Stephen Kemble

George Stephen Kemble (21 April 1758 in Kington, Herefordshire – 5 June 1822 near Durham, County Durham) was a successful theatre manager, British actor, writer, and a member of the famous Kemble family.

Kemble as Falstaff

He was the second son of Roger Kemble, brother of Charles Kemble, John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons. He married prominent actress Elizabeth Satchell (1783). His niece was the actress and abolitionist Fanny Kemble. His daughter Francis Kemble married Richard Arkwright's son Captain Robert Arkwright.

Manager

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  Kemble Theatre Ticket
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  Royal Theatre, Newcastle
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  Stephen Kemble
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  Kemble by John Raphael Smith, National Portrait Gallery

Similar to his father, Stephen Kemble became a very successful theatre manager of the Eighteenth-Century English Stage. He managed the original Theatre Royal, Newcastle for fifteen years (1791–1806). He brought members of his famous acting family and many other actors out of London to Newcastle. Stephen's sister, Sarah Siddons was the first London actor of repute to break through the prejudice which regarded summer " strolling," or starring in the provincial theatres, as a degradation. Stephen Kemble guided the Theatre through many celebrated seasons. The Newcastle audience quickly came to regard itself, that is, as "in a position of great theatrical privilege.". The original Theatre Royal was opened on the 21st January 1788 and was located on Mosley Street, next to Drury Lane. While in Newcastle Kemble lived in a large house opposite the White Cross in Newgate Street.

Stephen Kemble quickly branched out and began to manage other theatres: Theatre Royal, Edinburgh (1794–1800)), Theatre Royal, Glasgow (eventually replaced by Tivoli Theatre (Aberdeen)), Chester, Lancaster, Sheffield, Berwick-upon-Tweed, theatres in Northumberland, Alnwick (where he builds a theatre) and rural areas on the theatre circuit. From Newcastle, Kemble ran a circuit which included Durham, Northallerton, North Shields, Morpeth, Sunderland, South Shields and Scarborough (opening for the Stockton Races). In Broadway, England, he performed in the Assembly Room of the Lygon Arms (formerly known as the White Hart Inn). He also managed Whitehaven , Northhampton Theatre , and Theatre Royal, Dumfries.

He supported the careers of many leading actors of the time such as Master Betty, his wife Elizabeth Satchell, his sister Elizabeth Whitlock, George Frederick Cooke, Harriet Pye Esten, John Edwin, Joseph Munden, Grist, Elizabeth Inchbald, Pauline Hall, Wilson, Charles Incledon, Egan. His nephew Henry Siddons (Sarah Siddons' son) made his first appearance on stage in Sheffield (October 1792), his younger brother Charles Kemble, Thomas Apthorpe Cooper, John Liston, John Emery.

Stephen presented London stars such as Alexander and Elizabeth Pope (nee Elizabeth Younge), Mrs. Dorothea Jordan, his brother John Philip Kemble, Wright Bowden, his sisterSarah Siddons, Elizabeth Billington, Michael Kelly (tenor) and Anna Maria Crouch, and Charles Lee Lewes.

Actor

He was also famous for playing Falstaff. Contemporary critics acclaimed that in this role Kemble achieved the "optimum balance between comedy and gravity.". After his performance in London at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1802, the Morning Chronicle wrote that "It is to be regretted that his associations in the country prevent him from accepting a permanent engagement in London"(8 October 1802). After Kemble's death, the The Edinburgh literary journal claimed, "[Stephen] Kemble was perhaps the best Sir John Falstaff which the British stage ever saw."

Writer

He also published a dramatic play The Northern Inn (1791). The Play was also known as The northern lass, or, Days of good Queen Bess, The good times of Queen Bess. The play was first produced Aug. 16, 1791, as The northern inn, or, The good times of Queen Bess, at the Haymarket Theatre (i.e. Little Theatre or Theatre Royal, Haymarket).

Stephen also published a collection of his writings Ods, Lyrical Ballads and Poems (1809). Of particular interest is his reflections on contempaneous events life such as the Battle of Trafalgar, the death of Lord Nelson, the death of Robert Burns, his conversion to the abolistionist movement and support of the Slave Trade Act 1807, the death of his brother-in-law William Siddons.

Stephen published a play with his son Henry Kemble entitled Flodden Field (1819) based on the Battle of Flodden (1513). The text is based on Sir Walter Scott's Marmion: a tale of Flodden field. In six cantos. The play was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on Thursday evening, December 31, 1818.

An essay of his entitled "In the Character of Touchstone, Riding on an Ass" was published by William Oxberry in his book The Actor's Budget (1820).

Retirement

Kemble moved from Newcastle to Durham, and lived in retirement after 1806. In later life, Kemble took on less responsibilities in management and made only occasional appearances on the stage.

He was a close friend of another famous Durham resident, the 3ft 3inch tall Polish dwarf, Józef Boruwłaski. When these two friends - one little and large - strolled along the wooded paths of the city, they were reported to be an interesting site for the people of Durham.

Kemble's last performance at Durham was in May 1822, a fortnight before his death. He was fondly remembered by the natives of Durham, and was honoured with a burial in the Chapel of the Nine Altars in the Durham Cathedral. He and his close friend Józef Boruwłaski where buried beside each other. The heyday of Durham theatre came to an end with Kemble's death.

References

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

K. E. Robinson (1972). "Stephen Kemble's Management of the Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne" in Richards, K. and Thomson, P. (eds). Essays on the Eighteeenth-Century English Stage

A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Volume 8, Hough to Keyse: Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800 ... Dictionary of Actors & Actresses, 1660–1800)by Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhans Published in August 2, 1982, Southern Illinois University