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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 14, Issue 5 (August 1, 1939)

Alice Marriott, of Sadler's Wells Theatre

Alice Marriott, of Sadler's Wells Theatre.

In gathering for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, these few facts about the life of this interesting early settler, I several times came across a statement that he was the father of the famous English actress, Alice Marriott. When he had been ten years in New Zealand he paid a visit to the Old Country, and amongst those whom he met on that occasion was his daughter Mrs. Robert Edgar, then proprietor of the Sadler's Wells Theatre. A few years later Robert Edgar died, and his death notice in the Wellington papers fully identified him as the son-in-law of James Henry Marriott. He was a useless creature whom Alice dignified with the title of manager. In fact she did everything about the theatre, even to counting out the salaries on Saturdays.

Alice Marriott was quite an institution on the English stage in the middle of the nineteenth century. A rather masculine woman, with a fine presence and considerable talent, a beautiful voice and a phenomenal memory, she was playing for over forty years, and she had an enormous repertoire of long and difficult parts. She had dramatic intensity to a degree, and as an emotional actress had a high reputation. Alice had a fondness for masculine doublet and hose, and for playing masculine parts, which not infrequently were entrusted to women in those inexplicable Victorian days. Her Hamlet was famous. She could do as she liked, since she had her own company, and was even for some years lessee of several theatres, including the Sadler's Wells and the Standard at Shoreditch. She played also in the provinces, and even took her own Hamlet to America in the ‘seventies.

There is no need to labour the talent of this daughter of James Henry Marriott, except to add that she made a great deal of money and would have been wealthy had she not married Robert Edgar, who was convinced that he knew the best way to invest it. He had a mania for buying up shop property at high prices and selling, generally, at a loss.