"The Theatres", Era, Jan 4, 1846

"The Theatres", Era, Jan 4, 1846

Cushman, Charlotte Saunders, 1816-1876

Muspratt, Susan Cushman, 1822-1859

Macready, William Charles

Actors and Actresses--English

Actors and Actresses--US American

Praise

Criticism

Gender Norms

This is a long, detailed review of Charlotte and Susan Cushman's performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Haymarket Theatre in London. The review contains high praise of Charlotte Cushman and her talents as an actress and the Cushman sisters' appearance in London is dubbed as the most exciting event in recent times. It reports that the performance garnered a large audience, firstly because of the appraisals and fame that the Cushman sisters had already achieved from their earlier performances in Oxford-Street, and secondly because of the "double-novelty" of a woman playing the part of Romeo. Her voice, enunciation and passionate performance is praised, but she is criticized for her performance being influenced by William Macready. The article declares that she would be immensely successful on stage in England. It ends, however, with the observation that she is in need of the "grace and the gait of the feminine", even though her "masculine 'physique'" allows her to perform roles of women who engage in activities of the "sterner sex".

Credit

The British Library Newspapers, Gale Digital Collections

Unknown publisher

1846-01-04

Reference

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BA3202405022/BNCN?u=bayreuth&sid=BNCN&xid=031cb241. Accessed January 6, 2021.

Gale Primary Sources

London, England

51.5073219

-0.1276474