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| ISBN-13: | 9781907396755 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Hertfordshire Press |
| Publication date: | 07/01/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 304 |
| File size: | 3 MB |
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Lena Ashwell
Actress, Patriot, Pioneer
By Margaret Leask
University of Hertfordshire Press
Copyright © 2012 Margaret LeaskAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-907396-75-5
CHAPTER 1
Actress: early performing career
She was a queer-looking child, handsome, with a face suggesting all manner of possibilities. When she stood up to read the speech from Richard II she was nervous, but courageously stood her ground. She began slowly, and with a most 'fetching' voice, to think out the words. You saw her think them, heard her speak them. It was so different from the intelligent elocution, the good recitation, but bad impersonation of the others! 'A pathetic face, a passionate voice, a brain', I thought to myself. It must have been at this point that the girl flung away the book and began to act, in an undisciplined way ... but with such true emotion, such intensity, that the tears came to my eyes ... It was an easy victory for her. She was incomparably better than any one. 'She has to work', I wrote in my diary that day. 'Her life must be given to it, and then she will ... achieve just as high as she works'. Lena Pocock was the girl's name, but she changed it to Lena Ashwell when she went on the stage.
Thus wrote Ellen Terry, describing the occasion in 1890 when she distributed medals at the Royal Academy of Music while her daughter, Edith Craig, was studying there. Although she didn't know it at the time, Terry's response to Lena Pocock influenced not only this young woman's future, but also future directions in English theatre, which continue to resonate today.
Lena Margaret Pocock was born into a close-knit family of intrepid and determined individualists. Her father, Charles Ashwell Pocock, to whom she was devoted, was a Clerk in Holy Orders and a Royal Navy Commander. His uncle was the sea artist Nicholas Pocock, and there was a seafaring tradition in the family. Lena was born on 28 September 1869 on board the Wellesley training ship, berthed on the river Tyne and 'commanded' by her father as a home for 'boys "unconvicted of crime" but under suspicion'. Her mother, Sarah Stevens, was also from a seafaring family. Lena, always called Daisy by her family, was the second youngest of seven children, one of whom died when the family was in New Zealand. She was closest in age to Roger, Ethel and Hilda, while her eldest siblings, Francis and Rosalie, left home when she was very young.
Her early schooling was in England, but when she was eight, Lena's father's health broke down and the family moved to Canada, living in a wood cabin near Brockville, overlooking the St Lawrence River. 'Here was great beauty; but also great discomfort. No water laid on in the house, no drainage, no gas nor electric light, no modern conveniences whatever.' But there was 'a river to swim in, a canoe to sail or paddle, a forest to wander in, and at home, plenty of hard work'. An avid reader, she 'had a passion for words and their sound ... "illegitimate" had a swinging kind of sound, and I liked to sing it'. She attended a government school, but her education was interrupted by expulsion (perhaps because of the above), illness and a family move to Toronto. In 1887 her mother, aged 48, died in a carriage accident. Lena and Hilda became boarders at Bishop Strachan's School for Young Ladies, where Lena established a pattern to be repeated throughout her life. Determined to work hard, she rose before dawn and matriculated at the University of Toronto fourteen months after her mother's death. Devastated by the loss of his wife, Pocock gave up his Treasury of God work and moved to Europe with his three daughters.
Lausanne, Switzerland, was their destination, where Lena attended a French-speaking school and studied music at the Conservatoire. She was preparing to be a governess, but on hearing her sing, an English cathedral organist recommended study at London's Royal Academy of Music. Lena's father disapproved and she 'was torn between my love for my father and my determination to follow my dream and be an operasinger'. Helped by a wealthy school friend, Belle Hevener, she managed to go to London and stayed with some unwelcoming cousins until, on her acceptance into the Academy, her father, Ethel and Hilda joined her and they set up house together.
Encouraged by Ellen Terry, after graduation Lena Ashwell (taking her name from her father's family) set her sights on a theatrical rather than musical career. She described herself as 'passionate and terribly nervous', in which state she made her professional debut at the Islington Grand Theatre on 30 March 1891. Her role, a servant girl in The Pharisee, was notable mainly because, overcome with stage fright, she left the stage without uttering the four words assigned to her.
Between this small debacle and October 1900, Ashwell's career took a similar path to that of many aspiring actresses, although she was based mostly in London and did not learn her trade on tour or with provincial companies. She sought employment from producers such as Frederick Harrison at the Haymarket, who promised not to forget her, should an opportunity arise, after her appearance in That Dreadful Doctor. Initially, she did not impress George Alexander and was disappointed when not given a promised role in London following a minor part (at Terry's intervention) in his 1892 touring production of Lady Windermere's Fan. As she describes in her autobiography,
the control of the theatres was in the hands of the actor-managers, most of whom had been through every kind of experience ... in the provinces before they arrived in London. To be engaged in these managements was as if you were permitted to pay a visit to some distinguished house where your host was always present to see that all the fine traditions and accepted laws of hospitality were conformed to and where everyone knew his or her position in the general scheme of life.
Ashwell was cast in some noteworthy productions (and some less memorable), making her West End debut in two curtain-raisers, Through the Fire and Two in the Bush (which preceded the comedy Gloriana at the Globe between November 1891 and early February 1892), where she conformed to the practice of playing a small role and understudying. She established friendships with Eva Moore and Gertrude Kingston, and was a member, briefly, of the ill-fated Amy Roselle's company, in Man and Woman at the Opera Comique in early 1893. The Referee noticed that 'Miss Lena Ashwell, a refined and sympathetic young actress, made a big step forward', but Moore sensed Ashwell was unhappy. It appeared Roselle did not like her and did nothing to make things easier for her. According to Moore, 'Lena, in those days, was a vague person, which was rather extraordinary, as she was a very fine athlete, and the two qualities did not seem to go together.'
Through Terry, Ashwell met producer Joseph William Comyns Carr, who engaged her to understudy Winifred Emery in Frou-Frou at the Comedy in June 1893. On signing a two-year contract with him, she had guaranteed work but little choice of roles. While understudying Rosamund in Grundy's Sowing the Wind, she played in the curtain-raiser, In Strict Confidence, and from mid-December to early February 1894 appeared in daily matinees of The Piper of Hamelin. She had a minor break, replacing the indisposed Emery on the third night of Frou-Frou and impressing the company and the small audience who remained. Alice Comyns Carr 'plied her with sal volatile during the intervals, but I don't think she really needed the stimulant ... the minute she was back on the stage all discouragement slipped from her. She was an artist, and enthusiasm and excitement ... her best restoratives ... Perhaps the greatest tribute ... was Emery's rapid recovery ... the understudy was only allowed to play the role for one night!' Mrs Comyns Carr described her as 'the gentle girl with the good voice ... very adaptable ... and though very modest about her own capabilities, took her new vocation with the utmost seriousness, and studied almost night and day to fit herself for the part'. Ashwell, aware of her inexperience, observed later that at the time she might not have been able to repeat the performance, which was 'inspired by a sudden opportunity ... Acting is a curious, elusive art and difficult to really learn ... it is necessary not only to make an effect but to know exactly in what way the effect has been produced.'
She then played in Buchanan's comedy Dick Sheridan and, when Frou-Frou returned to the repertoire, played Pauline for the matinees, taking the lead when it went into the evening bill. Like many actresses, she had special admirers, including Reginald Golding Bright, who became an agent and apparently enjoyed talent spotting. His letters, signed 'your sincere admirer' and commenting on her performances, provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of her acting:
Your only fault on Saturday was that you spoke your lines too quickly and consequently the audience lost much of what they should have heard ... you will of course remedy this defect ... the part is a poor one ... after all it is only a question of time, for talent and genius such as yours cannot long remain hidden.
Golding Bright sent stamps so that she could send him a telegram if called to play Gilberte Brigard in Frou-Frou. He could not resist giving her advice: 'Work it up deliberately until you reach "crescendo" (the meaning of which you as a musician will comprehend).' On 9 April 1894, when Ashwell played Emery's role, Golding Bright wrote with praise tempered with criticism: 'you rose to a height which even I had scarcely expected of you ... though I fear the strain rather told upon you'. She was very nervous, had taken some prompts and he felt she hurried her words on occasion. He wrote two notices of her performance, sent to the Star and the Sun, the latter publishing a shortened version, under his nom de plume Leonard Fanfare. He hoped her elevation to the top ranks would mean he could write more detailed praise of her work.
In May, Ashwell was 'lent' by Comyns Carr for a Royal Court revival of Marriage, in a season that ran into July. She enjoyed this play, which was reviewed enthusiastically by the Daily Telegraph: 'Miss Lena Ashwell is evidently one of the actresses of the future. She has a voice of infinite tenderness and variety, a voice full of expression and charm, and an earnestness that is better than all. Miss Ashwell does not take up acting as a trivial pastime, but a serious undertaking. Her heart is in her work and she shows it in every line of it.'
She returned to Comyns Carr's tour of Sowing the Wind, opening at Dublin's Gaiety in mid-August.
This popular love story involved the illegitimate daughter of a gentleman whose adopted son falls in love with her; the drama focused on the resolution of unknown identities and of her mother's reputation before they could be united. The Irish critics were generous and Ashwell was relieved, having struggled to take on the mantle of Rosamund from Evelyn Millard who had toured it with the grand old actor W.H. Vernon playing the father. As she gained confidence, Vernon 'drilled and drilled me in the path of virtue, but at last gave me up in despair and told me to play the part in my own way ... It was in Dublin that I was allowed to act the part without trying to be like someone else.' Her instincts paid off for the Irish Times, whose reviewer found it difficult
to fully convey how truthfully Miss Ashwell interprets this difficult role. There are very many temptations to overdo it, to tear passion to tatters. But in all she does there is a perfect naturalness, and reserve of force, which, combined with her intelligent rendering of the dialogue, her tenderness of expression, pathos, youth, charming grace, sympathetic voice, and freshness, render her acting almost perfect. There was something intensely impressive and powerful in her delivery (it was too artistic to be called mere declamation) of the lines in defence of erring woman, or rather in denunciation of that society which shrinks from the stricken sister ... in [this] ... the gifted young actress was sublime.
Others recognised her strong inclination to naturalism. An admirer, John Glover, wrote: 'I have never witnessed or listened to anything that stirred me so deeply, and made me experience so keen enjoyment as your natural acting ... I have no object but to express my deep obligation for a benefit conferred, and for the revelation afforded of what true acting is.' She then experienced the rigours of provincial touring, described with wry humour in Myself a Player, and gave promotional interviews to local newspapers, declaring to the Blackpool Gazette that she was 'the property of Mr Carr for two years, wailing [sic] like a famous character in fiction, for something to turn up'.When asked why she had gone on the stage, when originally educated to be a governess, she responded: 'I think you must see that I would not probably have been much of a success as a governess, and I do like to get on in whatever I take up.'
In 1895 Ashwell had a rare opportunity: to play with Henry Irving and Ellen Terry in Comyns Carr's King Arthur, which opened at the Lyceum on 12 January. As the Queen pointed out: 'It is always promotion for a young actress to go to the Lyceum, even though it be to take a part smaller than some she may have already played.' As Elaine (she was also Terry's understudy), Ashwell was noticed, attracting favourable reviews: 'The actress spoke from her heart, and when she was not speaking she was showing the workings of her soul; an art that few young actresses understand.' She adored Irving, but her first experience in his company was not easy. Irving's grandson, Laurence, writes that Terry's 'undisguised partiality for Frank Cooper', who was playing Mordred, set tongues wagging and Ashwell was distressed 'to discover an undercurrent of petty rivalries and conspiracies in what she looked upon as a hallowed temple of the art in which she was so earnest an initiate. One night, in the wings, Irving found her in tears. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked, adding by way of kindly consolation, "You know - we were born crying".' Golding Bright wrote with unqualified praise of her performance as Elaine, but sensed tension in her demeanour. He felt she was overworking herself to an alarming extent:
Ambition in a young actress is highly commendable; but do not, let me implore you, carry it too far. You have done well ... since I saw you play the blind girl in Young Mrs Winthorp at an amateur entertainment, which first gave me a hint of hidden powers. Be advised and take a good rest ... Nature will have its revenge for hours stolen from sleep and given to study, and a breakdown is to be dreaded.
But for Ashwell, despite these tensions, it was a 'golden time ... I was in the seventh heaven. The stage-door of the Lyceum is still the same, and I can't pass it now without a thrill.' The run of King Arthur was an emotional time: Oscar Wilde was arrested and, she remembered, 'the atmosphere of London was horrible and cruel. His plays were so very brilliant, and I had seen him when I was inLady Windermere's Fan, so I felt that he was a friend in desperate trouble.' She also knew the Terry/Irving partnership was breaking up. There were a number of influences at work, but 'the great difficulty was that there were few leading parts for the mature woman. All the heroines were young. Heroes might be any age, but the older women were merely backgrounds to the drama.' Later, Ashwell was deeply affected by the fact that Terry, for financial reasons, was giving 'one-night stand' American lecture tours at the age of 65: 'Almost all the histories are tragic of those who devote their lives to art.'
King Arthur played for over 100 performances; from the playbills it appears Ashwell last played Elaine on 25 May, and was replaced by Annie Hughes. The Comedy Theatre playbill for The Prude's Progress, which opened on 22 May, includes Ashwell in the cast, so it seems she played both roles for a few days. Her 'Nelly Morris is a lovable creation, the loyalty and devotion of the self-sacrificing sister being sweetly delineated. Mr Arthur Playfair makes the egoism of Travers extremely amusing.' Ashwell also played Sybil in A Practical Joker, a new comic curtain-raiser, which joined the bill in mid-June. Golding Bright noted 'a growing tendency to allow your voice to be tinged with a note of sadness which is ever present and is apt to become just a wee bit monotonous'. For the St James's Gazette she 'revealed a genuine sense of humour and particularly in the semi-tragic passages, played with a mock intensity that at once stamped her as a comedienne of approved ability'. It was during this time she became engaged to Arthur Playfair and they married in late 1895.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Lena Ashwell by Margaret Leask. Copyright © 2012 Margaret Leask. Excerpted by permission of University of Hertfordshire Press.
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Table of Contents
Contents
List of Illustrations,List of Abbreviations,
Acknowledgements,
Preface,
1. Actress: early performing career,
2. Actress-manager,
3. Pioneer, 1908 to 1914,
4. Patriot, 1915 to 1919,
5. Pioneer and patriot: the Lena Ashwell Players,
6. 1930 to 1957,
Appendix 1 Ashwell as actress: plays, roles and theatres in which she appeared,
Appendix 2 Lena Ashwell Players: touring schedule, 1919-1929,
Appendix 3 Lena Ashwell Players: repertoire,
Appendix 4 Members of the Lena Ashwell Players,
Bibliography,
Index,