Beatrice Herford
Encyclopedia
Beatrice Herford was an American
actress, diseuse and vaudeville
performer born in England
.
The daughter of a minister, Herford spent her youth moving between England and the United States
, following her father's changing jobs. In her twenties, she participated avidly in private theatricals, writing her own monologue
s. In 1895, she made her public debut at the Sallé Erard in London
, receiving favorable reviews.
Two years later, she married Sidney Hayward, of Wayland
, Massachusetts
. She continued to deliver monologues both in public and private. Her monologues, generally comic in nature, lampooned popular figures and types. Representative titles are "The Shop Girl" and "The Sociable Seamstress." Her brother, Oliver Herford
, was also a famous artist and humorist.
In his 1906 book Are you a Bromide
, Gelett Burgess
uses Herford's monologues as an example of his division of personality types into the quotidian (Bromides) and non-conformist (Sulphitic).
In 1904, Herford and her friends built a small theater on her husband's property in Wayland, Massachusetts. She named it Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theatre
, after an English actress. In 1937, she gave use of the theater to the a group of actors organized as the Vokes Players. The group refurbished the theater and continue to perform in it.
Herford died in 1952.
Whenever the Vokes Players perform Herford's own material, her monologues continue to entertain modern audiences. The material shows her to be an artistic pioneer and a precursor to such renowned monologists as Ruth Draper, Lily Tomlin, and Whoopi Goldberg.
In recent years, the Vokes Players have undertaken a public campaign to restore the collection of historic photographs, many of them inscribed to Hayward and Herford by visiting artists, scholars, and celebrities. Information on "adopting" a photograph may be found on the Vokes Players website.
A wooden door in the historic theatre bears the signatures of many of the great artists who have performed on its stage over the last century. Audience members may view the signature door during intermissions.
Hayward and Herford named their theatre for Rosina Vokes (1854–94), a member of the Vokes Family Theatre. This touring troupe of English actors began as a true family act and continued performing from the 1870s through 1917 by "adopting" actors who took the surname "Vokes" professionally. They performed throughout the English-speaking world and were acclaimed for their comedic plays. Rosina Vokes and Beatrice Herford came from the same region of England, performed in the same theaters early in their careers, and became lifelong friends.
Rosina Vokes left the family company to found her own troupe in the United States, where she had married. Despite her growing weakness due to tuberculosis, she continued to perform in exhausting cross-country tours until a few days before her death in 1885. Though it was clear to audiences and critics that she was increasingly unwell, her artistry did not suffer, and critics regarded her continuing to work as artistic heroism. Her many obituaries uniformly describe her as a star loved by colleagues and audiences alike.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, diseuse and vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer born in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The daughter of a minister, Herford spent her youth moving between England and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, following her father's changing jobs. In her twenties, she participated avidly in private theatricals, writing her own monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
s. In 1895, she made her public debut at the Sallé Erard in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, receiving favorable reviews.
Two years later, she married Sidney Hayward, of Wayland
Wayland, Massachusetts
Wayland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,994 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on Cochituate, which is part of Wayland, please see the article Cochituate, Massachusetts.-History:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. She continued to deliver monologues both in public and private. Her monologues, generally comic in nature, lampooned popular figures and types. Representative titles are "The Shop Girl" and "The Sociable Seamstress." Her brother, Oliver Herford
Oliver Herford
Oliver Herford was a British-born American writer, artist and illustrator who has been called "The American Oscar Wilde". As a frequent contributor to The Mentor, Life, and Ladies' Home Journal, he sometimes signed his artwork as "O Herford". In 1906 he wrote and illustrated the "Little Book of...
, was also a famous artist and humorist.
In his 1906 book Are you a Bromide
Bromide (language)
A bromide is a phrase or platitude that, having been employed excessively, suggests insincerity or a lack of originality in the speaker employing it....
, Gelett Burgess
Gelett Burgess
Frank Gelett Burgess was an artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. An important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little magazine, The Lark, he is best known as a writer of nonsense verse...
uses Herford's monologues as an example of his division of personality types into the quotidian (Bromides) and non-conformist (Sulphitic).
- Miss Herford's inimitable monologues, being each the apotheosis of some typical Bromide—a shop-girl, a country dressmaker, a bargain-hunter and so on—become, through her art, intensely sulphitic. They are excruciatingly funny, just because she represents types so common that we recognize them instantly. Each expresses the crystallized thought of her particular bromidic group. Done, then, by a person who is herself a Sulphite par excellence, the result is droll.
In 1904, Herford and her friends built a small theater on her husband's property in Wayland, Massachusetts. She named it Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theatre
Vokes Theatre
The Vokes Theater, also known as Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theater, is a 1904 miniature of a London theater in Wayland, Massachusetts built by and named for Beatrice Herford...
, after an English actress. In 1937, she gave use of the theater to the a group of actors organized as the Vokes Players. The group refurbished the theater and continue to perform in it.
Herford died in 1952.
Legacy
Herford's monologues were well received on the New York and London stages, and she numbered among her friends the royalty of English-speaking theater. For over 30 years, her tiny theatre was open only to her friends, who performed for each other, often taking roles they would never have essayed in their public personas as stars of the legitimate stage. Her theatre is a Massachusetts historical site and houses a notable collection of theater memorabilia and photographs, in addition to remaining in vibrant and active use as the home of the Vokes Players.Whenever the Vokes Players perform Herford's own material, her monologues continue to entertain modern audiences. The material shows her to be an artistic pioneer and a precursor to such renowned monologists as Ruth Draper, Lily Tomlin, and Whoopi Goldberg.
In recent years, the Vokes Players have undertaken a public campaign to restore the collection of historic photographs, many of them inscribed to Hayward and Herford by visiting artists, scholars, and celebrities. Information on "adopting" a photograph may be found on the Vokes Players website.
A wooden door in the historic theatre bears the signatures of many of the great artists who have performed on its stage over the last century. Audience members may view the signature door during intermissions.
Hayward and Herford named their theatre for Rosina Vokes (1854–94), a member of the Vokes Family Theatre. This touring troupe of English actors began as a true family act and continued performing from the 1870s through 1917 by "adopting" actors who took the surname "Vokes" professionally. They performed throughout the English-speaking world and were acclaimed for their comedic plays. Rosina Vokes and Beatrice Herford came from the same region of England, performed in the same theaters early in their careers, and became lifelong friends.
Rosina Vokes left the family company to found her own troupe in the United States, where she had married. Despite her growing weakness due to tuberculosis, she continued to perform in exhausting cross-country tours until a few days before her death in 1885. Though it was clear to audiences and critics that she was increasingly unwell, her artistry did not suffer, and critics regarded her continuing to work as artistic heroism. Her many obituaries uniformly describe her as a star loved by colleagues and audiences alike.