Margaret Farren or Peggy Farren later Mrs Knight (died 1804) was a British actress, sister of
Elizabeth Farren
Elizabeth Farren (c. 175923 April 1829) was an Irish actress of the late 18th century. Born in Cork in 1759 her father, George Farren was a surgeon. His drinking habits brought on early death and his widow returned to Liverpool. Her mother went ...
, the Countess of Derby.
Life
Margaret (sometimes Peggy) Farren was the daughter of George Farren of
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, Ireland, a surgeon and
apothecary
''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...
, later an actor, and his wife (née Wright) of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, the daughter of a
publican
In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the ...
or brewer. Her father died in 1770 leaving her mother to care for four daughters.
In 1774 she was acting with her mother and sisters at Wakefield under
Tate Wilkinson
Tate Wilkinson (27 October 173916 November 1803) was an English actor and manager.
Life
He was the son of a clergyman and was sent to Harrow.
His first attempts at acting were badly received, and it was to his wonderful gift of mimicry that he ...
's opponent, Whiteley.
Margaret had been seen at an early age in London, having played at the Haymarket, as Miss Peggy Farren, Titania in the ''Fairy Tale'', a two-act adaptation of the ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'', 18 June 1777. She joined Wilkinson in 1782; left him to act in Scotland and Ireland; and rejoined him in 1786.
In that year she played with
Thomas Knight in York, where she was a favourite, and followed him by arrangement to Bath for their wedding. She married Knight in 1788 and then appeared as "Mrs Knight".
[ Soon afterwards she made her first appearance there as Miss Peggy in '' The Country Girl'' to her husband's Sparkish.
Her (and her husband's) first appearance at Covent Garden took place on 25 September 1795 as Bridget in '']The Chapter of Accidents
''The Chapter of Accidents'' is a 1780 comedy play by Sophia Lee. It was inspired by the play by '' Le Père de famille'' by Denis Diderot.
It premiered at the Haymarket in London on 5 August 1780. The original cast included John Palmer as Woodvi ...
''.[ Her husband is credited with writing the 'Masked Friend', which was presented at Covent Garden for the benefit of Mr. and Mrs. Knight, on the 6 May 1796. Her husband played Squire Turnbull and she appeared as Miss Turnbull. 'Hints for Painters', an unprinted farce, was given on the same occasion.][anonymous author of the 'Managers' Note-book', in the 'New Monthly Magazine']
She and her husband were at Covent Garden for three years, before they went to Edinburgh, where she played Aura in the 'Farm House' on 2 July 1799.[ She afterwards played at Newcastle and elsewhere before she returned to Bath and died there in 1804.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farren, Margaret
1804 deaths
18th-century British actresses
Year of birth missing