Articles

1. The Theatrical Career of Mary Ann Canning, Part 1: November 1773 -- December 1776

   Julian Crowe

   Mary Ann Canning, née Costello, also named Reddish and Hunn, took to the stage after the death of her first husband George Canning, the father of their son, also George Canning, who became both British Foreign Secretary and briefly, Prime Minister. This, the first of three articles, traces both her theatrical fortunes and the ups and downs of her relationship with her son. It casts fascinating light on the nature of  theatrical careers in the late eighteenth century and on the often difficult relationship between mother and son in the light of their different social status. The author draws heavily on an unpublished 1803 manuscript of more than 65,000 words in which Mary Ann tells the story of her life.

2. The Diary of Benjamin Griffin: A Re-appraisal

   Terry Jenkins

   Terry Jenkins explores the provenance and significance of what the British Library Catalogue describes as a diary ‘apparently by Benjamin Griffin, the actor and dramatist’ covering plays acted at Lincoln’s Inn Field, Drury Lane and the Haymarket between 1715 and 1734 (Egerton MS2320). There are considerable discrepancies between many accepted dates of productions and those recorded in the Diary. For example, the Diary’s records for productions at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in February 1718 disagree with the accepted dates of production on twenty-one out of twenty-two playing days. In a detailed and revealing exploration of the manuscript Terry Jenkins  offers some compelling evidence to clarify a confused picture.

3. 'One of the few theatres in England who really care about dramatists': New Writing at the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent

   Rachel Walker

   The Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent gained an international reputation in the 1960s and ’70s for innovative documentary theatre, but it also nourished new writing from the days of Stephen Joseph and the artistic directorship of Peter Cheeseman. In this essay Rachel Walker explores both the general development of this policy and the particular case of Peter Terson, the theatre’s first playwright in residence.