Myra Kemble

Myra Kemble (17 November 1857 – 27 October 1906) was an Australian stage actress.[1]

Myra Kemble (1857-1906), Australian stage actress

Kemble was born in Sligo, Ireland, the only child of Teresa and Patrick Joseph Gill,[2] but was taken in early life to Australia, where she was educated at the Geelong Convent School in Victoria (Australia) so that she generally ranked among Australian-born artists, among whom she was one of the most popular and capable.[3] For some years she held the place of "leading lady" in various companies, and has been equally a favourite in all the cities of Australia and New Zealand.[3]

Kemble's onstage debut was in around 1872-1873 at the Old Queen's Theatre in Sydney.[4]

On 10 December 1878 Kemble married Mr James H. White (known as 'Eyeglass White'), a Sydney bookmaker, at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney (following on from the earlier registration of their marriage at a registry office in Melbourne).[5]

In 1890 Miss Kemble paid her first visit to England, when she purchased the colonial "rights" of Dr. Bill, by Charles Hamilton Aide, and other pieces. During her sojourn in London, Mr. Robert Buchanan wrote the play Man and the Woman especially for the popular colonial actress, who produced it at a matinée at the Criterion, where, however, despite excellent acting, it did not prove successful. After Miss Kemble's return to Sydney she made a brilliant reappearance at the Criterion Theatre in that city in Dr. Bill, and she toured the various colonies.[3]

Kemble died in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 27 October 1906.[1]

Select theatre credits
Myra Kemble from album MS 6135 Collection State Library Victoria (Australia)
  • New Magdalen
  • Queen Mary
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin
  • Pygmalion and Galatea
  • Hamlet (1877)
  • King Lear (1877)
  • The Woman in White (1878)
  • Arrah-na-Pogue (1878, 1880)
  • The Heir at Law
  • In Chancery
  • Hans, the Boatman
  • East Lynne (1880)
  • The New Babylon (1880)
  • Youth (1885)
  • Sophia (1888, 1889)
  • Dr Bill (1890, 1891)
  • Moths

References
  1. Gittins, Jean. "Kemble, Myra (1857–1906)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 3 January 2014 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  2. "THE LATE MYRA KEMBLE". Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932). 3 November 1906. p. 24. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  3. Mennell, Philip (1892). "Kemble, Myra" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
  4. "The Late Myra Kemble". Newsletter: an Australian Paper for Australian People (Sydney, NSW : 1900 - 1919). 10 November 1906. p. 2. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  5. "Family Notices". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 5 February 1879. p. 1. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
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