CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(22 September 1875 – 15 April 1960) 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 ...
Lila Emma McCarty was born in Cheltenham on 22 September 1875, the seventh of eight children of Jonadab McCarthy and Emma (''née'' Price). Jonadab McCarthy (1841–1913) was a furniture maker and antique dealer, buyer and seller of property, amateur astronomer (
FRAS FRAS may refer to:
* Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, post-nominal letters
* Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are individuals who have bee ...
) and lover of poetry. After unhappy episodes at school, Lilla was taught at home by her father. Her lifelong love of the theatre was triggered in 1891 by seeing
Lillie Langtry
Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer.
Born on the isl ...
play the title role in
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 ''Lady Clancarty'' at Cheltenham's New Theatre and Opera House (now the Everyman).
By 1895 Jonadab had acquired a property in Chepstow Place, Bayswater, enabling Lila to continue her studies in London. She went to
Hermann Vezin
Hermann Vezin (March 2, 1829 – June 12, 1910) was an American actor, teacher of elocution and writer. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania.
Life and work
Vezin was born in Philadelphia, Pe ...
's School of Acting to learn elocution; in his later years Vezin gave lessons to aspiring actors, including
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager.
Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progra ...
. McCarthy's first role was as Lady Macbeth in an amateur production in May 1895. She was directed by
William Poel
William Poel (1852-1934) was an English actor, theatrical manager and dramatist best known for his presentations of Shakespeare.
Life and career
A son of William Pole, he grew up among Pre-raphaelite painters and reportedly sat for William Holm ...
, the theatre manager and Elizabethan specialist, at the Shakespeare Reading Society at St. George's Hall, Langham Place.
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 ...
was in the audience and noted that "her Lady Macbeth was a highly promising performance, and that some years of hard work would make her a valuable recruit to the London stage". He advised McCarthy "to go into the provinces for ten years and learn how to act". She took him at his word, and a decade elapsed before she approached him again. It was at this time she started to call herself Lillah.
Later in 1895 she toured with
Ben Greet
Sir Philip Barling Greet (24 September 1857 – 17 May 1936), known professionally as Ben Greet, was a Shakespearean actor, director, impresario and actor-manager.
Early life
The younger son of Captain William Greet RN and his wife, Sarah Ba ...
, the Shakespearian actor and impresario, in a wide variety of parts. The following January McCarthy received an offer from
Wilson Barrett
Wilson Barrett (born William Henry Barrett; 18 February 1846 – 22 July 1904) was an English manager, actor, and playwright. With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his suc ...
to join his company for the part of Berenis, in the London production of his play ''The Sign of the Cross'', at the Lyric Theatre. In November 1896 she sailed on the
Britannic
Britannic means 'of Britain' or 'British', from the Roman name for the British.
Britannic may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Britannic'' (film), a 2000 film based on the story of HMHS ''Britannic''
* SS ''Britannic'', a fictional ...
''en route'' to New York for her first overseas tour which was with Ben Greet's elder brother,
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
. Her first appearance was at the Knickerbocker Theatre soon after arriving, playing Mercia in the ''Sign of the Cross''.
McCarthy returned to England in March 1897 and went on tour In Britain. She then joined Wilson Barrett once again for his tour to Australia. They left England in October 1897, returning in August 1898. In Melbourne she appeared as Serena in ''Claudian''; as Auntie Nan in ''The Manxman''; as Gertrude in ''Hamlet''; and as Servia in ''Virginius'', alongside her brother Daniel and with Barrett in the lead role in all four. The tour progressed to Sydney for three months, followed by Adelaide in June where McCarthy also played Emilia in ''Othello'', and finally to Perth by July 1898.
The tour next took them to New Zealand and then South Africa – they arrived in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
in June 1902, a few days after the
South African War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
had ended. McCarthy wrote in her memoir that “British soldiers were eager to adore us – any or all of us In Capetown a major sat upon my balcony and said, now that he was free from duty, he would take me to settle upon a chicken-farm in Ireland.”
Back in England, a new chapter in Lillah's career opened in 1905. In her memoir she recalls
She wrote to Shaw, who asked her to visit him in Adelphi Terrace. "He looked at me, gave me a broad smile, and said 'Why, here's Ann Whitefield'." McCarthy played this role in ''
Man and Superman
''Man and Superman'' is a four-act drama written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to a call for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. ''Man and Superman'' opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London ...
'' at the Court Theatre, Sloane Square in May 1905, followed by Nora in Shaw's ''John Bull's Other Island'' in September. In 1906, McCarthy appeared again in ''Man and Superman'', this time opposite
Harley Granville Barker
Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directi ...
. They married in the play and then in real life – at the register office, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden on 24 April 1906. The couple, who had known each other for ten years or more, honeymooned in Paris, Germany and the Tyrol.
The period 1907–1913 was a successful one for McCarthy. Her appearances included Shaw's ''Don Juan in Hell'';
Alfred Sutro
Alfred Sutro OBE (7 August 1863 – 11 September 1933) was an English author, dramatist and translator. In addition to a succession of successful plays of his own in the first quarter of the 20th century, Sutro made the first English translation ...
's ''The Barrier'': a revival of ''Arms and the Man''; and, importantly, Euripides' ''Bacchae''. In 1910, while staying with
Sandgate, McCarthy received a letter from a friend who had seen and was much taken with a play by the Norwegian
Hans Wiers-Jenssen
Hans Wiers-Jenssen (25 November 1866 – 25 August 1925) was a Norwegian novelist, playwright, stage producer and theatre historian. Wiers-Jenssen was employed at the theatres Christiania Theatre, Nationaltheatret and Den Nationale Scene.
P ...
called ''Anne Pedersdotter''. which included “uncanny and revolting things: witchcraft and incest”. Shaw had no interest in it, but McCarthy persuaded
John Masefield
John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'', and the poem ...
to translate and adapt it. Reluctantly he eventually wrote ''The Witch'', which opened at the Court Theatre in January 1911. It was produced by her husband, with Lillah appearing in the lead role.
Her next appearances were in Shaw's ''Fanny's First Play'' at the Kingsway Theatre in 1912 (now under the management of McCarthy and her husband); and in the title role of Gilbert Murray's translation of ''Iphigenia in Tauris'', also at the Kingsway, which “every Suffragette should do her best to see … it is a Suffragette drama, like every play of Euripides …
ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
Miss Lillah McCarthy's power at its best”. This review must have struck a chord with McCarthy, who had “carried banners for Mrs Pankhurst and the Cause”. She next appeared before the King and Queen at Downing Street, in the third act of ''John Bull's Other Island'', and in Barrie's ''The Twelve Pound Look''. The Prime Minister's wife,
Margot Asquith
Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1894 ...
, wrote the next day to tell McCarthy how much the King and Queen had enjoyed her performance, "laughing and clapping the whole time".
With the advent of war, McCarthy and her husband sailed to the United States in December 1914. Two accounts suggest that it was
Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...
who encouraged them go to America, saying that "We don't want Barker as a soldier" and encouraging McCarthy to make money for her post-war career. They had several successes in the United States, including producing and performing in ''The Doctor's Dilemma'' at
Wallack's Theatre
Three New York City playhouses named Wallack's Theatre played an important part in the history of American theater, as the successive homes of the Repertory theatre, stock company managed by actors James William Wallack, James W. Wallack and hi ...
in New York; ''Iphigenia in Tauris'' at the College of the City of New York, Princeton, Yale, Harvard and elsewhere, often in stadia; and ''Trojan Women'' at the same universities. But for their marriage it was a disaster – Granville Barker met and fell in love with a wealthy, married American. Inevitably, this led to divorce in 1917–18, and Granville-Barker (now with a hyphen) married Helen Gates (formerly Huntington) at the
King's Weigh House
The King's Weigh House was the name of a Congregational church congregation in London. Its Victorian church building in Mayfair is now the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile.
History
A building called the "King's Weyho ...
Chapel, London on 31 July 1918. Granville-Barker forbade any mention of him or their marriage in McCarthy's memoir.
The divorce must have been a painful experience for McCarthy, but to the theatrical world her life appeared to go on as normal. She played the lead in Shaw's ''Annajanska, the Wild Grand Duchess'', dressed at one point in the uniform of the 1st Panjandrum Hussars and wielding a revolver. She was then in Glasgow, playing a lead role in
Israel Zangwill
Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...
's new farce, ''Too Much Money'' at the Theatre Royal. In April 1918 it was staged in London at the
Ambassadors
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
, in which "Miss Lillah McCarthy played the heroine with a sweep and breadth few actresses have at their command". This was followed by her appearance in ''The Dumb Wife'', an adaptation by
Anatole France
(; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...
of a play by Rabelais.
Two year later McCarthy met
Frederick Keeble
Sir Frederick William Keeble, CBE, FRS (2 March 1870 – 19 October 1952) was a British biologist, academic, and scientific adviser, who specialised in botany. He was Sherardian Professor of Botany at the University of Oxford from 1920 to 1927 ...
, FRS at the
Stoke Poges
Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and southeast of Farnham Common.
Etymology
In the name Stoke Poges, ''stoke'' means " stockaded (p ...
golf club, where they were both members. They married on 27 March 1920 at the Presbyterian Church, Bryanston Square, London. The couple honeymooned in Biarritz, where they played golf. Later that year, McCarthy was appointed
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
for her "services in connection with the organisation of matinées and the collection of funds for the Queen Mary Fund in aid of the Star and Garter Hospital". They lived at
Boars Hill
Boars Hill is a hamlet southwest of Oxford, straddling the boundary between the civil parishes of Sunningwell and Wootton. Historically, part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.
History
The earliest ...
, near Oxford, in a house known as Hammels (sometimes Hamels) that they had constructed from timbers rescued from an old barn in Hertfordshire. The spent five years working on the garden, and entertaining neighbours and friends. In the course of this they met a wide range of people, including
Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...
Arthur Evans
Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Based on t ...
, the dramatist Alfred Sutro,
Arnold Bennett
Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...
and Sir
Oliver Lodge
Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge, (12 June 1851 – 22 August 1940) was a British physicist and writer involved in the development of, and holder of key patents for, radio. He identified electromagnetic radiation independent of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, H ...
. Frederick Keeble was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
by
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
at
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
on 8 July 1922.
McCarthy's last appearance on the London stage was in ''Iphigenia in Tauris'' at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in 1932. She died at her home, flat 6, Cranley Mansions, 160 Gloucester Road, London on 15 April 1960.