 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(March 2024) |
Thomas Mozeen | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | 1768 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor and dramatist |
Thomas Mozeen (died 1768) was an English actor and dramatist.
| | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(March 2024) |
Thomas Mozeen | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | 1768 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor and dramatist |
Thomas Mozeen (died 1768) was an English actor and dramatist.
Mozeen was of French extraction, but born in England, his sponsor being Dr. Henry Sacheverell, was bred to the bar, which profession he forsook for the stage. His first traceable appearance is at Drury Lane, 20 Feb. 1745, as Pembroke in ' King John.' He played apparently the customary three years' engagement, but his name only appears to Clitander in Swiney's ' Quacks, or Love's the Physician,' 30 March 1745; Young Laroon in Fielding's 'Debauchees, or the Jesuit Caught,' 17 October 1745 ; Charles in the 'Nonjuror,' 22 October 1745 ; and Basil in the 'Stage Coach' of Farquhar and Motteux.
On 30 September 1746 the part of Polly in the 'Beggar's Opera' was played by Mrs. Mozeen, late Miss Edwards. As Miss Edwards she was first heard at Drury Lane, when for the benefit of Mrs. Catherine Clive, whose pupil she was, she sang, 8 March 1743, the part of Sabrina in 'Comus.' On 13 March 1744, also for Mrs. Olive's benefit, she made, as Jessica, her first appearance at Covent Garden. At Drury Lane she played Polly in the 'Beggar's Opera,' 3 December 1745, and was Miranda in the 'Tempest,' 31 January 1746.
In 1748–9, the Mozeens were engaged by Sheridan for Dublin as part of a musical company, concerning which it is said by Victor that 'their salaries amounted to 1,400l., but the profit accruing from their performances did not amount to 150l., which was paid for the writing of their music.' Chetwood asserts that Mozeen had a good person, a genteel education, judgment, voice and understanding, and was an actor of promise. The timidity of Mrs. Mozeen, who was an adept in music, and had a charming manner and voice, kept her back as an actress. Of her Tate Wilkinson says that 'at the least loose joke she blushed to such a degree as to give the beholder pain for an offence not intended.' This bashfulness was accompanied by no very keen scruples as to her conduct, which was irregular enough to induce Mrs. Clive to withdraw her support. What parts were played in Dublin is unrecorded, but Victor, as manager for Sheridan, was fortunate enough to transfer to a musical society a portion of the engagement. On 15 Sept. 1750, as Young Fashion in the 'Relapse,' Mozeen reappeared at Drury Lane. He played Benvolio in 'Romeo and Juliet,' Worthy in the 'Recruiting Officer,' and Cob in 'Every Man in his Humour.'
On 21 May 1759, for the benefit of Mozeen, Miss Barton, Miss Hippisley, and others, the 'Heiress, or Antigallican,' the solitary dramatic production of Mozeen, was given. It is a fairly written farce in two acts, in which a girl who has been brought up as a boy wins the heart of one of her own sex. It was included in a volume published for the author 1762, wholly in verse, with the exception of the play, and, curiously enough, called 'A Collection of Miscellaneous Essays by T. Mozeen.' Among its contents are many songs, epilogues, &c., delivered in Bristol and elsewhere, and at Sadler's Wells Theatre, and the introductory plan of a pantomime called 'Harlequin Deserter,' intended for Sadler's Wells. 'Frolics of May,' an interlude of singing and dancing, seems also to have been intended for the stage. 'Fables in Verse,' by T. Mozeen, 2 vols. 1765, dedicated to Richard Grenville Temple, viscount Cobham, possesses little merit. 'The Lyrical Pacquet, containing most of the Favourite Songs performed for Three Seasons past at Sadler's Wells,' &c., London, 1764, 8vo, is mentioned by Lowndes, who, however, leaves unnoticed 'Young Scarron,' London, 8vo, 1752, a rather slavish imitation of 'Le Roman Comique' of Scarron, narrating the adventures of a company of strolling players. Owen Bray, a publican, with whom he lodged at Loughlinstown, Ireland, was associated with Mozeen (to whom the well-known recitation, 'Bucks have at ye all,' has also been assigned) in writing the famous song of 'Kilruddery.' Mozeen died 28 March 1768. Mrs. Mozeen, whose career appears after a time independent of that of her husband, was for some years at the Bath Theatre.
Ann Street Barry aka Ann Dancer later Ann Crawford, was a British singer, dancer and stage actress.
Susannah Maria Cibber was a celebrated English singer and actress. She was the sister of the composer Thomas Arne. Although she began her career as a soprano, her voice lowered in the early part of her career to that of a true contralto. She was universally admired for her ability to move her audiences emotionally both as an actress and vocalist. Possessing a sweet, expressive, and agile singing voice with a wide vocal range, Cibber was an immensely popular singer, even if at times her voice was criticized for a lack of polished technique. Charles Burney wrote of her singing that "by a natural pathos, and perfect conception of the words, she often penetrated the heart, when others, with infinitely greater voice and skill, could only reach the ear." Cibber was particularly admired by Handel, who wrote numerous parts especially for her including the contralto arias in his 1741 oratorio Messiah, the role of Micah in Samson, the role of Lichas in Hercules and the role of David in Saul among others. In the mid-1730s she began appearing in plays in addition to appearing in operas and oratorios. She became the greatest dramatic actress of the eighteenth-century London stage and at the time of her death was the highest-paid actress in England.
Hannah Pritchard was an English actress who regularly played opposite David Garrick. She performed many significant Shakespearean roles and created on stage many important female roles by contemporary playwrights.
Charlotte Charke was an English actress, playwright, novelist, and autobiographer. She began acting at the age of seventeen in breeches roles, and took to wearing male clothing off stage as well, performing and being publicly known as "Charles Brown" from 1741. Her later career and her writings were conducted under her own name, "Mrs. Charlotte Charke", and identified her as the daughter of Colley Cibber. After being unsuccessful in a series of jobs associated with men at the time, such as valet, sausage maker, farmer, and tavern owner, she succeeded in her career as a writer and continued her work as a novelist and memoirist until her death in 1760.
Catherine Clive Catherine ‘Kitty’ Clive was a first songster and star comedienne of British playhouse entertainment. Clive led and created new forms of English musical theatre. She was celebrated both in high-style parts – singing, for instance, Handel’s music for her in Messiah, Samson, and The Way of the World – and in low-style ballad opera roles. Her likeness was printed and traded in unprecedented volume. She championed women’s rights throughout her career.
George Anne Bellamy was an Irish actress. She took leading roles at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Sarah Harlowe (1765–1852) was a popular actress of the London stage around the turn of the 19th century.
Richard Yates was an English comic actor, who worked at the Haymarket Theatre and Drury Lane among others, appearing in David Garrick's King Lear. He also worked in theatre management, and set up the New Theatre in Birmingham in 1773. Both his first wife, Elizabeth Mary and Mary Anne Graham were actresses.
John Palmer was an actor on the English stage in the eighteenth century. There was also another John Palmer (1728–1768) who was known as Gentleman Palmer. Richard Brinsley Sheridan nicknamed him Plausible Jack.
Thomas Lowe was an English tenor and actor. He appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and at Covent Garden, and frequently performed in London's pleasure gardens. He was particularly associated with the works of Thomas Arne and George Frideric Handel.
Henry Jones (1721–1770), born in Ireland, was a poet and dramatist active in London.
Elizabeth Rebecca Edwin was an Anglo-Irish stage actress active in Ireland and England during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Thomas King (1730–1805) was an English actor, known also as a theatre manager and dramatist.
Maria Rebecca Davison (1780?–1858) was a British stage actress. She was billed as Miss Duncan in the early years of her career before her marriage. She appeared as a leading performer at the London patent theatres Covent Garden, the Haymarket Theatre and particularly at Drury Lane.
Mary Amelia Warner, best known by her stage name Mrs Warner, was an English actress and theatre manager.
Elizabeth Vincent was a British stage actress of the eighteenth century. She was the wife of the instrumentalist and composer, Richard Vincent.
Henry Woodward was an English actor, among the most famous in his day for comedy roles.
Maria Macklin was a British actress. Her parents were both leading Irish born actors.
Mary Mozeen born Mary Edwards was a British singer and actress.
The Dupe is a 1763 comedy play by the Irish writer Frances Sheridan. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 10 December 1763. The original cast included Richard Yates as Sir John Woodall, William Havard as Friendly, John Hayman Packer as Wellford, Thomas King as Sharply and Hannah Pritchard as Mrs Etherdown, Kitty Clive as Mrs Friendly. It was one of only two new mainpieces debuting at Drury Lane that year along with a clutch of afterpieces. Sheridan, the mother of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was best known for her novel Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph but had enjoyed success with the play The Discovery earlier in the year.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Knight, John Joseph (1894). "Mozeen, Thomas". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co.