Mary Frances Scott-Siddons
Mary Frances Scott-Siddons was a British actor and dramatic reader. Her paternal great-grandmother was Sarah Siddons.
After a struggle, Scott-Siddons secured an engagement and made her professional debut at Nottingham, in 1866. as Portia in The Merchant of Venice. She was well received there and in Edinburgh, and in the following year, attained a great success as a Shakespearean reader in London, where in 1868 she played the part of Rosalind in As You Like It at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and afterward appeared as Juliet, drawing immense audiences. Her beauty and grace of person contributed more to her success than her histrionic talent, and though a spirited and thoroughly natural actress, she lacked the technical training and necessary vigor. In her readings she was more successful. She played in New York City in 1868, and was not well received, nor were her subsequent appearances in London successful. In 1872, she starred in the United States and Australia with mediocre success.
It was as a dramatic reader that Scott-Siddons achieved her greatest fame. Her work was characterized by vast intelligence and clearness of interpretation. Her utterance was rapid, and in a clear, musical voice of great flexibility of expression. In scenes, she made little attempt to differentiate characters by vocal changes; she gestured little.
Early years and education
Mary Frances Siddons was born in Bengal, India in 1844. Her father was Capt. William Young Siddons, of the 65th Bengal Light Infantry. Her mother, Susan Mary Earle, was a daughter of Col. Earle, of the British army. Her paternal great-grandmother was Sarah Siddons.Upon the death of her father, her mother returned to England with her children, settling in Somersetshire, from whence she proceeded to Germany, her two daughters being educated in Bonn. It was here that she made her stage-debut in a German comedy, when she distinguished herself by her elocutionary ability. At the age of eleven years, she astonished her teachers and friends by her striking performance of a part in a French play, Esther. She became fascinated with the stage and was constantly acting in French and German plays, playing the most difficult roles in the dramas of Schiller, Racine, Moliere and Corneille. Her performance of the young Mortimer in Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart exhibited so much ability as to induce one of the principals of her school to consult with Charles Kean as to the desirability of educating her for the stage. He, however, advised on account of her extreme youth that this be deferred for a few years.
History and career
In 1862, at Hythe, Kent, at the age of eighteen, she married Thomas Scott-Chanter, son of Thomas Barnard Chanter and Isabella Scott. Scott-Chanter had entered the Royal Navy in 1852; served as Assistant Paymaster in 1856 and Paymaster in 1864. At marriage, he took the surname of Scott-Siddons, owing to the objection of the groom's father to the use of the family name on the stage.In 1865, using the stage name Mary Frances Scott-Siddons, and, against the wishes of her family, she joined the company of the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. She made her debut as Portia in The Merchant of Venice. In 1866, she appeared as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Also in 1866, in Nottingham, England, she played the role of Lady Macbeth. This seems to have been an error in judgment, for her physique was not suited to the part, nor had she the necessary stage training for the performance of so difficult a role.
On 1 April 1867, she made her first appearance in London in the Hanover Square Rooms, where she read selections from Shakespeare and Tennyson. These proved so popular that she was early sought-after by theatrical managers. On 8 April, she played Rosalind in the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Critics praised her highly.
Her husband retired from the Royal Navy in 1868. He accompanied her when she made her American debut as a reader at Newport, Rhode Island, during the summer of 1868. She first appeared in New York City as a reader from Shakespeare on October 26, 1868, at Steinway Hall. Her first American appearance as an actress was at the Boston Museum, and her metropolitan debut on the dramatic stage occurred November 30, 1868, at the New York Theater, as Rosalind. Her theatrical debut in that city was made in the Fifth Avenue Theatre, where she played successfully in a long line of characters. But she was coldly received. During this engagement she appeared also in Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and King René's Daughter. Her next New York engagement was at Daly's Theater on 4 October 1869, she then appearing as Viola in Twelfth Night.
In July, 1870, she played as Pauline in The Lady of Lyons in London, following with other impersonations.
In November 1871 at the opening of John and Michael Gunn's Gaiety Theatre, Dublin she delivered the prologue by John Francis Wall.
On 4 May 1872, at the Queen's Theatre in London was the occasion, "in the first original piece in which she had ever acted," viz. Ordeal by Touch ; she played the part of Coralie. The piece was not a satisfactory success. Following the last-mentioned date, Scott-Siddons was engaged on a "starring" tour in the United States and Australia in 1872, but did not fare much better than on her first visit to the U.S. On 21 June 1879, she reappeared on the London stage at the Olympic Theatre for the benefit of George Coleman, and recited two lyrical pieces.
In 1881, she assumed in London the management of the Haymarket Theater. From this time, she gave most of her attention to dramatic readings, though appearing occasionally as an actress. On 23 April 1888, she made her appearance as a reader at Steinway Hall, New York, accompanied by her adopted son, the child prodigy, Henry Waller, formerly known as "Seraphael".
While Mrs. Scott-Siddons lived to act, her husband was devoted to alcohol. This caused their separation, and eventually his death in Australia in 1903. After 1881 she lived in semi-retirement. She died at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France, on November 19, 1896, and was buried at Brookwood Cemetery, in Brookwood, Surrey, England.
Reception
Her 8 April 1867 performance as Rosalind was thus noticed in the Daily Telegraph :—Further, he Daily News expressed the opinion that:—
Also, Bell's Life in London, April 13, 1867, said:—
A criticism of her November 30, 1868 performance as Rosalind at the New York Theater appeared in the New-York Tribune, December 1, 1868:—