Mr Kendal - Postcard, 1908
Title
Mr Kendal - Postcard, 1908
Date
30 March 1908
Description
Promotional postcard of Mr William Hunter 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, William Hunter Kendal starred in a repertoire of plays, alongside his wife Madge 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
Born William Hunter Grimston, Kendal was a very popular actor of this period, cemented even further after marrying his wife Madge Kendal in 1869, when their 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
Born William Hunter Grimston, Kendal was a very popular actor of this period, cemented even further after marrying his wife Madge Kendal in 1869, when their 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 / Lynn Whitley
