Poster advertising A Life of Pleasure and The Manxman, Theatre Royal Nottingham 1894
Poster
1894 (made)
1894 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A Life of Pleasure was one of the extremely popular autumn ‘sensation dramas’ written by Augustus Harris and Henry Pettitt and staged by Augustus Harris at Drury Lane Theatre in September 1893, and at the Princes Theatre, Bristol in December when the autumn melodrama was replaced at Drury Lane by pantomime. As this poster shows, the production was also toured, being staged for the week commencing 17th September 1894 at the Thatre Royal Nottingham.
The play was a typically eventful Victorian melodrama where the innocent heroine Norah falls victim to the heartless upper-class seducer Captain Chandos who rejects her in favour of the wealthy heiress Lady Mary. In contrast to the three tranquil Act II scenes showing views of the River Thames in Berkshire - the lawns at Skindles; 'near Boulter's Lock', and a houseboat at Cliveden - the penultimate act set in ‘Burmah’ (Myanmar) referred to the Anglo-Burmese war of 1885 and shockingly ended up with ‘a stage full of dead Burmese’.
Photographs in the collection of The White Heather by Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton, the 1897 Drury Lane autumn melodrama, show that Boulter's Lock was also a scene in that, perhaps written to reuse the stage cloth and flats from A Life of Pleasure.
The play was a typically eventful Victorian melodrama where the innocent heroine Norah falls victim to the heartless upper-class seducer Captain Chandos who rejects her in favour of the wealthy heiress Lady Mary. In contrast to the three tranquil Act II scenes showing views of the River Thames in Berkshire - the lawns at Skindles; 'near Boulter's Lock', and a houseboat at Cliveden - the penultimate act set in ‘Burmah’ (Myanmar) referred to the Anglo-Burmese war of 1885 and shockingly ended up with ‘a stage full of dead Burmese’.
Photographs in the collection of The White Heather by Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton, the 1897 Drury Lane autumn melodrama, show that Boulter's Lock was also a scene in that, perhaps written to reuse the stage cloth and flats from A Life of Pleasure.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Poster advertising A Life of Pleasure and The Manxman, Theatre Royal Nottingham 1894 (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Printed ink on paper |
| Brief description | Poster advertising Sir Augustus Harris's Company in A Life of Pleasure by Henry Pettitt and Sir Augustus Harris at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, week commencing 17th September 1894, with advance notice of Wilson Barrett's appearance in The Manxman, week commencing 24th September 1894 |
| Physical description | Typographic. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Stamped with Theatre Museum, V.A.M. stamp. |
| Object history | Associated Production: A Life of Pleasure. Playwright: Henry Pettitt. Playwright: Sir Augustus Harris. Composer: J.M. Glover. Set designers: Mr. Caney, W. Perkins, Joseph Harker, E. Ryan & J. Hicks; Costumes: Miss Collier, Casl. & Co., Debenham & Freebody, Angel & Hyman. Actors: Miss Beaumont Collins, Miss Belle Valpy, Miss Lizzie Aubrey, Miss Bessie Harrison, Mr. Walter McEwen, Mr. Magill Martyn, Mr. Ernest Montefiore, Mr. Cyril Melton, Mr. Charles Dodsworth, Mr. William Dempsey, Mr. James Collins, Mr. Jarvis Widdicomb, Mr. Henry Cooper, Mr. James Mason, Mr. J. Robinson, Mr. J. Robinson, Miss Herman, Mr. C.S. Brocknor, Mr. E. H. Brittan, Mr. T.W. Bedells, Mr. W. Davis, Miss Nita Carllon, Miss Marie Hood, Miss Polly Lantley, Miss Bessie Conway, Miss Jessie Greenaway, Mr. N. Nomieo, Mr. J.C. Beauvane, Mr. G.A. Seager, Mr. John Pollard, Mr. James Davis, Mr. F. Maynard, Mr. Lane Bayliff, Miss Bertie Kingston, Miss Georgie Cook, Miss Lydia Cantwell, Miss Jessie Cantwell, Miss Fanny Eaton, Miss B. Talbot. Sir Augustus Harriss's Company. Theatre Royal, Nottingham. 17.9.1894. Performance category: sensation drama. |
| Production | Caxton House, Long Row |
| Summary | A Life of Pleasure was one of the extremely popular autumn ‘sensation dramas’ written by Augustus Harris and Henry Pettitt and staged by Augustus Harris at Drury Lane Theatre in September 1893, and at the Princes Theatre, Bristol in December when the autumn melodrama was replaced at Drury Lane by pantomime. As this poster shows, the production was also toured, being staged for the week commencing 17th September 1894 at the Thatre Royal Nottingham. The play was a typically eventful Victorian melodrama where the innocent heroine Norah falls victim to the heartless upper-class seducer Captain Chandos who rejects her in favour of the wealthy heiress Lady Mary. In contrast to the three tranquil Act II scenes showing views of the River Thames in Berkshire - the lawns at Skindles; 'near Boulter's Lock', and a houseboat at Cliveden - the penultimate act set in ‘Burmah’ (Myanmar) referred to the Anglo-Burmese war of 1885 and shockingly ended up with ‘a stage full of dead Burmese’. Photographs in the collection of The White Heather by Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton, the 1897 Drury Lane autumn melodrama, show that Boulter's Lock was also a scene in that, perhaps written to reuse the stage cloth and flats from A Life of Pleasure. |
| Associated objects |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.2448-1995 |
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 | July 30, 2010 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
