Edith Craig
Encyclopedia
Edith Ailsa Geraldine Craig (9 December 1869 - 27 March 1947) was a prolific theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage
movement in England. She was the daughter of Victorian era
actress Ellen Terry
and the progressive English architect-designer Edward William Godwin
, and the sister of theatre practitioner
Edward Gordon Craig
.
As a lesbian, an active campaigner for women's suffrage and a woman working as a theatre director, Edith Craig has been recovered by feminist scholars as well as theatre historians. Craig lived in a ménage à trois
with the dramatist Christabel Marshall
and the artist Clare 'Tony' Atwood
from 1916 until her death.
when she eloped with Godwin
in 1868. Edith Craig was born the following year at Gusterwoods Common in Hertfordshire, and was given the surname 'Craig' to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy. The family lived in Fallows Green, Harpenden
in Hertfordshire
, designed by Godwin, until 1874. The couple separated in 1875. In 1877 Terry married her second husband, Charles Wardell, who became a father figure for the children leading to Craig taking the name Wardell. However, in 1907 Terry married her third husband, James Carew
, whom Edith Craig did not like. Craig was educated at Mrs Cole's school, a co-educational institution in Earls Court
in London
, and at the Royal Academy of Music
. Craig made her first appearance on the stage in 1878 during the run of Olivia at the Royal Court Theatre
. She trained as a pianist under Alexis Hollander in Berlin
in Germany
from 1887 to 1890. She also occasionally studied under Elizabeth Malleson of Dixton Manor Hall, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, one of the pioneers of Women's Suffrage
.
in a number of plays, including The Bells (1895). In 1895 her performances in Pinero
's Bygones and Charles Reade
's The Lyons Mail respectively were praised by George Bernard Shaw
and Eleonora Duse
. Craig also acted in plays by George Bernard Shaw
and Henrik Ibsen
, toured with Mrs Brown-Potter
and the Independent Theatre. In 1899, Irving employed her to make the costumes for his production of Robespierre, which led to her going into business as a dressmaker. Although her studio
in Covent Garden
was well patronized, it was more successful artistically than financially and had a short life. After Ellen Terry left the Lyceum Theatre and went into management, Craig accompanied her on her tours in the English provinces and America as her stage-director, and from then play-production became her chief occupation.
Craig founded the 'Pioneer Players' (1911-1925), a theatre society based in London that produced plays supportive of women's suffrage and other social reforms and, from 1915, plays in translation which associated them with art theatre. Craig's mother, Ellen Terry, was president of the society. The Pioneer Players has been described by some critics as a women's theatre company, for whom Craig produced 150 plays. After the 'Pioneer Players' finally closed, Craig produced plays for the 'Little Theatre' movement at York
, Leeds
, Letchworth
and Hampstead
. In 1919, she was an important figure in the British Drama League (BDL), which had been formed to promote theatre throughout the United Kingdom, and to encourage a lasting peace after World War I
. Later Craig directed the Everyman Theatre Hampstead and Leeds Art Theatre. In 1929, the year after Ellen Terry's death, Craig converted the Elizabethan barn adjacent to Terry's house at Smallhythe Place
into a theatre. Here she produced Shakespeare
every year to commemorate the anniversary of her mother's death. Craig also appeared in a number of silent film
s.
Craig was involved in many suffrage
groups, and sold newspapers on behalf of that cause in the street. After she met a woman selling newspapers for the Women's Freedom she became a member and worked at branch level for that group. Craig used her theatrical experience on behalf of the Actresses' Franchise League and was also involved in various suffrage productions. She directed A Pageant of Great Women, a play she devised with the writer and actor Cicely Hamilton
, and which was performed across the United Kingdom
before large audiences.
proposed to her in 1903 and was accepted. However, the marriage was prevented by Ellen Terry
, out of jealousy for her daughter's affection, and by Christabel Marshall
(Christopher St John), with whom she lived from 1899 until they were joined in 1916 by the artist Clare 'Tony' Atwood
, living in a ménage à trois
until Craig's death in 1947, according to Michael Holroyd
in his book A Strange Eventful History. Craig became involved in several books about her mother and George Bernard Shaw
which created a rift in the relationship with her brother. Edward Gordon Craig
's book Ellen Terry and her Secret Self (1931) explicitly objected to Ellen Terry and Bernard Shaw: a Correspondence (1931) edited by Christopher St John. In 1932 Craig co-edited with St John Ellen Terry's Memoirs in which she replied to her brother's representation of their mother. Also in 1932 Craig adopted Ruby Chelta Craig. Craig was reconciled with her brother some time before her death.
On the death of her mother Craig opened the family home, Smallhythe Place
in Kent
, to the public. From 1939 she was supported in running the house by the National Trust
. On her death she left Smallhythe Place to the National Trust as a memorial to her mother. Craig died of coronary thrombosis
and chronic myocarditis
on 27 March 1947 at Priest's House, Smallhythe Place
, Tenterden
in Kent
, and her body was cremated.
Edith Craig suffered from acute arthritis especially in her hands. In her younger days, this painful condition prevented her from becoming a professional musician. She attended the Royal Academy of Music and held a certificate in piano from Trinity College. In her later years, after the death of her mother, wishing to write her own memoirs, Craig had to resort to dictating to her friend Vera Holme, known as 'Jacko'. Jacko wrote down Craig's memoirs in a quarto notebook which was 'lost in an attic' for decades and then sold to Ann Rachlin in 1978. Craig's personal reminiscences of her childhood and her life with Ellen Terry, Edward Gordon Craig and Henry Irving, are printed in their entirety in Rachlin's book "Edy was a Lady", published in December 2011.
Virginia Woolf
is said to have used Edith Craig as a model for the character of Miss LaTrobe in her novel Between the Acts
(1941).
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
movement in England. She was the daughter of Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
actress Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
and the progressive English architect-designer Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic "Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by The Stones of Venice, then moved on to provide designs in the "Anglo-Japanese taste" of the Aesthetic...
, and the sister of theatre practitioner
Theatre practitioner
Theatre practitioner is a modern term to describe someone who both creates theatrical performances and who produces a theoretical discourse that informs his or her practical work. A theatre practitioner may be a director, a dramatist, an actor, or—characteristically—often a combination of these...
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
.
As a lesbian, an active campaigner for women's suffrage and a woman working as a theatre director, Edith Craig has been recovered by feminist scholars as well as theatre historians. Craig lived in a ménage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
with the dramatist Christabel Marshall
Christabel Marshall
Christabel Gertrude Marshall was a British campaigner for women's suffrage, a playwright and author...
and the artist Clare 'Tony' Atwood
Clare Atwood
Clare 'Tony' Atwood was a British painter of portraits, still life, landscapes, interiors and decorative flower subjects...
from 1916 until her death.
Early years
'Edy' Craig, like her younger brother Edward, was illegitimate, as her mother, Ellen Terry, was still married to her first husband George Frederic WattsGeorge Frederic Watts
George Frederic Watts, OM was a popular English Victorian painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical works, such as Hope and Love and Life...
when she eloped with Godwin
Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic "Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by The Stones of Venice, then moved on to provide designs in the "Anglo-Japanese taste" of the Aesthetic...
in 1868. Edith Craig was born the following year at Gusterwoods Common in Hertfordshire, and was given the surname 'Craig' to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy. The family lived in Fallows Green, Harpenden
Harpenden
Harpenden is a town in Hertfordshire, England.The town's total population is just under 30,000.-Geography and administration:There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural....
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, designed by Godwin, until 1874. The couple separated in 1875. In 1877 Terry married her second husband, Charles Wardell, who became a father figure for the children leading to Craig taking the name Wardell. However, in 1907 Terry married her third husband, James Carew
James Carew
James Carew was an American actor who appeared in many films, mainly in Britain. He was born in Goshen, Indiana in 1876 and began work as a clerk in a publishing firm...
, whom Edith Craig did not like. Craig was educated at Mrs Cole's school, a co-educational institution in Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...
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...
, and at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. Craig made her first appearance on the stage in 1878 during the run of Olivia at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
. She trained as a pianist under Alexis Hollander in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
from 1887 to 1890. She also occasionally studied under Elizabeth Malleson of Dixton Manor Hall, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, one of the pioneers of Women's Suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
.
Theatre career
Craig joined the Lyceum Theatre company as a costume designer and actress, touring America in 1895 and 1907 under the stage name Ailsa Craig. Like her younger brother, Craig appeared with Henry IrvingHenry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
in a number of plays, including The Bells (1895). In 1895 her performances in Pinero
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
's Bygones and Charles Reade
Charles Reade
Charles Reade was an English novelist and dramatist, best known for The Cloister and the Hearth.-Life:Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring; William Winwood Reade the influential historian , was his nephew. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford,...
's The Lyons Mail respectively were praised by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
and Eleonora Duse
Eleonora Duse
-Life and career:Duse was born in Vigevano, Lombardy, and began acting as a child. Both her father and her grandfather were actors, and she joined the troupe at age four. Due to poverty, she initially worked continually, traveling from city to city with whichever troupe her family was currently...
. Craig also acted in plays by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
and Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
, toured with Mrs Brown-Potter
Mrs Brown-Potter
Cora Urquhart Brown-Potter , was one of the first American society women to become a stage actress.-Biography:...
and the Independent Theatre. In 1899, Irving employed her to make the costumes for his production of Robespierre, which led to her going into business as a dressmaker. Although her studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
was well patronized, it was more successful artistically than financially and had a short life. After Ellen Terry left the Lyceum Theatre and went into management, Craig accompanied her on her tours in the English provinces and America as her stage-director, and from then play-production became her chief occupation.
Craig founded the 'Pioneer Players' (1911-1925), a theatre society based in London that produced plays supportive of women's suffrage and other social reforms and, from 1915, plays in translation which associated them with art theatre. Craig's mother, Ellen Terry, was president of the society. The Pioneer Players has been described by some critics as a women's theatre company, for whom Craig produced 150 plays. After the 'Pioneer Players' finally closed, Craig produced plays for the 'Little Theatre' movement at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Letchworth
Letchworth
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The town's name is taken from one of the three villages it surrounded - all of which featured in the Domesday Book. The land used was first purchased by Quakers who had intended to farm the...
and Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
. In 1919, she was an important figure in the British Drama League (BDL), which had been formed to promote theatre throughout the United Kingdom, and to encourage a lasting peace after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Later Craig directed the Everyman Theatre Hampstead and Leeds Art Theatre. In 1929, the year after Ellen Terry's death, Craig converted the Elizabethan barn adjacent to Terry's house at Smallhythe Place
Smallhythe Place
Smallhythe Place in Small Hythe, near Tenterden in Kent, is a half-timbered house built in the late 15th or early 16th century. The house was originally called 'Port House' and before the sea receded it served a thriving shipyard: in Old English hythe means "landing place"...
into a theatre. Here she produced Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
every year to commemorate the anniversary of her mother's death. Craig also appeared in a number of silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s.
Craig was involved in many suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
groups, and sold newspapers on behalf of that cause in the street. After she met a woman selling newspapers for the Women's Freedom she became a member and worked at branch level for that group. Craig used her theatrical experience on behalf of the Actresses' Franchise League and was also involved in various suffrage productions. She directed A Pageant of Great Women, a play she devised with the writer and actor Cicely Hamilton
Cicely Hamilton
Cicely Mary Hamilton , born Hammill, was an English actress, writer, journalist, suffragist, lesbian and feminist. She is now best known for the play Diana of Dobson's, with a setting in an Edwardian department store....
, and which was performed across the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
before large audiences.
Personal life and death
The composer Martin ShawMartin Shaw (composer)
Martin Edward Fallas Shaw OBE, FRCM, DMus was an English composer, conductor and theatre producer...
proposed to her in 1903 and was accepted. However, the marriage was prevented by Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
, out of jealousy for her daughter's affection, and by Christabel Marshall
Christabel Marshall
Christabel Gertrude Marshall was a British campaigner for women's suffrage, a playwright and author...
(Christopher St John), with whom she lived from 1899 until they were joined in 1916 by the artist Clare 'Tony' Atwood
Clare Atwood
Clare 'Tony' Atwood was a British painter of portraits, still life, landscapes, interiors and decorative flower subjects...
, living in a ménage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
until Craig's death in 1947, according to Michael Holroyd
Michael Holroyd
Sir Michael De Courcy Fraser Holroyd, FRHS, FRSL is an English biographer.-Life:Holroyd was born in London and educated at Eton College, though he has often claimed Maidenhead Public Library as his alma mater....
in his book A Strange Eventful History. Craig became involved in several books about her mother and George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
which created a rift in the relationship with her brother. Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
's book Ellen Terry and her Secret Self (1931) explicitly objected to Ellen Terry and Bernard Shaw: a Correspondence (1931) edited by Christopher St John. In 1932 Craig co-edited with St John Ellen Terry's Memoirs in which she replied to her brother's representation of their mother. Also in 1932 Craig adopted Ruby Chelta Craig. Craig was reconciled with her brother some time before her death.
On the death of her mother Craig opened the family home, Smallhythe Place
Smallhythe Place
Smallhythe Place in Small Hythe, near Tenterden in Kent, is a half-timbered house built in the late 15th or early 16th century. The house was originally called 'Port House' and before the sea receded it served a thriving shipyard: in Old English hythe means "landing place"...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, to the public. From 1939 she was supported in running the house by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. On her death she left Smallhythe Place to the National Trust as a memorial to her mother. Craig died of coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis
Coronary thrombosis is a form of thrombosis affecting the coronary circulation. It is associated with stenosis subsequent to clotting. The condition is considered as a type of ischaemic heart disease.It can lead to a myocardial infarction...
and chronic myocarditis
Myocarditis
Myocarditis is inflammation of heart muscle . It resembles a heart attack but coronary arteries are not blocked.Myocarditis is most often due to infection by common viruses, such as parvovirus B19, less commonly non-viral pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi or Trypanosoma cruzi, or as a...
on 27 March 1947 at Priest's House, Smallhythe Place
Smallhythe Place
Smallhythe Place in Small Hythe, near Tenterden in Kent, is a half-timbered house built in the late 15th or early 16th century. The house was originally called 'Port House' and before the sea receded it served a thriving shipyard: in Old English hythe means "landing place"...
, Tenterden
Tenterden
Tenterden is a Cinque Port town in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother....
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and her body was cremated.
Edith Craig suffered from acute arthritis especially in her hands. In her younger days, this painful condition prevented her from becoming a professional musician. She attended the Royal Academy of Music and held a certificate in piano from Trinity College. In her later years, after the death of her mother, wishing to write her own memoirs, Craig had to resort to dictating to her friend Vera Holme, known as 'Jacko'. Jacko wrote down Craig's memoirs in a quarto notebook which was 'lost in an attic' for decades and then sold to Ann Rachlin in 1978. Craig's personal reminiscences of her childhood and her life with Ellen Terry, Edward Gordon Craig and Henry Irving, are printed in their entirety in Rachlin's book "Edy was a Lady", published in December 2011.
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
is said to have used Edith Craig as a model for the character of Miss LaTrobe in her novel Between the Acts
Between the Acts
Between the Acts is the final novel by Virginia Woolf, published in 1941 shortly after her suicide. This is a book laden with hidden meaning and allusion. It describes the mounting, performance, and audience of a festival play in a small English village just before the outbreak of the Second World...
(1941).
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2287499/Craig on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
] - Craig on LGBT History Month
- Ellen Terry and Edith Craig Database
- Edith Craig Papers, ca. 1884-1939 Online Archive of California