Madge Kendal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dame Madge Kendal DBE (15 March 1848–14 September 1935), born Margaret Shafto Robertson, was an English actress.
[edit] Life and career
She was born in Great Grimsby, of a theatrical family, being the sister of T. W. Robertson, a dramatist and one of 22 children of William Robertson.
Mrs. Kendal's first stage appearance was as Marie, "a child", in The Orphan of the Frozen Sea in 1854 in London. She soon showed such talent both as actress and singer that she secured numerous engagements, and in 1865 was playing Ophelia and Desdemona at the Haymarket Theatre in London. She was Mary Meredith in Our American Cousin with Sothern, and Pauline to his Claud Melnotte. But her most notable successes were at the Haymarket in Shakespearian revivals and the old English comedies. She was married in 1869 to W. H. Grimston Kendal, and the two thereafter acted mostly together. In the early 1870s, the Kendals starred in a series of "fairy comedies" by W. S. Gilbert, and they appeared for a number of seasons at The Prince of Wales's Theatre.
From 1879 to 1888, they managed St. James's Theatre and presented a large number of Pinero plays, among many others. Their reign there was noted for its taste, and the theatre became very fashionable again. The Kendals helped to improve the respectability of the Victorian theatre, which had fallen into disrepute among the middle classes. They imposed a high moral code both on stage and behind the scenes. They also managed the Court Theatre for a time.
Mr. and Mrs. Kendal made their American debut in A Scrap of Paper in 1889, and the success of their first tour in the United States was repeated in several successive seasons. They continued to appear in popular plays without interruption till 1908, when they both retired, though Mrs Kendal reappeared at the gala performance at His Majesty's Theatre in 1911, playing Mistress Ford.
The Kendals had five children. She was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in 1926.
[edit] References
- Archer, "Mr. and Mrs. Kendal", in Matthews and Hutton, Actors and Actresses of Great Britain and the United States (New York, 1886)
- Scott, The Drama of Yesterday and To-Day (London, 1899)
- T. E. Pemberton, The Kendals: A Biography (New York, 1900)
- Profile of Kendal
