Acting Career of Sarah Siddons

Theatre Performances of Actress Diva of Drury Lane

Nov 13, 2009 Kathleen Airdrie

British actress Sarah (Kemble) Siddons did more than any other individual to establish the profession as a "dignified calling for women".

Born July 5, 1755 in Brecon, South Wales, Sarah was the eldest of twelve children. Her parents Roger and ‘Sally’ (Ward) were strolling players whose children became part of the company at early ages. In 1773 she married actor William Siddons with whom she had seven children.

Sarah Siddons Debut at London's Drury Lane

At the invitation of David Garrick, actor/manager at Drury Lane she performed her first role in London. Her Portia in The Merchant of Venice was deemed a failure and she was soon released. That first performance indicated none of the greatness that would be hers in later years.

To gain experience and build her reputation as an actress, Sarah worked on the theatre circuit for about five years. Women seldom had opportunities to portray strong characters. Sarah Siddons took on the role of Hamlet which she performed to the critics’ satisfaction despite some public outcries. Having achieved great success in the provinces and Edinburgh, she decided to return to London.

London Acclaim for Diva of Drury Lane

At Drury Lane in 1782, she received great acclaim and admiration as Isabella in Fatal Marriage. Her phenomenal success during the next twenty years earned Sarah Siddons the accolade of “undisputed diva of Drury Lane”. She and David Garrick performed in 1783 at Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin.

With her well-known stately dignity and grand emotions, she claimed the role of Lady Macbeth. As a result of her portrayal in this and other tragedies Sarah was hailed as the Muse of Tragedy or Queen of Tragedy.

She took on the role so completely, went so deeply into the parts, that she often frightened audience members or moved them to tears and sobbing. She achieved more great success when she played the Shakespearean roles of Desdemona (Othello), Rosalind (As You Like It), Ophelia (Hamlet) and Volumnia (Coriolanus).

Sarah told Samuel Johnson that the role of Queen Catherine in Henry VIII was her favorite. She described it as the most natural and well suited to her acting powers.

Retirement from Theatre

Sarah’s brother John Kemble purchased shares in the theatre at Covent Garden in 1803. In 1806, she left Drury Lane to join him. On June 29, 1812, as Lady Macbeth she took leave of the stage.

The highly impassioned actress, who suffered great personal loss of five of her children, was never content in retirement. She performed a few times, and gave readings from Shakespeare at private gatherings until her death in 1831. There is a statue of the great performer in Westminster Abbey.

Sarah Siddons Portrait in Movie All About Eve

In 1950, Joseph Mankiewicz featured Sir Joshua Reynolds’ portrait of Sarah Siddons in the movie All About Eve. The movie’s characters are gathered for presentation of the (then) fictional Sarah Siddons Awards for acting.

Founded in 1952, the Sarah Siddons Society in Chicago presents annual awards for outstanding performances in that city’s theatres. Bette Davis, star of All About Eve received an honorary Sarah Siddons Award from the Society in 1973.

Sources:

History of the London Stage and Its Famous Players (1576-1903), by Henry Barton Baker, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1904,
Women as Hamlet: Performance and Interpretation in Theatre, Film and Fiction by Tony Howard, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007

The copyright of the article Acting Career of Sarah Siddons in Theatre History is owned by Kathleen Airdrie. Permission to republish Acting Career of Sarah Siddons in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Sarah Siddons Portrait As Muse Of Tragedy	Sarah Siddons Diva Of Drury Lane	Sarah Siddons In Performance
Drury Lane Theatre 1808	Covent Garden Theatre 1808