Sarah Sparks (1754–1837) was a British

stage actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

. She was born Sarah Mills into a theatrical family, although no evidence exists linking her to the earlier actors

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

or his son William Mills. Her first known performance was in Berwick in 1773, and she was married to the actor Hugh Sparks by 1776. From 1776 to 1794 she was a regular at the

Theatre Royal, Edinburgh The history of the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh involves two sites. The first building, on Princes Street, opened 1769 and was rebuilt in 1830 by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd. The second site was on Broughton Street. History The first Theatre Royal wa ...

with her husband, as well as appearing in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. She came to London with her husband and acted together at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

, making her first appearance in '' The Old Maid'' on 26 October 1797. For the next twenty three years she was one of the leading

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

players of the Drury Lane company. Her career success came as her husband's declined, and by 1818 she was earning ten pounds a week. Hugh died in 1816 and she continued acting until 1820 when she retired with a pension from Drury Lane in addition to an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...

given to her by her former fellow actress

Harriet Mellon Harriet Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans (alternate spelling: Harriot; née Mellon; 11 November 1777 – 6 August 1837) was a British banker and actress who eventually starred at Drury Lane. She was successively the wife of banker Thomas Coutts ...

. She died in

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

in 1837 and was described by ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' as "an excellent woman, who was for many years one of the brightest ornaments of the national stage.Highfill, Burnim & Langhans p.208

Selected roles

* Clarissa in Lionel and Clarissa by

Isaac Bickerstaffe Isaac Bickerstaffe or Bickerstaff (26 September 1733 – after 1808) was an Irish playwright and Librettist. Early life Isaac John Bickerstaff was born in Dublin, on 26 September 1733, where his father John Bickerstaff held a government posi ...

(1774) * Miss Harlow in '' The Old Maid'' by Arthur Murphy (1797) * Mrs Doublecharge in ''

The Land We Live In ''The Land We Live In'' is an 1804 comedy play by the British writer Francis Ludlow Holt. It appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 29 December 1804.Greene p.4514 The cast included Dorothea Jordan as Lady Lovelace, Richard Wroughto ...

'' by

Francis Ludlow Holt Francis Ludlow Holt (1780 – 29 September 1844) was a legal and dramatic author. Life Francis Ludlow is cited as born in 1780, the son of the Rev. Ludlow Holt, LL.D., of Watford, Hertfordshire, the author of some sermons published in 1780–1. ...

(1804) * Mrs Hartshorn in ''

The Sailor's Daughter ''The Sailor's Daughter'' is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland which first premiered on 7 April 1804 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Plot After a young woman, Julia, is orphaned following the Battle of Copenhagen she enj ...

'' by

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher * Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist * Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...

(1804) * Mrs Bustle in '' Where to Find a Friend'' by Richard Leigh (1811) * Lady Anemone in '' First Impressions'' by

Horatio Smith Horace (born Horatio) Smith (31 December 1779 – 12 July 1849) was an English poet and novelist. In 1818, he participated in a sonnet-writing competition with Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was of Smith that Shelley said: "Is it not odd that the on ...

(1813) * Camilla in ''

Rugantino ''Rugantino'' is a musical comedy by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini, which debuted at the Teatro Sistina in Rome, Italy, on 15 December 1962. Music was written by Armando Trovaioli. It is a comedy set in the papal Rome of the 19th century. ...

'' by Matthew Lewis (1820)

References

Bibliography

* Highfill, Philip H, Burnim, Kalman A. & Langhans, Edward A. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800: Cabanel to Cory''. SIU Press, 1975. 18th-century British actors 19th-century British people English stage actresses 18th-century British actresses 18th-century English actresses 19th-century British actresses 19th-century English actresses 1754 births 1837 deaths {{UK-actor-stub