Harold Harley (20 June 1860 – 11 August 1937), known by his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Mark Ambient, was an English actor and dramatist. He is particularly noted as a writer of the musical comedy '' The Arcadians'', first produced in 1909. He was born in

Rastrick Rastrick is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, between Halifax, 5 miles (8 km) north-east and Huddersfield, 4 miles (7 km) south. The population of the Calderdale Civil Ward at the 2011 census was 11,351. It is perhaps best ...

, Yorkshire, son of Robert Harley, a Congregational minister and mathematician. He was educated at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist me ...

in London, where his father was vice-principal, and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

, graduating BA in 1884.''Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900''
Volume 2, page 246.

Works

* ''Oh! Susannah!'' "A Farcical Comedy" in three acts: first produced at the Eden Theatre,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, opening on 6 September 1897, afterwards at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

, London. * ''A Little Ray of Sunshine'', a play in three acts by Ambient and Wilton Heriot, was first performed in the Assembly Rooms,

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...

, opening on 3 May 1898. The first London performance was at the Royalty Theatre, opening on 31 December 1898; it featured

W. S. Penley William Sydney Penley (19 November 1851 – 11 November 1912) was an English actor, singer and comedian who had an early success in the small role of the Foreman in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Trial by Jury''. He later achieved wider fame as produc ...

as Lord Markham. In New York it opened 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 ...

on 28 August 1899, running for 22 performances. It was the inaugural production of the Great Queen Street Theatre, London, after its reconstruction; it ran from 24 May to 6 July 1900 (44 performances). * ''A Snug Little Kingdom'', "A Comedy of Bohemia" in three acts, was performed at the Royalty Theatre, running from 31 January to 28 February 1903 (28 performances). It featured

Charles Warner Charles Lickfold Warner (10 October 1846 – 12 February 1909) was an English stage actor. He was born in Kensington. He first appeared in 1861 at a special performances of Richelieu before Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victor ...

Lyn Harding David Llewellyn Harding (12 October 1867 – 26 December 1952), known professionally as Lyn Harding, was a Welsh actor who spent 40 years on the stage before entering British made silent films, talkies and radio. He had an imposing and menaci ...

and

H. B. Warner Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...

. * '' The Arcadians'', "A Fantastic Musical Play" in three acts: book by Ambient and

Alexander M. Thompson Alexander Mattock Thompson (9 May 1861 – 25 March 1948), sometimes credited as A. M. Thompson, was a German-born English journalist and dramatist. From the 1880s, Thompson wrote for socialist newspapers and journals, co-founding '' The Clarion'' ...

, lyrics by

Arthur Wimperis Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

, music by

Lionel Monckton Lionel John Alexander Monckton (18 December 1861 – 15 February 1924) was an English composer of musical theatre. He became Britain's most popular composer of Edwardian musical comedy in the early years of the 20th century. Life and career ...

and

Howard Talbot Richard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot (9 March 1865 – 12 September 1928), was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent. He was best known for writing the music to several hit Edwardian musi ...

. It was first produced at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

, London, opening on 29 April 1909 and running for 809 performances. In New York it opened at the

Liberty Theatre The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger, the partnership ...

on 17 January 1910, running for 136 performances. * ''The Light Blues'', a musical comedy: book by Ambient and

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, Ca ...

, lyrics by

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

, music by Howard Talbot and

Herman Finck Herman Finck (November 4, 1872 – April 21, 1939) was a British composer and conductor of Dutch extraction. Born Hermann Van Der Vinck in London, he began his studies training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established a caree ...

. It was first seen on a provincial tour in 1915. At the Shaftesbury Theatre in London it ran from 14 September to 30 September 1916 (20 performances).London Musicals 1915–1919
Over the Footlights, accessed 19 August 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambient, Mark 1860 births 1937 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English musical theatre librettists People from Rastrick