Mrs Dane's Defence (1900) Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Plays (2 ed.)
...now admits he made a mistake, Mrs Bulsom-Porter's slander isolates Mrs Dane from the community. Lionel (Lal) Carteret has fallen in love with Mrs Dane, so his adoptive father Sir Daniel, an experienced lawyer, mounts Mrs Dane's defence. He wishes to force Bulsom-Porter to retract her story and clear Mrs Dane's name, so that she is free to marry Lionel. However, his skilful questioning reveals that she is indeed Hindemarsh, mother of an illegitimate child, who has lied in order to be able to re-enter society. Her real defence is that, in the harsh world of...
Ashwell, Lena Reference library
The Companion to Theatre and Performance
...Lena ( 1869–1957 ) English actress , *manager , and writer , born Lena Pocock. Ashwell's most applauded performances were as strong, passionate women in ambiguous moral circumstances, such as Mrs Dane, the woman with a past in H. A. *Jones 's Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ), or the reluctant burglar heroine in Leah Kleschna ( 1905 ), a part written for her. She managed the Kingsway Theatre, London, from 1907 to 1909 ; notable successes included Cecily Hamilton 's Diana of Dobson's ( 1908 ) with herself in the lead. During the First World War she...
Ashwell, Lena Reference library
Elizabeth Schafer
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
...Lena ( 1869–1957 ) English actress, manager , and writer, born Lena Pocock . Ashwell's most applauded performances were as strong, passionate women in ambiguous moral circumstances, such as Mrs Dane, the woman with a past in H. A. Jones 's Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ), or the reluctant burglar heroine in Leah Kleschna ( 1905 ), a part written for her. She managed the Kingsway Theatre, London , from 1907 to 1909 ; notable successes included Cecily Hamilton 's Diana of Dobson's ( 1908 ) with herself in the lead. During the First World War she...
Anglin, Margaret Reference library
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre (2 ed.)
...lady of Frohman 's stock company at the Empire Theatre , New York, where she appeared in a wide variety of parts, being particularly admired in Henry Arthur Jones 's Mrs Dane's Defence . Later she was seen in Camille by the younger Dumas , as Antigone, Electra, Iphigenia, and Medea, and in such Shakespearian parts as Viola, Rosalind, and Cleopatra. She was also excellent as Mrs Malaprop in Sheridan 's The Rivals , which she first played in 1936...
Jones, Henry Arthur (1851–1929) Reference library
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre (3 ed.)
... ( 1883 ). On his own he later wrote such notable successes as The Middleman ( 1890 ), The Dancing Girl ( 1891 ), The Bauble Shop ( 1894 ), The Masqueraders ( 1894 ), The Case of Rebellious Susan ( 1894 ), The Rogue's Comedy ( 1896 ), The Liars ( 1898 ), and Mrs. Dane's Defense ( 1900 ). Although Jones's gift for comic aphorisms was inferior to Wilde 's and his characters rarely as fascinating as Pinero's, his best works remain interesting period...
Ashwell, Lena Reference library
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre (2 ed.)
...Lena [ Lena Pocock ] ( 1872–1957 ), English actress-manager who made her first appearance in 1891 , and scored a great success in 1900 in Henry Arthur Jones 's Mrs Dane's Defence , in which she was also seen in the USA. On her return to England she took over the Kingsway Theatre , remaining in management until 1915 , when she left to organize entertainment for the troops in France and Germany, for which she was awarded the OBE. She was active in the foundation of the British Drama League ( see AMATEUR THEATRE ) and in 1925 took over the Bijou...
Witchcraft; or, the Martyrs of Salem (1847) Reference library
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre (3 ed.)
.... [ Bowery Theatre , 5 perf.] Gideon Bodish (James E. Murdoch ) comes to the defense of his morose, memory‐haunted mother, Ambla ( Mrs. Wilkinson ), when she is placed on trial for witchcraft. The court is heavily influenced by the testimony of Susanna Peache ( Mrs. Sergeant ), who loves Gideon and who believes that Ambla had used her occult powers to discourage the romance. After Ambla is executed, Susanna realizes that she has lost Gideon and so commits suicide. Jarvis Dane ( J. A. J. Neafie ), a rival suitor of Susanna, kills Gideon to avenge her death....
Wyndham, Charles Reference library
The Companion to Theatre and Performance
... *Sheridan 's The School for Scandal , and Dazzle in *Boucicault 's London Assurance , with dash and polish. In the 1890s he took serious roles in the society dramas of Henry Arthur *Jones , especially The Case of Rebellious Susan ( 1894 ), The Liars ( 1897 ), and Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ). With the profits of the Criterion he built the Wyndham Theatre ( 1899 ) and the New Theatre ( 1903 ). Handsome and distinguished, Wyndham was an actor of great charm and impeccable timing. Michael R....
Anglin, Margaret (1876–1958) Reference library
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre (3 ed.)
...toured with James O'Neill and with E. H. Sothern , performing in such varied pieces as The Count of Monte Cristo , Lord Chumley , and Hamlet . She won plaudits in 1898 for her Roxane opposite Richard Mansfield 's Cyrano, followed by her Mrs. Dane, the foredoomed woman with a past, in Mrs. Dane's Defense ( 1900 ) and the wrongly suspected Dora in Diplomacy ( 1901 ). However, Anglin felt most of Frohman's offerings were too insubstantial, so in 1903 she joined forces with Henry Miller , and the two toured together with a repertory that included...
Jones, Henry Arthur Reference library
The Companion to Theatre and Performance
...in work such as Saints and Sinners ( 1884 ), Judah ( 1890 ), and Michael and his Lost Angel ( 1896 ). His *comedies , such as The Liars ( 1897 ) and The Case of Rebellious Susan ( 1894 ), deal with marital difficulties but end with a return to the status quo. Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ), his last real success, has a fine interrogation scene in Act III, though, as usual, the fallen woman has to pay. Eileen...
Wyndham, Charles Reference library
Michael R. Booth
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
...'s London Assurance , with dash and polish. In the 1890s he took serious raisonneur roles in the society dramas of Henry Arthur Jones , especially The Case of Rebellious Susan ( 1894 ) and The Liars ( 1897 ), also playing the fearsome judge Sir Daniel Carteret in Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ). With the profits of the Criterion he built the Wyndham Theatre ( 1899 ) and the New Theatre ( 1903 ). He was knighted in 1902 , and in 1916 married Mary Moore , for years his leading actress. Handsome and distinguished, Wyndham was an actor of great charm and...
Jones, Henry Arthur Reference library
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre (2 ed.)
...after 10 performances, mainly on account of the scene in a church in which a priest, standing before the altar, makes a public confession of adultery after having some years before exacted a similar penance from a young woman in his congregation. The Liars ( 1897 ) and Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ) also contain a strong melodramatic strain, though the third act of the latter is still considered a masterpiece. With Pinero and Shaw , Jones was an important playwright at the time when Ibsen 's influence was beginning to make itself felt in the English...
Wyndham, Sir Charles Reference library
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre (2 ed.)
...with conviction. One of his finest roles was David Garrick in T. W. Robertson 's play of that name, which he first revived in 1886 and made his own. He was also outstanding in Henry Arthur Jones 's The Case of Rebellious Susan ( 1894 ), The Liars ( 1897 ), and Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ), Louis N. Parker and Murray Carson's Rosemary ( 1896 ), and Hubert Davies's The Mollusc ( 1907 ). In this last play his leading lady was a fine actress, Mary Moore ( 1869–1931 ), the widow of James Albery , whom he married as his second wife in 1912...
Wyndham's Theatre Reference library
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre (2 ed.)
...with a revival of T. W. Robertson 's David Garrick , in which Wyndham and his wife Mary Moore had already appeared. The first new play was a translation of Rostand 's Cyrano de Bergerac in 1900 . The early years were notable for productions of Henry Arthur Jones 's Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ); Charles Marlowe's When Knights Were Bold ( 1907 ); and the controversial war play An Englishman's Home ( 1909 ), written by Guy Du Maurier . Frank Curzon became manager in 1903 , and in 1910 Gerald Du Maurier became joint manager, appearing in ...
Jones, Henry Arthur Reference library
Eileen Cottis
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
...Rebellious Susan ( 1894 ) in London in 1994 . Both plays deal with marital difficulties but end with a return to the status quo, and both have peculiarly irritating raisonneurs , but also present satirical pictures of high society and have fast and intricate plots . Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ), his last real success, has a fine interrogation scene in Act III, though, as usual, the fallen woman has to pay. Eileen...
![Ashwell [Pocock], Lena](/view/covers/9780199754724.jpg)
Ashwell [Pocock], Lena (28 Sept. 1872) Reference library
The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre
...[Pocock], Lena (b. on board ship, River Tyne , 28 Sept. 1872 ; d. London , 13 March 1957 ) Actress, manager and producer . She made her name on stage in Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ). While manager of the Kingsway Theatre, at first an independent cooperative, she was involved with the Actresses' Franchise League and was responsible through the AFL for organizing entertainment for troops during the First World War. After 1918 she continued to organize work for unemployed artists at the Century Theatre (formerly the Bijoux Theatre), where she staged...
Anglin, [Mary] Margaret (3 April 1876) Reference library
The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre
...[Mary] Margaret (b. Ottawa , 3 April 1876 ; d. Toronto , 7 Jan. 1958 ) Actress and producer . After years of apprenticeship she won fame as Roxane to Richard Mansfield 's Cyrano in 1898 , then consolidated her reputation in Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ). Another high point was her proper New Englander in The Great Divide ( 1906 ). But the rich-voiced, statuesque player also carved a niche in revivals of Shakespeare , Wilde , and, most importantly, ancient Greek tragedies. These last appealed only to a limited coterie, and by modern standards...
Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Plays (2 ed.)
...to go abroad with her elderly suitor. In this, Wilde's first London success, he treats a favourite Victorian theme, that of the ‘fallen woman’. Even more than in The Second Mrs Tanqueray and Mrs Dane's Defence , Wilde is sympathetic towards her situation (she is the ‘Good Woman’ of the subtitle and original title). Despite its wit and realistic contemporary setting, the piece has not yet wholly removed itself from conventional sentimentality to carry the mark of Wilde's brilliantly cynical observation of society. The full text is available at: ...
Jones, Henry Arthur (20 Sept. 1851) Reference library
The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre
...melodramatic intonation remained strong in Saints and Sinners ( 1884 ) and The Middleman ( 1889 ), and continued to underpin the seemingly more sophisticated society plays for which he is most famous: The Case of Rebellious Susan ( 1894 ), The Liars ( 1897 ) and Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ), all of which caused a stir. Although he was a tireless campaigner for an intellectual modern drama – see his The Renascence of the English Drama ( 1895 ) and The Foundations of a National Drama ( 1913 ) – few of his more than 80 plays overcome their essential...
Albery family Reference library
The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre
...the actor, manager and author Charles Wyndham [Culverwell] (b. 23 March 1837 ; d. London , 12 Jan. 1919 ), whom she married in 1916 . Knighted in 1902 , he ran the Criterion, where Pink Dominoes had played, and the theatre bearing his own name, which had housed Mrs Dane's Defence ( 1900 ) and the English première of Cyrano de Bergerac ( 1903 ). Mary proved to be not only a delightful light comedienne but also a brilliant businesswoman, and it was largely her efforts that established the group of fashionable West End theatres (Criterion,...
