peg woffington's visit triplet 1720 - 26 March 1760 Irish actress violin dansing music musician playing artist listening
Margaret "Peg" Woffington (c. 1720 - 26 March 1760) was an Irish actress, the toast of Georgian London. Woffington was born in Dublin, of humble origins. Her father is thought to have been a bricklayer, and after his death the family became impoverished. Her mother was obliged to take in washing while Peg sold watercress door to door. As a child of ten she was discovered by an Italian rope dancer called Violante and played Polly Peachum in a Lilliputian production of The Beggar's Opera. She danced and acted at various Dublin theatres until 1740, when her success as Sir Harry Wildair in The Constant Couple led to her being given her London debut at Covent Garden, and she became well known as an actress thereafter. As Sylvia in The Recruiting Officer, she had enormous success, and starred at Drury Lane for several years, as well as making a triumphant return to Dublin. She appeared in all the plays of the day to ever–growing popularity. Among her best impersonations were the elegant women of fashion, like Lady Betty Modish and Lady Townley, and in breeches roles she had no rival. She was perhaps most loved for her comic roles, though, in order to master tragedy, she strove to eliminate the harsh tone that occasionally appeared in her voice. She lived openly with David Garrick, the foremost actor of the day, and her other love affairs (including liaisons with Edward Bligh, 2nd Earl of Darnley and MP Charles Hanbury Williams) were numerous and notorious, but her generosity and kindness of heart were equally well known. She became friend and mentor to the socialite/actress sisters, Elizabeth Gunning and Maria Gunning, and also shared the stage with the likes of Charles Macklin, Kitty Clive and the tragedienne Susannah Maria Arne (then known as Cibber, following her marriage to Theophilus Cibber). Renowned for her quick wit, she was made president (and the only female member) of Thomas Sheridan's Beefsteak Club in Dublin. She also educated and supported her sister M
Size: 5104px × 3797px
Photo credit: © 19th era / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -fashioned, 26, 1720, 1760, 1800, 19th, 2d, academic, actress, age, ancient, antique, antiquity, black, book, born, bricklayer, bw, bygone, century, classical, copy, cut, cutout, death, drawing, dublin, duplicate, embossed, empire, engrave, engraved, engraver, engraving, etching, expression, family, father, figure, formal, front, frontispiece, georgian, graphic, hand, heritage, historic, history, humble, illustration, image, imperial, impoverished., irish, late, lifelike, london., majesty, march, margaret, margin, master, monotone, mother, national, nineteenth, notable, obliged, obscure, obsolete, olden, original, origins., paper, peg, period, pictorial, picture, portrait, pre, press, print, printed, printing, prior, proof, publication, publicity, queen, rare, real, realism, realistic, reference, relief, replica, represent, representation, repro, reproduce, reproduction, retro, review, romantic, social, standard, steel, studio, style, subject, teach, thought, time, title, toast, tool, topic, topical, tract, triplet, true, unusual, victoria, victorian, visit, visual, washing, wh, white, woffington
