Theophilus Keene (1680-1718) was an Anglo-Irish

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 ...

and

theatre manager Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. Keene was from a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

background. He originally began acting at the

Smock Alley Theatre Since the 17th century, there have been numerous theatres in Dublin with the name Smock Alley. The current Smock Alley Theatre () is a 21st-century theatre in Dublin, converted from a 19th-century church building, incorporating structural mat ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. Having arrived in London from Ireland in 1704, he appeared as part of the company at the

Drury Lane Theatre 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 Drur ...

until 1714. Along with

Christopher Bullock Sir Christopher Llewellyn Bullock, KCB, CBE (10 November 1891 – 16 May 1972), a prominent member of the Bullock family, was Permanent Under-Secretary at the British Air Ministry from 1931 to 1936. Appointed at the age of 38, he remains one o ...

he took over the management of the

Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre Lisle's Tennis Court was a building off Portugal Street in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. During the early period, ...

in 1717, at the time one of two

patent theatre The patent theatres were the theatres that were licensed to perform "spoken drama" after the Restoration of Charles II as King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1660. Other theatres were prohibited from performing such "serious" drama, but w ...

s in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The co-managers worked together for one season after replacing the "broke"

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...

before Keene's death after a fall from a horse while riding in the county. Following his death in 1718 a biography of him ''Memoirs of the Life of Mr. Theophilus Keene'' was produced by Richard Savage.Wanko p.231

Selected roles

* Balance in ''

The Recruiting Officer ''The Recruiting Officer'' is a 1706 play by the Irish writer George Farquhar, which follows the social and sexual exploits of two officers, the womanising Plume and the cowardly Brazen, in the town of Shrewsbury (the town where Farquhar himse ...

'' by

George Farquhar George Farquhar (1677The explanation for the dual birth year appears in Louis A. Strauss, ed., A Discourse Upon Comedy, The Recruiting Officer, and The Beaux’ Stratagem by George Farquhar' (Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1914), p. v. Strauss notes ...

(1706) * Rodogune in ''

The Royal Convert ''The Royal Convert'' is a 1707 tragedy by the British writer Nicholas Rowe. The play is set in England during the Saxon era featuring two brothers in a love triangle with a young Christian woman. It was staged at the Queen's Theatre in the H ...

'' by Nicholas Rowe (1707) * Memnon in ''

The Persian Princess ''The Persian Princess'' is a 1708 tragedy by the British writer Lewis Theobald. It was performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It is also written as ''The Persian Princess: or, The Royal Villain''. The play was not a great success and Theob ...

'' by

Lewis Theobald Lewis Theobald (baptised 2 April 1688 – 18 September 1744), English textual editor and author, was a landmark figure both in the history of Shakespearean editing and in literary satire. He was vital for the establishment of fair texts for Shak ...

(1708) * Priscian in ''

The Rival Fools ''The Rival Fools'' is a 1709 comedy play by the British writer Colley Cibber. It drew inspiration from the earlier play ''Wit at Several Weapons''. Despite Cibber's previous record of turning out hits, it was not a great success. The original D ...

'' by

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

(1709) * Claudius in ''

Appius and Virginia ''Appius and Virginia'' is an early 17th-century stage play, a tragedy by John Webster (and perhaps Thomas Heywood). It is the third and least famous of his tragedies, after ''The White Devil'' and '' The Duchess of Malfi''. Heywood On the bas ...

'' by

John Dennis John Dennis may refer to: *John Dennis (dramatist) (1658–1734), English dramatist * John Dennis (1771–1806), Maryland congressman *John Dennis (1807–1859), his son, Maryland congressman *John Stoughton Dennis (1820–1885), Canadian surveyor ...

(1709) * De Sale in ''

The Successful Pyrate ''The Successful Pyrate'' is a play by Charles Johnson, first performed 1712, published 1713, dealing with the life of the pirate Henry Avery. It opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 7 November 1712 and ran for five evenings. The original ...

'' by Charles Johnson (1712) * Lucius in ''

Cato, a Tragedy ''Cato, a Tragedy'' is a play written by Joseph Addison in 1712 and first performed on 14 April 1713. It is based on the events of the last days of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (better known as Cato the Younger) (95–46 BC), a Stoic whose deeds ...

'' by

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard S ...

(1713) * Ulysses in '' The Victim'' by Charles Johnson (1714) * Colonel Winfield in ''

The Doating Lovers ''The Doating Lovers: Or, the Libertine Tam'd'' is a 1715 comedy play by the Irish writer Newburgh Hamilton. The original cast included John Leigh as Gaylove, William Bullock as Sir Butterfly Ayrewould, Christopher Bullock as Sr Timothy Twiddle ...

'' by

Newburgh Hamilton Newburgh Hamilton (1691–1761) was an Irish author and librettist. He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) and entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1708, aged sixteen, but (as was common in those days) he left without obtai ...

(1715) * Sebatian in ''

The Perfidious Brother ''The Perfidious Brother'' is a 1716 tragedy by the British writer Lewis Theobald. A dispute rose of the authorship of the play when a watchmaker and aspiring playwright Henry Meystayer claimed that Theobald had stolen it from him.Carnegie & Tayl ...

'' by

(1716) * Winwife in ''

The Artful Husband ''The Artful Husband'' is a 1717 comedy play by the British writer William Taverner. Staged at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, it ran for fifteen nights. It was frequently revived during the eighteenth century. The cast included Thomas Elrin ...

'' by William Taverner (1717)

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: Garrick to Gyngell''. SIU Press, 1978. * Wanko, Cheryl. ''Roles of Authority: Thespian Biography and Celebrity in Eighteenth-century Britain''. Texas Tech University Press, 2003. 18th-century English people English male stage actors British male stage actors Irish male stage actors 19th-century Irish male actors 18th-century English male actors 18th-century British male actors 1680 births 1718 deaths {{England-bio-stub