Mary Rorke

(1858-1938) In a career that spanned sixty-five years and scores of parts as well as fourteen films, Mary Rorke was one of the sturdy mainstays of the London theater. She made her debut in 1873 and played her first Shakespeare part, Phoebe in As You Like It, the next year in 1874. Her roles in Shakespeare where intermittent; she next played Elizabeth of York with Richard Mansfield in Richard III in 1889. In 1896, having joined Sir Henry Irving‘s company,Read more

Irene Rooke

(1878-1958) Irene Rooke first appeared on stage in 1895; after she joined Ben Greet’s company she had the opportunity to play a number of roles in Shakespeare: Viola, Ophelia, Perdita, Miranda, Desdemona, Hero, and Rosalind. She played in London for the first time in 1897 as Ophelia opposite Edward Gordon Craig’s Hamlet at the Olympic Theatre. Rooke did not return to Shakespeare until 1910 when she played Viola for Miss Horniman at Manchester’s Gaiety Theatre; she played Viola again inRead more

George Relph

(1888-1960) Few now know his name, but George Relph’s career spanned over half a century and among his many stage appearances, twenty of them were in Shakespeare’s plays in some of the best theaters in London and Australia. His first role as a professional was a minor one in Othello; his first London appearance in 1909 was at the Lyceum as Marcellus in Hamlet. That same year he joined Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton on their Australian tour and thereRead more

Phyllis Relph

(1888-?) Phyllis Relph’s quite young stage debut was in Bootles’ Baby when she was just one and a half. Bootles’ Baby (1885) was a play by Henrietta Stannard who used the nom-de-plume John Strange Winter. One of her first parts in Shakespeare came in 1908 when, with Miss Darragh, she played in Antony & Cleopatra at the Queen’s Theatre, Manchester. At the Savoy Theatre, London, in 1912 she played Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Viola in Twelfth Night. A particularly busyRead more

Ada Rehan

(1860-1916) Delia Crehan was born in Ireland, immigrated to the United States, and became one of the more popular actresses in Augustin Daly’s company. She later joined John Drew’s Philadelphia troupe and it was a printer’s error there that gave her the stage-name “Ada Rehan.” She was totally devoted to the theater and her profession and never found time to marry. When she moved to London in 1884, she proved equally popular there, adding a number of Shakespearean roles to herRead more