DAVENPORT, THE ACTOR Originally posted April 26, 2021 Had she not taken on Edward Loomis Davenport as an acting partner in the fall of...

WALTER WATTS’ SPECIAL EFFECTS EXTRAVAGANZA Originally posted April 5, 2021 Walter Watts’ 1849 melodrama, “A Dream of Life” was his most...

Originally posted on March 29, 2021 Last week I began a survey of reviews of G.H. Lewes “Noble Heart” in its London première at the...

Originally published March 22, 2021 In the winter of 1850, G. H. Lewes was a noted, if controversial, member of London’s intelligentsia....

Originally posted on March 15, 2021 It looks now as if this blog entry will not be posted until mid-March, however I am writing it on the...

Originally published March 8, 2021 Mistaken identity or characters in disguise are plot complications featured in dramatic texts the...

Originally posted on Feb. 22, 2021 Admittedly, my title for this series of entries is a bit hyperbolic. It’s closer to the truth to say...

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

Originally published Sept. 28, 2020 After more than a month of extending and vamping, I am going to return to what was supposed to have...

Originally posted Sept. 21, 2020 When I said that Walter Watts had a relatively good reputation for London theatrical manager of the...

Originally published Sept. 7, 2020 Doubtlessly, I have given you the impression that the Watts Scandal blew up and broke quickly in the...

Originally posted on August 31, 2020 Last week, I ended with a bit of a cliffhanger. I informed you that Robert Warner, husband of...