 Sarah
Siddons
Actress
Sarah Siddons is thought by many to have been the greatest
English tragic actress of her time. She is
celebrated for such Shakespearean roles as
Desdemona in Othello and Volumnia in Coriolanus,
and she was unequaled as Lady Macbeth. As an
actress Sarah Siddons stands unapproached in
every line of tragedy. Her passion, her rage,
her despair, her sufferings, her grief, all
being perfect in expression and convincing in
naturalness.
Sarah Siddons was born in Brecon, Breckonshire,
Wales on July 5, 1755, the eldest child of Roger
and Sarah Kemble. Roger Kemble was a respectable
manager of a small traveling theatrical company,
whose circuit was the midland and westerns parts
of England. From her earliest childhood she was
a member of her father's troupe, and in a
playbill, dated February 12, 1767, her name
appears in the production of Charles the First,
assigned to the character of the Princess
Elizabeth. Even though she was accustomed to
appearing on stage as a child, Mrs. Kremble took
special care to send Sarah to schools in the
towns where the company played, so she received
a particularly good education.
As a young woman of seventeen,
Sarah became infatuated with William Siddons, a
member of her father's theatrical company. While
he was a handsome man, he was somewhat of a dull
actor. Her parents did not approve of the
romance, but she married to him on November 26,
1773. Shortly afterwards she was recommended to
Garrick by the Earl of Ailesbury and the result
was an engagement at Drury Lane, where she made
her first appearance in the character of Portia.
At the end of the season she was let go and for
the next six years she toured in the country,
becoming well known as the queen of tragedy on
the English Stage. Her reputation grew
exceedingly fast and she was invited to return
to Drury Lane. She accepted the offer and made
her reappearance as Isabella in "The Fatal
Marriage". She met with immediate success and
was from this time to her retirement the
unquestioned queen of the stage. She reigned the
queen at Drury Lane until 1803 when she and her
brother went to Covent Garden. In 1783 she was
appointed to teach oratory to the royal
children. Sarah retired from the regular stage
on June 29, 1812, with a farewell performance as
Lady Macbeth.
Sarah played many of the great
roles of tragedy during her career. Among her
greatest roles were Isabella, Belvidera in "Vanice
Preserv'd", Jane Shore in "The Tragedy of Jane
Shore", Katharine in "Henry VIII", Constance in
"King, John", Zara in "The Mourning
Bride", and Volumnia in
"Coriolanus", but it was Lady Macbeth that was
her most successful role. It is said that her
success was due to her complete concentration
upon the characters that she played. She
identified herself with appeared oblivious to
all around her.
After her retirement from the
stage, Sarah gave occasional public readings,
from Shakespeare and Milton. She died on June 8,
1831 and was buried in Padington churchyard.
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Excerpt from History's Women -
The Unsung Heroines written by Patricia
Chadwick. It is available in both print and
ebook formats at www.HistorysWomen.com. Stop by
and pick up your copy today.
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