ABSTRACT
In Old Mortality, Sir Walter Scott describes a scene which perfectly encapsulates what the Romantic performer sought: The door, which slowly opened, discovered Morton with both arms reclined upon a table, and his head resting upon them in a posture of deep dejection. The performance of Eliza Vestris in Paul Pry reminds us that the women actors in the Romantic theatre have rarely received their due. Romantic singers, too, made a particular mark on Romantic performance, but the best performers were usually international stars presenting their work across Europe and America. The actor should aim to find the best means of physicalising emotion, the Romantic concept which Edmund Kean all others embodied. A fine Romantic actress trained by Fanny Kelly was Mary Anne Keeley, nee Goward, famed for ‘breeches’ roles, such as Oliver Twist, Smike and Little Jack Sheppard, in which part, The Observer said, ‘Nothing could be more exquisite’ than her acting.
