Actors and Actresses Actors and Actresses: Introduction

Actors and Actresses

Actors and Actresses: Introduction

Players' names were seldom detailed, especially in the first half of the century.  It is a rare treat to find an initial, let alone a first name, on a bill.  If additional information does appear, it is generally restricted to main performers or to differentiate siblings (Miss A. Conway, Miss E. Conway), or actors with the same surname (J. F. Smith, O. Smith).  Many obscure performers appear for one season only, and it proves impossible to supply more information than that contained in the bill or program.  However, there have been occasional triumphs.  A Miss Courtenay appeared in a single performance, yet she is identified as Ida Courtenay because she was satirized in a "novel" by Elizabeth Braddon, the author of Lady Audley's Secret.

Since each contributing editor is responsible only for the names in his or her segment, the General Editors took it upon themselves to make a final pass through the complete index.  One of their goals was to eliminate duplication.  For example, Miss Boham (1818), Miss Boheim (1820), and Miss Bohen (1819, 1821) were considered to be the same person.  The name Bohen was cautiously selected as the "correct" spelling, and the phrase "variously spelled" entered.  Some names were spelled differently over the seasons, apparently by the actors' choice—"Leclercq," for example, appears in several forms.  In such instances, the editor made a judgment call.

All editors are only too aware of the temptation to follow Pope Gregory I and conflate names.  Are Chichini and Chekini the same individual, and is the latter spelling "correct?"  What is a scholar to make of Miss Sanger, Miss Rachel Sanger and Miss Rachel M. Sanger?  It seems inconceivable that a parent would name two daughters Rachel and distinguish them by the initial M.  The editors decided to leave the final attributions up to the user.  In the Calendar, twenty-six entries appear under Smith.  There is a J. Smith in 1822, a J. H. Smith in 1824 and a J. F. in 1840.  The first appearance of the single name "Smith" is in 1810; he is almost certainly not the Smith who appeared in 1879.  Unfortunately, our original sources have long ago been distributed to libraries and are unavailable for fresh scrutiny—not that anything new would be discovered.  None too reluctantly, the editors leave these mysteries to others.

Many names have been expanded.  In the daily calendar, though not in the seasonal or All-Inclusive Index, interpolated information is bracketed.  "Miss S. Booth" becomes "Miss S[arah] Booth."  In other instances, amplification was deemed useful even though doubtful.  Miss Barnett, who played from 1827 to 1835, might be Miss Millie Barnett; thus, in each season where she appeared, the entry Miss [Millie?] Barnett appears in the calendar and Barnett, Miss Millie (Madame Ben Soutten) in the index.  All such manipulations of the index are solely the responsibility of the General Editors.

While the goal is to provide the maximum information in as straightforward a manner as possible, all scholars of the period have to face facts—the bills are often tantalizingly cryptic.  One actor called Jones performed in 1809 and another in 1870.  He is not likely to be the same man.  Obviously several actors with this, the most common of Welsh surnames, have been collected together because there is no way to differentiate them.  Users will occasionally come across a surname followed by a number—Jones (2), for example.  This numeral means that although no first names have been discovered the editors are reasonably certain they are dealing with more than one Jones in the same season.

Are J. Sanders, John Sanders, and Sanders one, two or three individuals?  Is it remotely conceivable all three appeared in the 1855 season?  Is Saunders a different person, or does this spelling reflect nothing more than a printer's error?  We cannot be sure, especially where minor figures are concerned, so we have been conservative in such choices.  Other calendars would, of course, help us enormously—a minor figure at one theatre may be a major one at another.

Actresses are even more difficult to identify than their male counterparts.  It is very frustrating to find entries such as Miss Heffer, Miss E. Heffer, Miss Emma Heffer, and Miss Emily Heffer.  Is Miss E. Heffer Emily or Emma?  Is she someone quite different?  Is Emma a mistake for Emily?  Is Miss Heffer any of them?  The custom, until well into the second half of the century, was to bill females as "Miss" or "Mrs."—omitting their first names.  Miss Scott, for example, did not use her given names, appearing in almost all bills simply as "Miss Scott."  This entry has been expanded to Miss [Jane M.] Scott.  Similarly, Miss Woolgar's name has been entered as Miss [Sarah J.] Woolgar.

Some actresses married during their careers.  If they then chose to be billed under their husband's surname, the entry is expanded to include his first name, if known.  If not, their given names precede the husband's last name.  Maiden and married names have been cross-indexed only if an actress played under both at the Sans Pareil or the Adelphi.  The entry:

Boucicault, Mrs. Dion L. (see also Robertson, Miss Agnes K.)

Robertson, Miss Agnes K. (see also Boucicault, Mrs. Dion)

Garrick, Mrs. Nathan (Sarah Jane Gray) Nano, Signor Hervio (Harvey Leach) Waylett, Harriet (Harriet Cooke, Mrs. George A. Lee)

Fulford, M? 1841 Langton, M? 1854, 1855

No invented names, common in pantomimes, and no animal performers, even those billed by name (like Signor Jackini) are knowingly entered in this index.

However, despite the multitude of problems encountered by editors, theatre historians will find a vast treasury of reliable information here, and the editors trust the users will not reprehend.