Maud Hobson (born Jane Elizabeth Manson; 13 November 1860 – 7 January 1913) was an Australian-born English actress. Beginning in

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian era, Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody music, parod ...

in her

uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal relat ...

's Gaiety Theatre in London, she joined

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

's company there after he took over as manager and became one of his

Gaiety Girls Gaiety Girls were the chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies, beginning in the 1890s at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in the shows produced by George Edwardes. The popularity of this genre of musical theatre depended, in part, on the beautifu ...

. She also played principal roles in some of his

Edwardian musical comedies Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

Early life

Hobson was born on 13 November 1860 in the suburb of Toorak, near

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, to John Manson and Eliza ''née'' Hollingshead, who emigrated to Melbourne from England separately in 1853. When Hobson was 3 month old her family returned to England.

Career

In 1880, Hobson started performing at the Gaiety Theatre where her uncle,

John Hollingshead John Hollingshead (9 September 1827 – 9 October 1904) was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. After a journalism career, Hollingshead managed the Alhambra Theatre and was later th ...

, was then the manager and suggested her stage name, Maud Hobson. The next year she got married and moved to Hawaii where she was occasionally performing. In 1886, Hobson returned to England and did not appear on the stage again until 1889. From mid-1889, Hobson reappeared on stage in London for

, who had become manager at the Gaiety Theatre, playing parts there in the

s ''

Faust up to Date ''Faust up to Date'' is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz (a few songs by others were interpolated into the show). The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt. It is a spoof of Gounod's opera, ''Faust'', which ...

'' and ''

Carmen up to Data ''Carmen up to Data'' is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz. The piece was a spoof of Bizet's 1875 opera ''Carmen''. The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt. After a tryout in Liverpool in September 1890, the ...

''. In 1893, Hobson played the part of Alma Somerset in the

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

A Gaiety Girl ''A Gaiety Girl'' is an English Edwardian musical comedy, musical comedy in two acts by a team of musical comedy neophytes: Owen Hall (book, on an outline by James T. Tanner), Harry Greenbank (lyrics) and Sidney Jones (composer), Sidney Jones (mu ...

'' produced at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

. In 1894 and 1896 she reappeared as a Gaiety Girl. Hobson has also done seasons in and out of parts at New York. She appeared in ''A Gaiety Girl'' at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

in New York, as well as in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, and San Francisco. By the time she was 30 Hobson had lived in Hawaii, Colorado, and London. She also visited Australia twice. Later Hobson moved to live with her uncle Hollingshead and his family in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London. In 1900, Hobson appeared as Lady Punchestown in the musical ''

The Messenger Boy ''The Messenger Boy'' is a musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Alfred Murray, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, with music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton, with additional numbers by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens ...

'' at the Gaiety Theater.

Personal life

In 1881 Hobson married Lieutenant Andrew Burrell Hayley, an officer of the

11th Hussars The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...

. The couple moved to Honolulu where Hayley acted as Chief Minister to King Kalakaua of Hawaii. Their son William Burrell Hayley was born in early 1882. In 1887, Hayley petitioned for divorce from Hobson claiming that she repeatedly committed adultery with Captain Owen Richard Armstrong. Though Hobson and Armstrong denied the charges, a divorce was granted in 1888. Maud Hobson died on 7 January 1913 in London.

References

External links

Print of Hobson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, Maud 1860 births 1913 deaths 20th-century English actresses Australian women