Mrs Kendal - Postcard, 1908
Title
Mrs Kendal - Postcard, 1908
Date
30 March 1908
Description
Promotional postcard of Mrs Madge Kendal, starring in a week-long season of plays at the Theatre Royal in 1908.
What's the story?
Produced under the auspices of their own company, Madge Kendal starred in a repertoire of plays, alongside her husband William Hunter Kendal, at the Theatre Royal from 30 March to 6 April 1908.
Plays performed during this week were:
Monday 30 March – The Housekeeper
Tuesday 31 March – Still Waters Run Deep
Wednesday 1 April – The Elder Miss Blossom
Thursday 2 April - The Ironmaster
Friday 3 & Saturday 4 April – The Whirlpool
Dame Madge Kendal was one of the most famous actors of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Her stage career started at the age of five under her birth name of Madge Robertson. In 1865 she performed in a season of plays at the Haymarket Theatre in London, including Desdemona to black actor Ira Aldridge’s Othello and Ophelia to Walter Montgomery’s Hamlet.
In September 1865 Montgomery became the first actor/manager of the new Theatre Royal Nottingham and on opening night on 25 September 1865, Madge Robertson was the first person on the stage with a welcome speech to the audience. She was also a member of the acting company for the opening performance of The School for Scandal, directed by Montgomery.
In 1869 she married her husband, fellow actor William Hunter Kendal and their very successful careers then ran parallel for many years.
This postcard forms part of a large scrapbook collection donated to the Theatre Royal archive by Diane Meadwell from Sandiacre. Her great grandfather was Bernard Hill, the former landlord of The Sun Inn on Parliament Street and who later became the Stage Door Keeper at the Theatre Royal. Bernard’s daughter Edith also worked at the Theatre Royal as an usherette.
Whilst in his stage door job, Bernard collected a large number of postcards of the numerous artists who performed at the venue, many of which he got them to autograph, as well as writing the date and if necessary the show on the reverse, making the future archivist’s job that little bit easier. We have then been able to cross-reference this information with the list of Theatre Royal shows being compiled by volunteer researcher Lynn Whitley.
We are grateful to Diane for sharing her family memories with us and for donating such a valuable resource to the archive.
Plays performed during this week were:
Monday 30 March – The Housekeeper
Tuesday 31 March – Still Waters Run Deep
Wednesday 1 April – The Elder Miss Blossom
Thursday 2 April - The Ironmaster
Friday 3 & Saturday 4 April – The Whirlpool
Dame Madge Kendal was one of the most famous actors of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Her stage career started at the age of five under her birth name of Madge Robertson. In 1865 she performed in a season of plays at the Haymarket Theatre in London, including Desdemona to black actor Ira Aldridge’s Othello and Ophelia to Walter Montgomery’s Hamlet.
In September 1865 Montgomery became the first actor/manager of the new Theatre Royal Nottingham and on opening night on 25 September 1865, Madge Robertson was the first person on the stage with a welcome speech to the audience. She was also a member of the acting company for the opening performance of The School for Scandal, directed by Montgomery.
In 1869 she married her husband, fellow actor William Hunter Kendal and their very successful careers then ran parallel for many years.
This postcard forms part of a large scrapbook collection donated to the Theatre Royal archive by Diane Meadwell from Sandiacre. Her great grandfather was Bernard Hill, the former landlord of The Sun Inn on Parliament Street and who later became the Stage Door Keeper at the Theatre Royal. Bernard’s daughter Edith also worked at the Theatre Royal as an usherette.
Whilst in his stage door job, Bernard collected a large number of postcards of the numerous artists who performed at the venue, many of which he got them to autograph, as well as writing the date and if necessary the show on the reverse, making the future archivist’s job that little bit easier. We have then been able to cross-reference this information with the list of Theatre Royal shows being compiled by volunteer researcher Lynn Whitley.
We are grateful to Diane for sharing her family memories with us and for donating such a valuable resource to the archive.
Type
Postcard
Location of item
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Rights
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Contributor
Researchers: David Longford / Lyn Whitley
