The first woman actor-manager in London was Eliza Vestris who managed the Olympic Theatre in 1830. Famous for her shapely legs, she was a singer and dancer of some repute.
At the Olympic she presented a programme of Burlesques (many starring herself in Breeches roles) written by J.R.Planché (who later made
his name as a writer of pantomimes). Vestris encouraged the use of historically correct costumes and of a box set complete with a real ceiling.
Other women managers in the 19th century included Madge Kendal and Sarah Lane at the Brittania Theatre, Hoxton. Click on the ‘discover more’ button under their
images.
One of the most influential woman managers of the 19th century was Marie Bancroft who introduced a new form of drama to the London
stage – ‘drawing
room drama’. Bancroft later managed the Haymarket Theatre with her husband Squire Bancroft. The refurbishment of the Haymarket and programme of ‘drawing room
drama’ attracted a very middle class audience.
South of the river Thames Emma Cons was committed to using the arts to improve the quality of life for the poor. In 1880 she took over the management of the Royal Victoria
Coffee Music Hall and provided a programme of variety entertainment, concerts, educational and temperance lectures. The committee running the theatre was
mainly made up of philanthropists and social reformers.
“Unless recreation of intellectual and artistic merit be brought within the reach of the mass of the people (many of whom are fully able to appreciate it) and
their intelligence and love of beauty, harmony and order for its own sake are used, they will speedily reduce these new and improved dwellings to the filth and squalor
of the old.” (Emma Cons)
From 1912 her niece, Lilian Baylis, took over the management of the Old Vic. Baylis was to become the most influential woman manager
in the 20th century, turning the Old Vic into a quasi-national theatre.
Introduction
The Old Price Riots
