Robert Soutar (1830 – 28 September 1908) was an English actor, comedian, stage manager, writer and director for the theatre. He began his career as a journalist but soon moved into acting. In 1867, he married actress

Nellie Farren Ellen "Nellie" Farren (16 April 1848 – 29 April 1904) was an English actress and singer best known for her roles as the "principal boy" in musical burlesques at the Gaiety Theatre. Born into a theatrical family, Farren began acting as a ch ...

, and the next year, the two joined the company at the Gaiety Theatre in London. There, he stage managed and wrote for the theatre in addition to acting. His wife became well known for her roles as the "

principal boy In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes. The earliest example is Miss Ellington who in 1852 appeared in ''The Good Woman in the Wood'' by James Planch ...

" in musical burlesques at the theatre. Soutar also directed plays and wrote

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 ...

s and other pieces. His son was the actor and singer Joseph Farren Soutar.

Early life and career

Born in London the son of Susan and Robert Soutar (1796–1866), Soutar trained as a journalist, in which capacity he worked for a period on the ''

Morning Advertiser ''Morning Advertiser'' is one of the oldest news publications in the world, beginning as a newspaper in 1794 and being published in hard copy until 2020. In 2011, William Reed Ltd, bought ''The Publican'' from United Business Media and merged t ...

'', of which his father was for many years an editor. He began his connection with the theatre in 1852 as an amateur actor. After a period at the Brighton Theatre he played Captain Pertinax in ''Taming a Truant'' at London's

Olympic Theatre The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout m ...

in 1863. He married the actress

on 8 December 1867;"Robert Soutar"
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837–1915, Ancestry.com , accessed 16 October 2013 they met when they were both members of the company at the Olympic Theatre. Their sons were Henry Robert Soutar (1868–1928), an actor and later a general labourer, and the actor Joseph Farren Soutar. At the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in 1868, Soutar's one-act farce, ''The Fast Coach'', written with C. J. Claridge, was produced, and at the same theatre he played the role of Green Jones 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 melodrama '' The Ticket-of-Leave Man''. On 21 December 1868 Farren and Soutar joined the Gaiety Theatre for the re-opening of the theatre under

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 ...

's management, where Soutar served as stage manager, writer and actor for some 10 years. In 1868 he played Old Bailey (a wax figure from the Chamber of Horrors) in

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

's operatic parody ''

Robert the Devil Robert the Devil () is a legend of medieval origin about a Norman knight who discovers he is the son of Satan. His mother, despairing of heaven's aid in order to obtain a son, had asked for help from the devil. Robert's satanic instincts propel h ...

''. In 1870 he played Prince Casimir in ''The Princess of Trebizonde'', also at the Gaiety.

Directing and later years

In 1871, Soutar created the role of Tipseion in ''

Thespis Thespis (; grc-gre, Θέσπις; fl. 6th century BC) was an Ancient Greek poet. He was born in the ancient city of Icarius (present-day Dionysos, Greece). According to certain Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle, he was the first pe ...

'', the first

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

opera; he also directed the piece. In 1878 he directed a production of ''

The Forty Thieves ''The Forty Thieves'' is a "Pantomime Burlesque" written by Robert Reece, W. S. Gilbert, F. C. Burnand and Henry J. Byron, created in 1878 as a charity benefit, produced by the Beefsteak Club of London. The Beefsteak Club still meets in Irving ...

'' written by

Robert Reece Robert Reece (2 May 1838 – 8 July 1891) was a British comic playwright and librettist active in the Victorian era. He wrote many successful musical burlesques, comic operas, farces and adaptations from the French, including the English-lang ...

F. C. Burnand Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''. The son of ...

and

Henry J. Byron Henry James Byron (8 January 1835 – 11 April 1884) was a prolific English dramatist, as well as an editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor. After an abortive start at a medical career, Byron struggled as a provincial ...

as an amateur production for the

Beefsteak Club Beefsteak Club is the name or nickname of several 18th- and 19th-century male dining clubs in Britain and Australia that celebrated the beefsteak as a symbol of patriotic and often Whig concepts of liberty and prosperity. The first beefsteak clu ...

of London. His comedy ''Blindfold'' was played at the Gaiety Theatre in 1882, and in October of the same year, his farce ''The Fast Coach'' was revived. In 1884 he played Lenoir in

's ''Just in Time'', and in 1885 he again played Green Jones in ''The Ticket-of-Leave Man'' (opposite his wife, who played Sam), a role he reprised in his benefit performance in 1891 at the Gaiety Theatre. In 1890 he was the stage manager at Adelphi Theatre. In May 1891 he appeared in the comic drama ''The Rocket'' by

Arthur Wing Pinero Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (24 May 185523 November 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor. Pinero was drawn to the theatre from an early age, and became a professional actor at the age of 19. He gained experience as a supp ...

. In 1892, Soutar edited Joseph A. Cave's reminiscences, ''A Jubilee of Dramatic Life and Incident''. On the 1901 census he was listed as a retired actor. He died in London in 1908, four years after the death of his wife,"Theatrical and Musical Deaths, N–S"
The Longmore Pages, accessed 3 October 2014 and was buried beside her in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soutar, Robert 1830 births 1908 deaths English male journalists English theatre directors English male stage actors Burials at Brompton Cemetery 19th-century English male actors English male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers