Sarah Egerton (actress)
Encyclopedia
Sarah Egerton was an English actress. The judgement of William Macready was that 'her merits were confined to melodrama.'
, Devon
. After her father died in 1803 she took to the stage, appearing at the Bath theatre on 3 December 1803 as Emma in John Till Allingham
's play The Marriage Promise. Here she remained for six or seven years, playing as a rule secondary characters. Her last benefit at Bath took place on 21 March 1809, when she played Gunilda in William Dimond's Hero of the North and Emmeline in John Hawkesworth's Edgar and Emmeline. She probably married Daniel Egerton
soon afterwards. He was playing leading business in Bath.
Her first recorded appearance as Mrs. Egerton was at Birmingham
in 1810. On 25 February 1811, as Mrs. Egerton from Birmingham, she played Juliet
at Covent Garden without muchsuccess. Marcia in Cato, Luciana in Comedy of Errors
, and Emilia in Othello
followed during the same season.
and subsequently Miss O'Neill
, and it was not until she took to melodrama
that her position became assured.
In The Miller and his Men by Isaac Pocock
she was (21 October 1813) the original Ravina. She relapsed into obscurity, from which, thanks to adaptations from the Waverley Novels
, she then returned. Guy Mannering, or the Gipsy's Prophecy, by Daniel Terry
, was produced at Covent Garden on 12 March 1816. John Emery
was originally cast for Meg Merrilies, but refused to take the part. The management turned almost in despair to Egerton, whose success proved to be conspicuous. Helen Macgregor in Pocock's Rob Roy Macgregor, or Auld Lang Syne, 12 March 1818, followed. Her services having been dispensed with at Covent Garden, she played (13 January 1819), at the Surrey Theatre
, Madge Wildfire in Thomas Dibdin
's The Heart of Midlothian, or the Lily of St. Leonard's, and subsequently Young Norval in John Home
's Douglas
, played as a melodrama. In 1819-1820 she appeared at Drury Lane
, then under R. W. Elliston
's management, as Meg Merrilies, playing during this and the following seasons in tragedy and melodrama, and even in comedy. She was the Queen to Edmund Kean
's Hamlet
, and appeared as Clementina Allspice in Thomas Morton
's The Way to Get Married, Volumnia in Coriolanus
, Jane de Monfort in the alteration of Joanna Baillie
's De Monfort, brought forward for Kean 27 November 1821, Alicia in Nicholas Rowe's Jane Shore, and many other characters.
When in 1821 her husband took on Sadler's Wells, she appeared with conspicuous success as Joan of Arc in Edward Fitzball
's drama of that name. Subsequently she played in melodrama at the Olympic Theatre
, also under her husband's management.
on 3 August 1847, and was buried on 7 August in Chelsea churchyard.
Early life
Egerton was the daughter of Peter Fisher, rector of Little TorringtonLittle Torrington
Little Torrington is a village and civil parish near Great Torrington, in the Torridge district, in north Devon, England. In 2001 the population of the civil parish of Little Torrington was 420. Little Torrington has a church called Church of St Giles...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. After her father died in 1803 she took to the stage, appearing at the Bath theatre on 3 December 1803 as Emma in John Till Allingham
John Till Allingham
-Life:Allingham was the son of a wine merchant in the city of London. He was brought up to the profession of the law, but is chiefly known as a successful and prolific dramatist....
's play The Marriage Promise. Here she remained for six or seven years, playing as a rule secondary characters. Her last benefit at Bath took place on 21 March 1809, when she played Gunilda in William Dimond's Hero of the North and Emmeline in John Hawkesworth's Edgar and Emmeline. She probably married Daniel Egerton
Daniel Egerton
-Life:Egerton was born in the city of London on 14 April 1772. According to various accounts, presumably supplied by himself, he was 'bred to the law in a public office.' Another source says, however, 'he was in business near Whitechapel, and made his first attempt on the stage in this assumed name...
soon afterwards. He was playing leading business in Bath.
Her first recorded appearance as Mrs. Egerton was at Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in 1810. On 25 February 1811, as Mrs. Egerton from Birmingham, she played Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
at Covent Garden without muchsuccess. Marcia in Cato, Luciana in Comedy of Errors
Comedy Of Errors
Comedy Of Errors was a Glasgow-based progressive rock band formed in January 1984. Their first recording was a demo called "Ever be the Prize", and was recorded at a studio in Blanefield in 1985, and followed by a mini album in 1986....
, and Emilia in Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
followed during the same season.
Success in melodrama
Sarah Egerton had stiff opposition in Mrs. SiddonsSarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character,...
and subsequently Miss O'Neill
Eliza O'Neill
Eliza O'Neill was an Irish actress, later baronetess.Born in Drogheda, she was the daughter of an actor and stage manager...
, and it was not until she took to melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
that her position became assured.
In The Miller and his Men by Isaac Pocock
Isaac Pocock
Isaac Pocock was an English dramatist and painter of portraits and historical subjects . He wrote melodramas, farces and light operatic comedies, many of his works being adapted for stage from existing novels...
she was (21 October 1813) the original Ravina. She relapsed into obscurity, from which, thanks to adaptations from the Waverley Novels
Waverley Novels
The Waverley Novels are a long series of books by Sir Walter Scott. For nearly a century they were among the most popular and widely-read novels in all of Europe. Because he did not publicly acknowledge authorship until 1827, they take their name from Waverley , which was the first...
, she then returned. Guy Mannering, or the Gipsy's Prophecy, by Daniel Terry
Daniel Terry
Daniel Terry was an English actor and playwright, known also as a close associate of Sir Walter Scott.-Life:He was born in Bath about 1780, and was educated at the Bath grammar school and subsequently at a private school at Wingfield , Wiltshire, under the Rev. Edward Spencer...
, was produced at Covent Garden on 12 March 1816. John Emery
John Emery (English actor)
John Emery , was an English actor.Emery was born at Sunderland 22 September 1777, and obtained a rudimentary education at Ecclesfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His father, Mackle Emery , was a country actor, and his mother, as Mrs...
was originally cast for Meg Merrilies, but refused to take the part. The management turned almost in despair to Egerton, whose success proved to be conspicuous. Helen Macgregor in Pocock's Rob Roy Macgregor, or Auld Lang Syne, 12 March 1818, followed. Her services having been dispensed with at Covent Garden, she played (13 January 1819), at the Surrey Theatre
Surrey Theatre
The Surrey Theatre began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided contemporary London entertainment of both horsemanship and drama...
, Madge Wildfire in Thomas Dibdin
Thomas John Dibdin
Thomas John Dibdin was an English dramatist and song-writer.Dibdin was the son of Charles Dibdin, a song-writer and theatre manager, and of Mrs Davenet, an actress whose real name was Harriet Pitt. He was apprenticed to his maternal uncle, a London upholsterer, and later to William Rawlins,...
's The Heart of Midlothian, or the Lily of St. Leonard's, and subsequently Young Norval in John Home
John Home
John Home was a Scottish poet and dramatist.-Biography:He was born at Leith, near Edinburgh, where his father, Alexander Home, a distant relation of the earls of Home, was town clerk. John was educated at the Leith Grammar School, and at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated MA, in 1742...
's Douglas
Douglas (play)
Douglas is a blank verse tragedy by John Home. It was first performed in 1756 in EdinburghThe play was a big success in both Scotland and England for decades, attacting many notable actors of the period, such as Edmund Kean who made his debut in it. Peg Woffington played Lady Randolph, a part which...
, played as a melodrama. In 1819-1820 she appeared at Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
, then under R. W. Elliston
Robert William Elliston
Robert William Elliston was an English actor and theatre manager.He was born in London, the son of a watchmaker. He was educated at St Paul's School, but ran away from home and made his first appearance on the stage as Tressel in Richard III at Bath in 1791...
's management, as Meg Merrilies, playing during this and the following seasons in tragedy and melodrama, and even in comedy. She was the Queen to Edmund Kean
Edmund Kean
Edmund Kean was an English actor, regarded in his time as the greatest ever.-Early life:Kean was born in London. His father was probably Edmund Kean, an architect’s clerk, and his mother was an actress, Anne Carey, daughter of the 18th century composer and playwright Henry Carey...
's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, and appeared as Clementina Allspice in Thomas Morton
Thomas Morton (playwright)
Thomas Morton was an English playwright.-Life:Morton was born in the city of Durham. He was the son of John and Grace Morton of Whickham, County Durham. He went to London to study law at Lincoln's Inn, but abandoned his studies for playwriting. For much of his life, Thomas lived in Pangbourne in...
's The Way to Get Married, Volumnia in Coriolanus
Coriolanus
Gaius Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" because of his exceptional valor in a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was then promoted to a general...
, Jane de Monfort in the alteration of Joanna Baillie
Joanna Baillie
Joanna Baillie was a Scottish poet and dramatist. Baillie was very well known during her lifetime and, though a woman, intended her plays not for the closet but for the stage. Admired both for her literary powers and her sweetness of disposition, she hosted a brilliant literary society in her...
's De Monfort, brought forward for Kean 27 November 1821, Alicia in Nicholas Rowe's Jane Shore, and many other characters.
When in 1821 her husband took on Sadler's Wells, she appeared with conspicuous success as Joan of Arc in Edward Fitzball
Edward Fitzball
Edward Fitzball was a popular English playwright, who specialised in melodrama. His real surname was Ball, and he was born at Burwell, Cambridgeshire.Fitzball was educated in Newmarket, was apprenticed to a Norwich printer in 1809...
's drama of that name. Subsequently she played in melodrama at the Olympic Theatre
Olympic Theatre
The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street, and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence...
, also under her husband's management.
Later life
Soon after Daniel Egerton's death in 1835 she retired from the stage, accepting a pension from the Covent Garden Fund. She died at ChelseaChelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
on 3 August 1847, and was buried on 7 August in Chelsea churchyard.