Gertrude Kingston
Encyclopedia
Gertrude Kingston (born Gertrude Angela Kohnstamm) was an actress, an actor-manager
and an artist.
in London
, the daughter of merchant Heiman Kohnstamm and his wife, Teresina (née
Friedmann). She was the sister of legal author and County Court judge Edwin Max Konstam (1870–1956), born as Edwin Max Kohnstamm. Kingston was privately educated and travelled extensively with her mother and governess. She studied painting in Berlin
and Paris
and later published three illustrated books.
Her first theatrical experience was as a child, performing amateur impersonations of famous actors of the day such as Henry Irving
and Sarah Bernhardt
. Aged fifteen W. S. Gilbert
selected her to play the lead in an amateur production of Broken Hearts
. On her marriage in 1889 to Captain George Silver (1858/9–1899) of the East Surrey Regiment
, Kingston decided to become a professional actress in order to support herself and her husband financially. Ellen Terry
suggested that Kingston should enrol in the School of Acting run by actor-manager
Sarah Thorne
in Margate
, and for whom she played Ophelia
in Hamlet
and Emilia
in Othello
. At this time she also played Penelope
in the English-language versions of The Tale of Troy and Clytemnestra
in Aeschylus
’ Agamemnon.
for Robert Buchanan. Joining the company of Herbert Beerbohm Tree
she played Mrs Harkaway in Partners, following which she became in great demand on the London stage, going on to appear as Clara Dexter in The Woodbarrow, which she also produced, and Mrs Graves in A Matchmaker, which she wrote with Clotilde Graves
. The latter play gained a certain notoriety when it was criticized for comparing marriage to prostitution
.
On the death of her husband in 1899, just before the start of the Boer War
, Kingston raised subscriptions to open a nursing hut for British troops in South Africa
; some accounts of her life claim that she went to South Africa herself and worked in her hospital as a nurse, a claim not substantiated in her autobiography
, in which she wrote that she was persuaded not to go. She remained active in the theatre over the next decade; in 1905 at the Royal Court Theatre
she played Helen in the tragedy
The Trojan Women
by Euripides
, and Aurora Bompas in Bernard Shaw
's How He Lied to Her Husband
opposite Harley Granville-Barker
. Also in 1905 her portrait in charcoal
was executed by John Singer Sargent
.
In 1910 she became the lessee and actor-manager
of the Little Theatre
in the Adelphi
in London. Her opening season was inspired by the Royal Court Theatre
’s introduction of serious and classical drama to a commercial audience, and therefore she opened with Aristophanes
’ Lysistrata
, in which she played the title role. In 1911 Lillah McCarthy
took over the lease of the Little Theatre, and Kingston returned to that theatre under McCarthy's management to play Madame Arcadina in The Seagull
. Also in 1912 Kingston played Lady Cecily Waynflete in Captain Brassbound's Conversion
. Then in 1913 George Bernard Shaw
wrote the title role in his play Great Catherine for her.
for much of World War I
where she gave talks about the war effort in Britain
. In Boston she appeared in three plays by Shaw
, including Great Catherine. In 1916 she appeared with her own theatrical company in The Queen's Enemies, and in four plays by Shaw: The Inca of Perusalem, Great Catherine, Overruled and How He Lied to Her Husband
, and played Ermyntrude in Shaw
's The Inca of Perusalem with the Pioneer Players, the Women's suffrage
theatre company; for some years she had been a speaker on behalf of the suffrage movement in Britain.
After World War I
Kingston returned to Britain where she resumed her acting career, also becoming a regular speaker for the Conservative Party
. In 1924 she considered standing for Parliament
. She taught public speaking
and became a journalist
, writing on a variety of subjects. In 1927 an exhibition of her lacquer work
was held in New York
, her technique becoming known as 'Kingston lacquer'. Also in 1927 Kingston produced and appeared in Nevertheless in London. Her final performance was as Elizabeth I
in When Essex Died in 1932. In 1937 her autobiography
Curtsey While You're Thinking was published.
Gertrude Kingston died at the Empire Nursing Home in Westminster
in London in 1937 aged 75.
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
and an artist.
Early life
Kingston was born in IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the daughter of merchant Heiman Kohnstamm and his wife, Teresina (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Friedmann). She was the sister of legal author and County Court judge Edwin Max Konstam (1870–1956), born as Edwin Max Kohnstamm. Kingston was privately educated and travelled extensively with her mother and governess. She studied painting in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and later published three illustrated books.
Her first theatrical experience was as a child, performing amateur impersonations of famous actors of the day such as Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
and Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
. Aged fifteen W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
selected her to play the lead in an amateur production of Broken Hearts
Broken Hearts
Broken Hearts is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts styled "An entirely original fairy play". It opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 9 December 1875, running for three months, and toured the provinces in 1876...
. On her marriage in 1889 to Captain George Silver (1858/9–1899) of the East Surrey Regiment
East Surrey Regiment
The East Surrey Regiment was a regiment in the British Army formed in 1881 from the amalgamation of the 31st Regiment of Foot and the 70th Regiment of Foot...
, Kingston decided to become a professional actress in order to support herself and her husband financially. Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
suggested that Kingston should enrol in the School of Acting run by actor-manager
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne was a British actress and actor-manager of the nineteenth century who managed the Theatre Royal at Margate for many years and who ran a School for Acting there widely regarded as Britain's first formal drama school...
in Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
, and for whom she played Ophelia
Ophelia
Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...
in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
and Emilia
Emilia (Othello)
Emilia is a character in the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare. The character's origin is traced to the 1565 tale, "Un capitano Moro" from Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi. There, the character is described as young and virtuous, is referred to simply as the ensign's wife,...
in Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. At this time she also played Penelope
Penelope
In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually reunited with him....
in the English-language versions of The Tale of Troy and Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra or Clytaemnestra , in ancient Greek legend, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. In the Oresteia by Aeschylus, she was a femme fatale who murdered her husband, Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan princess...
in Aeschylus
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
’ Agamemnon.
Theatrical career
In 1894 she appeared in The Charlatan at the Haymarket TheatreHaymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
for Robert Buchanan. Joining the company of Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
she played Mrs Harkaway in Partners, following which she became in great demand on the London stage, going on to appear as Clara Dexter in The Woodbarrow, which she also produced, and Mrs Graves in A Matchmaker, which she wrote with Clotilde Graves
Clotilde Graves
Clotilde Augusta Inez Mary Graves , was an Irish authoress who wrote under the pseudonym of Richard Dehan, and a successful playwright in London and New York....
. The latter play gained a certain notoriety when it was criticized for comparing marriage to prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
.
On the death of her husband in 1899, just before the start of the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, Kingston raised subscriptions to open a nursing hut for British troops in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
; some accounts of her life claim that she went to South Africa herself and worked in her hospital as a nurse, a claim not substantiated in her autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, in which she wrote that she was persuaded not to go. She remained active in the theatre over the next decade; in 1905 at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
she played Helen in the tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athenians earlier in 415 BC , the same year...
by Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
, and Aurora Bompas in Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's How He Lied to Her Husband
How He Lied to Her Husband
How He Lied to Her Husband is a one-act comedy play by George Bernard Shaw, who wrote it, at the request of actor Arnold Daly, over a period of four days while he was vacationing in Scotland in 1905...
opposite Harley Granville-Barker
Harley Granville-Barker
Harley Granville-Barker was an English actor-manager, director, producer, critic and playwright....
. Also in 1905 her portrait in charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
was executed by John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
.
In 1910 she became the lessee and actor-manager
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
of the Little Theatre
Little Theatre in the Adelphi
Little Theatre in the Adelphi was a theatre in London, on what is now John Adam Street just west of the Royal Society of Arts. It should not be confused with either the Little Theatre or the Adelphi Theatre both of which are in the West End...
in the Adelphi
Adelphi, London
Adelphi is a district of London, England in the City of Westminster. The small district includes the streets of Adelphi Terrace, Robert Street and John Adam Street.-Adelphi Buildings:...
in London. Her opening season was inspired by the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
’s introduction of serious and classical drama to a commercial audience, and therefore she opened with Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
’ Lysistrata
Lysistrata
Lysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
, in which she played the title role. In 1911 Lillah McCarthy
Lillah McCarthy
Lillah McCarthy was an English actress and theatrical manager.McCarthy was born in Cheltenham. She studied elocution under Hermann Vezin and Emil Behnke, and made her first appearance on the stage in 1895...
took over the lease of the Little Theatre, and Kingston returned to that theatre under McCarthy's management to play Madame Arcadina in The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
. Also in 1912 Kingston played Lady Cecily Waynflete in Captain Brassbound's Conversion
Captain Brassbound's Conversion
Captain Brassbound's Conversion is a play by G. Bernard Shaw. It was published in Shaw's 1901 collection Three Plays for Puritans . The first American production of the play starred Ellen Terry in 1907....
. Then in 1913 George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
wrote the title role in his play Great Catherine for her.
Later years
Kingston was in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for much of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
where she gave talks about the war effort in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In Boston she appeared in three plays by Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, including Great Catherine. In 1916 she appeared with her own theatrical company in The Queen's Enemies, and in four plays by Shaw: The Inca of Perusalem, Great Catherine, Overruled and How He Lied to Her Husband
How He Lied to Her Husband
How He Lied to Her Husband is a one-act comedy play by George Bernard Shaw, who wrote it, at the request of actor Arnold Daly, over a period of four days while he was vacationing in Scotland in 1905...
, and played Ermyntrude in Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's The Inca of Perusalem with the Pioneer Players, the Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
theatre company; for some years she had been a speaker on behalf of the suffrage movement in Britain.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Kingston returned to Britain where she resumed her acting career, also becoming a regular speaker for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. In 1924 she considered standing for Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. She taught public speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
and became a journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, writing on a variety of subjects. In 1927 an exhibition of her lacquer work
Lacquer
In a general sense, lacquer is a somewhat imprecise term for a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required...
was held in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, her technique becoming known as 'Kingston lacquer'. Also in 1927 Kingston produced and appeared in Nevertheless in London. Her final performance was as Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
in When Essex Died in 1932. In 1937 her autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Curtsey While You're Thinking was published.
Gertrude Kingston died at the Empire Nursing Home in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
in London in 1937 aged 75.
External links
- The Papers of Gertrude Kingston at the King's College Archive Centre, Cambridge
- http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/Mugs/Gertrude_Kingston.htmPortrait of Kingston (1905) by John Singer SargentJohn Singer SargentJohn Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
] - http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0A17FF355813738DDDAE0994DB405B828DF1D3'America the Hope of the Drama; Miss Gertrude Kingston, Who Manages a Theatre in England, Believes the Future of the English-Speaking Play Lies Here' Article by Kingston in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
17 March 1912]