Playbill advertising William Henry West Betty, 'The Young Roscius', 1804
Playbill
1804 (made)
1804 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This playbill advertises the first appearance in Edinburgh of the fourteen year old superstar William Henry West Betty (1791-1874), later known as Master Betty, in the title role of John Home's Douglas, but only identifies him as The Young Roscius. It notes that he is: 'the young gentleman who has for some time performed in the theatres of Dublin, Cork and Belfast with such a series of success and drew crowded and overflowing houses as to acquire the appellation of The Young Roscius, and, who has been received with an equal degree of estimation in Glasgow...'
Master Betty went on to make his first appearance in London at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, on Saturday, 1 December 1804, by which time his appearances in the rest of the country had produced such frenetic expectation that people hid in the theatre the night before in an attempt to see him and others fainted in the crush for admittance. Constables were hired to keep watch in the auditorium on the great day that he made his London debut as Achmet in John Brown's tragedy Barbarossa.
Master Betty went on to make his first appearance in London at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, on Saturday, 1 December 1804, by which time his appearances in the rest of the country had produced such frenetic expectation that people hid in the theatre the night before in an attempt to see him and others fainted in the crush for admittance. Constables were hired to keep watch in the auditorium on the great day that he made his London debut as Achmet in John Brown's tragedy Barbarossa.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Playbill advertising William Henry West Betty, 'The Young Roscius', 1804 |
| Materials and techniques | Letterpress |
| Brief description | Playbill advertising 'The Young Roscius' William Henry West Betty (1791-1874) in Douglas, Theatre Royal Edinburgh, 28 June1804. Letterpress, printed by Denovan & Co. |
| Physical description | Letterpress playbill advertising 'The Young Roscius' in Douglas at the Theatre Royal, Thursday, 28 June1804. The evening will conclude with the farce, Raising the Wind. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996 |
| Object history | Associated production: Douglas. Drama by John Home. Actors - Master Better (Young Roscius), Mr Willoughby, Mrs Ward. Raising the Wind. Farce by J. Kenney. Actors - Mr Hollingsworth, Mr Turpin, Mrs Charteris. Other actors - Mr Evatt, Mr Hunter and Mrs Evatt. 28/6/1804, Theatre Royal, Edinburgh |
| Summary | This playbill advertises the first appearance in Edinburgh of the fourteen year old superstar William Henry West Betty (1791-1874), later known as Master Betty, in the title role of John Home's Douglas, but only identifies him as The Young Roscius. It notes that he is: 'the young gentleman who has for some time performed in the theatres of Dublin, Cork and Belfast with such a series of success and drew crowded and overflowing houses as to acquire the appellation of The Young Roscius, and, who has been received with an equal degree of estimation in Glasgow...' Master Betty went on to make his first appearance in London at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, on Saturday, 1 December 1804, by which time his appearances in the rest of the country had produced such frenetic expectation that people hid in the theatre the night before in an attempt to see him and others fainted in the crush for admittance. Constables were hired to keep watch in the auditorium on the great day that he made his London debut as Achmet in John Brown's tragedy Barbarossa. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.188-1997 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | October 20, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
