Second son of actors Sarah (Ward) and Roger Kemble, George Stephen Kemble (1758-1822) was born in Kingston, Herefordshire immediately after his mother completed a performance as Anne Boleyn in Henry the Eighth.
Stephen Kemble and Elizabeth Satchell, Actors
After two years’ chemistry studies, Stephen Kemble left his apprenticeship, joined an acting troupe, and gained a good reputation for his performances in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Kemble made his Theatre Royal, Covent Garden acting debut in 1783 as Othello. In that year, he also married prominent actress Elizabeth Satchell who was described as an “actress, not only of talent but of genius”.
Theatre Royal, Newcastle Manager Stephen Kemble
His acting career limited by his excessive weight, Stephen Kemble was far more successful as a theatre manager. From 1791 until 1806, he managed the original Theatre Royal, Newcastle. During his years there, he brought many of the country’s top performers, including members of his famous family, from London.
Elizabeth Kemble was a very popular actress with audiences in Newcastle and at the various venues such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield, and the Durham circuit. Her portrayal of Yarico in the comic opera Inkle and Yarico is her most famous.
Edinburgh Theatre Management 1793-1800
In 1792, Stephen Kemble lost the management position at Edinburgh’s Theatre Royal. Undeterred, he opened a new venue called a Circus, with the comedy of manners, The Rivals. Mrs. Esten, an admired actress who held the Royal Theatre lease, took legal steps to prevent Kemble’s production of plays. Unable to compete with the more elegant and commodious venue, Mrs. Esten ceded the Theatre Royal to him “for a consideration”.
In 1792, Stephen Kemble’s nephew Henry Siddons (eldest son of renowned actress Sarah Kemble Siddons), joined his acting company. Formerly a child actor, Henry (1774-1815) debuted as an adult actor at Sheffield in The Revenge. An audience favourite, Siddons performed with Stephen and Elizabeth Kemble on the Newcastle circuit. He travelled with his mother, performed successfully at Covent Garden and Drury Lane, and later managed Theatre Royal, Edinburgh.
Frances and Henry Kemble on Stage
Stephen and Elizabeth’s two children debuted at early ages with their father’s company. Frances (1786-1849) made her first appearance as the Prince of Wales in The Battle of Hexham at age five. In 1805, following her marriage to Capt. Robert Arkwright, she retired from the theatre.
Henry Stephen Kemble (1789-1836) debuted at age four as the Duke of York in Richard III, at Theatre Royal, Edinburgh. Educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Henry left school after two years to become an actor. In 1816, the Bristol press reported, “that he met with peals of derision, although entitled to shouts of disgust”.
As acting manager at Drury Lane for the 1818-1819 season, Stephen gave roles to his unqualified son, and the theatre suffered financially. Henry Kemble drank himself into obscurity, and died at age 46.
Stephen Kemble as Falstaff
Stephen Kemble, who played many roles including King Lear and Othello, received great acclaim for his Falstaff. His portrayal was described as the “optimum balance between comedy and gravity”. The Edinburgh literary journal claimed in 1822 that Kemble was “perhaps the best Sir John Falstaff which the British stage ever saw”.
Kemble produced his dramatic play, The Northern Inn at the Haymarket Theatre in 1792, and published “Ods, Lyrical Ballads and Poems” in 1809. The collection included an address, “Burns, the Scottish Bard”, delivered by his wife in 1783. His play, Flodden Field, based on Sir Walter Scott’s “Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field”, was first performed at Drury Lane Theatre in 1819, to warm applause.
Durham residents and performers remembered Stephen fondly. John Taylor of “The London Express” wrote that he was an intelligent and humorous man who was received with respect in the best company wherever he worked. After the death of Stephen Kemble, theatre in Newcastle and Durham began to decline.
Sources:
- A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, Vol. 8 by Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhams, Southern Illinois University Press 1982
- A Biographical Dictionary of Actors...Volume 14 By Philip H. Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhams, Southern Illinois University Press 1991
- A Dictionary of the Drama Vol. I by William Davenport Adams, Chatto & Windus 1904
Kathleen Airdrie - Kathleen has thirty years' freelance writing experience covering history, biographical profiles, environmental and social issues
