Alfred Wigan

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Alfred Wigan
Born
Alfred Sydney Wigan

(1814-03-24)24 March 1814
Blackheath, London, England
Died29 November 1878(1878-11-29) (aged 64)
Folkestone, Kent, England
Occupationactor-manager
SpouseLeonora Pincott

Alfred Sydney Wigan (24 March 1814[note 1] – 29 November 1878) was an English actor-manager who took part in the first Royal Command Performance before Queen Victoria on 28 December 1848.[1]

Life

Born at Blackheath to James Wigan, a teacher of languages and Secretary of the Dramatic Authors' Society, the actor and playwright Horace Wigan was his younger brother. Little is known of Wigan's early career, but it is believed he toured for a period as a singer. Using his middle name, he acted as Sidney or Sydney Wigan at the Lyceum Theatre in 1834, and 1835 he appeared with Louisa Cranstoun Nisbett at the Queen's Theatre. He then appeared under the name of Sidney Wigan with John Braham at the newly built St James's Theatre, creating the role of John Johnson in The Strange Gentleman by Charles Dickens. With Lucia Elizabeth Vestris he appeared from 1839 to 1844 at Covent Garden, playing the original Sir Otto of Steinberg in Love by James Sheridan Knowles.[2] On 5 August 1839 he married the actress Leonora Pincott, who afterwards would be billed as Mrs Alfred Wigan.[3]

At the

Haymarket Theatre, for whom he played Sir Benjamin Backbite in Sheridan's The School for Scandal. For Webster he created the roles of Osborne in Westland Marston's The Heart and the World and Hector Mauléon in Webster's own play The Roused Lion.[2]

Alfred Wigan took part in the first

Haymarket Theatre on 7 October 1852. From 1853 to 1857 he was the actor-manager of the Olympic Theatre, retiring due to ill health in the latter year. However, in March 1859 he played Sir Paul Pagoda in The Bengal Tiger at the Adelphi Theatre.[2]

He resumed his theatrical career in 1860, taking over the management of the

J. L. Toole, Lionel Brough, Ellen Terry, and Henrietta Hodson, managing the theatre and acting in productions. The theatre opened with Charles Reade's The Double Marriage on 24 October 1867. The spectator said that the play was a poor choice as its "unnatural plot" failed to show off the managers acting skills. The next plays Still Waters Run Deep and the same newspaper was much more pleased commenting on the performance of both Wigan and Mrs Wigan showing "their remarkable powers".[4]

When the

Robert le Diable.[5] In May 1870 Wigan appeared as Lord Foppington in John Hollingshead's The Man of Quality. His final performance was at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1874, after which he retired for the last time, apart from giving several private readings and an afternoon performance at the Gaiety Theatre of The House or the Home and The Bengal Tiger.[2]

Alfred Wigan died at his home in Folkestone on 29 November 1878 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.[2] his wife, Leonora survived him.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Some sources say 24 March 1818

References

  1. ^ a b Gillan, Don. A History of the Royal Command Performance, StageBeauty.net, accessed 23 April 2011
  2. ^
    Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004;online edn, Oct 2006 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29363
    accessed 22 April 2011
  3. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29366. Retrieved 17 August 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  4. ^ The Spectator. F.C. Westley. 1868. p. 42.
  5. ^ Digital Guide to Gilbert & Sullivan Archived 31 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine accessed 1 March 2007

External links

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