Victorian Theatre 4/5

Jul 12, 20238 min read

A Movie That Was Not About Walter Watts

Originally posted on Feb. 15, 2023 If you are a fan of Charles Dickens or Derrek Jacobi, you have probably seen the acclaimed 1987 film...

Jul 10, 202316 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and the March Sisters versus the Ogden Sisters

Originally published Feb. 8, 2021 Without doubt, the most famous parlor theatrical in the history of literature is the “operatic tragedy”...

Jul 10, 20237 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Gulzara, and the Parlor Theatrical

Originally posted on Feb. 1, 2021 I have never come across any laments from theatre historians bemoaning the fact that so few scripts of...

Jul 10, 202315 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Evelyn, and the Tableaux Vivant

Originally posted Jan. 25, 2021 Victorian tableaux vivant existed in a gauzy liminal safe space halfway between games and theatre. In the...

Jul 8, 20237 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Gertrude, and Blanche

Originally published Jan. 18, 2021 [Librivox’s recording of this play can be heard here.] Although she was called upon to play the...

Jul 8, 202310 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and the Tableaux Vivant

Originally published on Jan. 11, 2021 Perhaps nothing better illustrates the early Victorians’ ambiguous attitude towards theatre better...

Jul 7, 20239 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Armand, and Uncle Sam

Originally published on Dec. 28, 2020 (Listen to a full cast recording of "Armand" at Librivox) Perhaps the most incredible thing that I...

Jul 7, 20238 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Armand, and the Museum Crowd

Originally published Dec. 21, 2020 (Listen to a full cast recording of "Armand" at Librivox) Last week, I talked about the triumph of...

Jul 5, 202310 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Armand, and the Fast Man

Originally posted Dec. 14, 2020 (Listen to a full cast recording of "Armand" at Librivox) In past entries, I have talked about Mary...

Jul 5, 202311 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and the Woman Who Didn’t Write “Fashion”

Originally posted on Dec. 7, 2020 Anna Cora Mowatt’s success as a playwright in the spring of 1845 was as unprecedented as it was...

Jul 5, 20239 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and a Pair of “Breeches”

Originally published Nov. 30, 2020 As a woman who simultaneously achieved international fame as both a playwright and an actress, Anna...

Jul 5, 20233 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt in the Forest of Arden - Addendum

Originally posted Nov. 29, 2020 While researching for this week’s blog, I found – as I frequently do – information that I wish I could...

Jul 5, 202318 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt in the Forest of Arden

Originally published Nov. 16, 2020 There is perhaps no more perfect encapsulation of the ambiguity of the Victorian stance towards the...

Jul 5, 202310 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Her Lady Romeos – Part II

Originally published Nov. 6, 2020 Last week, listening to several interviews with Tana Wojczuk, author of a new book on the life of...

Jul 4, 20236 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and the Lady Romeos – Part I

Originally published on Nov. 9, 2020 Periodically, theatre historians seem to re-discover Charlotte Cushman. A new volume on her life and...

Jul 4, 20239 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Matthew Hopkins, the Witch-Finder

Originally published Nov. 2, 2020 After reading up on the historical Matthew Hopkins, I think we’re remiss not to number “witch-finder”...

Jul 4, 20238 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Cecil Howard

Originally published Oct. 26, 2020 I hope that by now you have had an opportunity to listen to our recording of Henry Spicer’s...

Jul 4, 20235 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Henry Spicer’s “Witch-Wife”

Originally posted Oct. 19, 2020 For the next two weeks, I’ve planned to write about a drama written expressly as a starring vehicle for...

Jul 4, 202314 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and the London Critics

Originally Posted Oct. 12, 2020 Actors say, “I never read reviews.” This declaration is almost never literally true. What they actually...

Jul 4, 202313 min read

The Unsinkable Mrs. Warner

Originally published October 5, 2020 The year 1850 began so well for Mary Warner and Walter Watts. Their careers seemed to be right on...