William Shaftoe Robertson (c. 1799–1872) was a British actor 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 ...

. He was the nephew of

Fanny Robertson Fanny Robertson (1765 – 18 December 1855), born Frances Mary Ross, was an actress and later the manager of the provincial theatres of the Lincoln Circuit. Family Robertson's parents were the actors William Ross (died 1781) and his wife Eli ...

, manager of the Lincoln theatre circuit, and her husband

Thomas Shaftoe Robertson Thomas Shaftoe Robertson (1765 – September 1831) was a British actor who became the manager of a circuit of theatres in and around Lincolnshire that he carried on for nearly half a century. He was able to attract well-known London actors to t ...

. As a young man, he began acting with his family in the Lincoln circuit. After his aunt retired in 1843, he became manager of the eight theatres in the circuit. In the 1850s, he moved his large family to London and became joint manager of the Marylebone Theatre and appeared there on stage. He continued to act in provincial theatres until retiring in 1867. His famous children include T. W. Robertson and

Madge Kendal Dame Madge Kendal, (born Margaret Shafto Robertson; 15 March 1848 – 14 September 1935) was an English actress of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, best known for her roles in Shakespeare and English comedies. Together with her husband, W. ...

Early life and career

Robertson was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire. He became a lawyer, as a young man, then performed with his family in the eight Lincolnshire and nearby theatres that they managed. His first appearance at the Georgian theatre in

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

(later the

Angles Theatre The Angles Theatre is a theatre and historic Georgian playhouse in the market town of Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It is among the oldest of Britain's theatres. The current premises consists of the original theatre building and ...

), was as Rover in the comedy '' Wild Oats'' opposite his aunt,

(stagename Mrs T. Robertson) as Lady Amaranthe on 4 June 1824. In 1828 he married the Danish-born actress Margharetta Elisabetta ''née'' Marinus (died 1876). Her father taught languages in London, and she spoke English with no trace of a foreign accent. At the age of 17, she had joined the Robertsons' company, where she met Robertson. They had a reported 22 children, many of whom appeared in juvenile roles on the stage. Of these, T. W. Robertson (later a playwright), Fanny Robertson (1830–1903), Elizabeth Robertson Diver, stage name E. Brunton (1833–1893), Edward Shaftoe Robertson (1844–1871), James Robertson, Georgiana Robertson (1840–1913), Frederick Craven Shaftoe Robertson (1846–1879) and

carried on the profession into adulthood. When his aunt Fanny retired in 1843, Robertson succeeded her as manager of the Robertson company of actors and their Lincolnshire Circuit theatres. In early 1850, the family performed in

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

and then moved on to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

, Lancashire for a week in a temporary theatre, the Temperance Hall, in which they presented ''The Stranger'' (an English translation of the 1798 play ''Menschenhass und Reue'' (''Misanthropy and Repentance'') by

August von Kotzebue August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (; – ) was a German dramatist and writer who also worked as a consul in Russia and Germany. In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl L ...

), ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'', ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...

'' and ''

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

''. In 1851, the family was back in Burnley.

Later years

By the early 1850s, Lincolnshire theatres had gradually become financially unviable, and Robertson moved his family to London, where he became joint manager of the Marylebone Theatre. Robertson appeared in ''

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...

'' and ''The Seven Poor Travellers'' in 1855. That year, the family moved to Bristol. Over the next decade, the Robertsons and their children played steadily in provincial theatres. Robertson's last appearances were with his wife and his daughter Fanny in 1867 in Planché's ''Plot and Passion'',

Sheridan's Sheridan's is a liqueur first introduced in 1994. It is produced in Dublin by Thomas Sheridan & Sons.«Sheridans ...

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sna ...

'' and

John Baldwin Buckstone John Baldwin Buckstone (14 September 1802 – 31 October 1879) was an English actor, playwright and comedian who wrote 150 plays, the first of which was produced in 1826. He starred as a comic actor during much of his career for various periods ...

's farce ''A Rough Diamond'', in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Lincolnshire. In 1871, Robertson was living with his wife, daughter Fanny and a granddaughter in St Pancras,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. He died on 4 December 1872 at his residence in

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...

, London, at the age of 73.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * {{authority control 1872 deaths English actors British theatre managers and producers Actor-managers