Originally published in Stage Whispers Magazine- another long article
In 1873, outside the Melbourne Theatre Royal, a fair young
girl, with a face surrounded by reddish gold hair, approached manager Mr
Harwood. In a sweet voice, tinged with a
slight Irish brogue she asked, ‘Please sir, can I be an actress?’
The young girl was Myra Kemble. In three decades she reached
the heights of colonial fame and the lows of a lonely death.
Myra was born Maria Teresa Gill in Sligo Ireland around
1857. Her parents, Pat and Teresa, brought her to Australia when she was seven
years old and she was immediately enrolled in a Geelong convent. She was
scheduled for a music lesson when she approached Mr Harwood on that fateful day
in 1873.
He gave her a part, a small part in a pantomime, and she
made a very attractive Venus. She continued in small roles but her youth led to
many mistakes, which included nervously lapsing into an Irish brogue at
inappropriate moments. The habit amused many audiences, but did not impress
managers.
Myra persisted and she eventually arrived in Sydney. At Xmas
1875 she appeared in a pantomime at the Theatre Royal. She was part of that Theatre’s company for
almost a year and mostly played decorative roles.
In 1876, she moved to the rival Victoria Theatre and was
part of the Centennial Burlesque Company with a young Bland Holt and his future
wife, Leni Edwin. Australian actors of
this era were extremely versatile and Myra was no exception. During her stint
with the Victoria, she performed in burlesque, pantomime, comedy, drama and
Shakespeare. The company supported many leading players who came to Sydney,
including Alfred Dampier. In February 1877 she played Osric to Dampier’s Hamlet.
By March 1878, Myra’s slight figure was a fixture of the
Sydney theatrical scene. When she returned to the Theatre Royal that year the
audience greeted her with long and loud applause. It was at the Royal that she
began to take leading roles, such as Lady Teazle with Wybert Reeve in A School for Scandal.
These were great years for Myra professionally and
personally. In December 1878 she married James Whitehead, also known as James
White. James was known as ‘diamond Jim’ the straightest bookmaker in Sydney. She had her first benefit performance in 1879
and was proclaimed an ‘actress of the first rank.’
In Melbourne she starred in New Babylon with Bland Holt and toured South Australia, Tasmania
and Victoria. A highlight at this time was a request to perform at George
Coppin’s farewell performance in 1881. In October 1882 Myra gave birth to a
baby girl. She was well loved by the public and her family was growing, she was
successful in love and life. However things changed very rapidly.
In March 1883, Myra committed herself to the Northcote
asylum for inebriates. The home was a private sanatorium for alcohol dependency
and Myra had signed for six months. It was run by Dr McCarthy, who was one of
the first people to treat alcohol dependency as a medical rather than as a
moral issue. In June 1883, James applied
to a court to have his wife removed from the home, he was unsuccessful because
McCarthy refused consent.
Myra was eventually released but announced she had retired
from acting. She and James travelled to
New Zealand and she volunteered, through the newspapers, to act for local amateur
theatres. Nobody accepted this offer, but the reporter commented favourably on
her ‘prepossessing physique and ladylike demeanour.’ Soon it was reported that
she had ‘relapsed.’
It was not until late 1884 that she returned to the boards
and her talent and name ensured continuing fame. She played with Dampier at the
Gaiety and as Lady Teazle at the Criterion. She was a fixture of the Sydney
social scene, and in 1887 one newspaper commented favourably upon her ‘perfect
fitting and beautifully draped dress of plain green cloth without a particle of
trimming.’ Later that year, the Melbourne press commented ironically on the
large size of her parasol, which, as was the latest fashion, reached her eye line
when closed.
Her notoriety was greatest
in Sydney and in 1888 the art gallery prominently exhibited her portrait. The
same year a short and complimentary biography appeared in the Illustrated
Sydney News which described her as a ‘lovable, warm hearted woman.’
In 1889, having conquered Sydney, Myra travelled to England
to try her luck.
A large benefit performance was held to farewell her. Sydney’s
leading players, George Rignold, the Boucicaults, Charles Holloway, Mrs Bland
Holt, and Mr Titheradge performed. It was an indication of the esteem in which
Myra was held that such a distinguished list volunteered their time for
Sydney’s greatest actress. They also gave her a gold bracelet as a memento of
the occasion.
In London, the Queen
of the Australian Stage, was greeted warmly and feted heartily by expat
Australians, but the English critics were lukewarm. They were too sophisticated
for a colonial Irish actress and disheartened and dispirited, Myra returned to
Sydney.
Before leaving London, Myra proved herself an astute
businesswoman. She purchased the Australasian rights to a farcical comedy
called Dr Bill. When she returned to Australia she joined
with the Brough and Boucicault Company and toured the play around the country.
It was a phenomenal success.
In 1890, Myra was one of the first people in Australia to
have their voice recorded on a phonograph and the recording was played to an
appreciative audience at the School of Arts. In 1893 she was voted the most
popular actress on the Australian stage in a newspaper poll.
The depression of the 1890s hit the White family hard and in
1894, despite a popular tour of New Zealand, Myra was in some financial
distress. She again decided to perform in England. The trip was a disaster.
Myra was ill and hospitalised at Guys in London for 17 weeks. According to New
Zealand papers, she had ‘internal cancer’. She returned to Australia as an
invalid.
However, she still gave interviews. She was happy to trade gossip
with one Sydney journalist, who described her as being cheery, despite being
unable to stand and in constant pain.
The theatrical community rallied to her side and organised a
major benefit concert. On May 7 1896 at the Lyceum Theatre, all the major
theatre managers and owners joined to raise money for the star. The show featured
JC Williamson’s company, Brough and Boucicault performing their latest play,
Bland Holt and his company and the Tivoli Orchestra. Every famous name in
Sydney attended and the performance was immensely popular. The benefit proved that
Myra was an actress held in the highest esteem by her peers.
The programme stated
that Myra was ‘debarred from ever again appearing on the stage.’ But Myra did
not agree with this assessment. She made a miraculous recovery and toured Australia
with her own company in 1897 and 1898. The resurgence was short and from 1899
her appearances were sporadic. In 1900 she
disappeared from the stage and by 1902 she was living in a private hospital in
Melbourne.
Myra died in 1906 at Melbourne Hospital. Her death
certificate recorded no next of kin. A New Zealand theatrical critic noted that
her death had been caused by alcohol dependency, a vice that had ruined her
health and her career.
Myra was one of Australia’s earliest and most popular
actresses. She was an entrepreneur, a star and a warm hearted Irish woman, once
the toast of Sydney, her lonely death proved the inconstancy of fame.