April 1883 Bayless and Gladstane took over management of the Gaiety Theatre, and appointed Frank Towers as manager. That relationship was strained over a gas bill, signalling financial failure. In 1884 Bayless was in California, chasing the comedian Nat C. Godwin for non-fulfilment of his contract. In 1885 Bayless was still in America, in trouble with a

debt collector Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The de ...

, and was forced to hand over the "gold ring with three brilliants". Mrs Gladstane's departure may have been later, but by 1887 she had returned to America, living at Long Branch, perhaps

Long Branch, New Jersey Long Branch is a beachside City (New Jersey), city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,< ...

. Nothing further has been found of either Gladstane or Bayless.

A tribute

The theatre manager Sheridan Corbyn, in a long and informative letter, discussed how top-flight American artists could command much higher fees at home than Australian theatres could afford, hence only those struggling to find work would accept bookings. He mentioned Gladstane as an exception, along with

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, James Stark, the sisters Zavistowski, Edwin Adams, the Williamsons ( J. C. Williamson and

Maggie Moore Maggie Moore (April 10, 1851 – March 15, 1926) was an American-Australian actress born as Margaret Virginia Sullivan. She met and married producer J. C. Williamson in the U.S. and became popular as an actress in their production of '' Struc ...

), and Emmet.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gladstane, Mary 1830 births 19th-century American actresses Australian stage actresses Year of death missing