Maud Rachel Boyd (1 February 1867 – 23 February 1929) was an English actress and singer know for musical theatre

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

principal boy roles.

Life and career

Boyd was born in 1867 at

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 ...

, the daughter of James Boyd (1840–1870) and Elizabeth Montgomery ''née'' Hodgson (1834–1921). In 1881 aged 13 she was a boarder at Adelphi House Convent, a Catholic girls' school in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

in Greater Manchester that was run by nuns. On the curriculum was music. As a

principal boy she played Prince Charming in ''Little Red Riding Hood'' at the

Gaiety Theatre, Dublin The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St. Stephen's Green. It specialises in operatic and musical productions, with occasional dramatic shows. History In April 1871, the broth ...

in December 1893, the title role in the panto ''Robin Hood'', while over Christmas 1894 she was in ''

Babes in the Wood Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents en ...

'' in

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 populat ...

. Christmas 1895 found her in pantomime at the Theatre Royal in Hull From December 1897 she played Alice in '' Dick Whittington'' at the Alexandra Theatre in Stoke Newington. In Dublin in 1899 she recorded "The Golden Isle" from ''

A Greek Slave ''A Greek Slave'' is a musical comedy in two acts, first performed on 8 June 1898 at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and ran for 349 performances. The score was composed by Sidney Jones with additional songs by Lionel Monckto ...

'' for the Gramophone Company, but it was not released. In Manchester in February 1900 she appeared in ''The Forty Thieves'' at the Theatre Royal. She was Sir Peterborough Court in ''

Cinder Ellen up too Late ''Cinder Ellen up too Late'' is a musical burlesque written by Frederick Hobson Leslie (writing under the pseudonym A. C. Torr) and W. T. Vincent, with music arranged by Meyer Lutz from compositions by Lionel Monckton, Sidney Jones, Walter Slau ...

'' at the Gaiety Theatre (1891), Kitt in ''Kitty Grey'' at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

(1901), Lady Chaldicott in ''

The Belle of Mayfair ''The Belle of Mayfair'' is a musical comedy composed by Leslie Stuart with a book by Basil Hood, Charles Brookfield and Cosmo Hamilton and lyrics by George Arthurs. The story is inspired by the Shakespeare play ''Romeo and Juliet''. The orig ...

'' at the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

(1906), Madame Poquelin in ''

The Belle of Brittany ''The Belle of Brittany'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts set in 'Daffodil Time' in rustic 18th-century Brittany. It premiered at the Sondheim Theatre, Queen's Theatre in London on 24 October 1908. The music is by Howard Talbot and Ma ...

'' at the Queen's Theatre (1908), and Friedrike in ''

A Waltz Dream ' (''A Waltz Dream'') is an operetta by Oscar Straus with a German libretto by and , based on the novella ' (''Nux, the Prince Consort'') by Hans Müller-Einigen from his 1905 book ' (''Book of Adventures''). The young Jacobson presented Stra ...

'' at Hicks Theatre (1908). Maud Boyd died in a nursing home in Manchester in 1929 aged 61. She was buried in the Southern Cemetery in Manchester. She never married, and in her will she left £302 7s 8d to her half brother."Maud Boyd"
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995, 1929 via Ancestry.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Maud 1867 births 1929 deaths Actresses from Manchester English women singers People from Chorlton-on-Medlock Women of the Victorian era English stage actresses 19th-century English actresses 20th-century English actresses Burials at Southern Cemetery, Manchester