Peg Woffington
Oxford Companion to Irish Literature:
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Peg [Margaret] Woffington
Woffington, Peg [Margaret] (?1718-1760), actress; born in Dublin, she was introduced to the Smock Alley management by Charles Coffey. In 1739 she was Sir Harry Wildair in Farquhar's The Constant Couple, She travelled with Coffey to London in 1740. There she persuaded Christopher Rich to cast her as Silvia in The Recruiting Officer. During 1742-5 she visited Dublin with Garrick. Her affair with Garrick and acrimonious rivalry with Kitty Clive are part of English theatrical legend. Her beauty and acting were said to be mesmeric.
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Peg Woffington
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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Peg Woffington
Woffington, Peg (Margaret Woffington), 1714?-1760, English actress, b. Dublin. Her charm and beauty as a child attracted attention, and at the age of 10 she acted in the role of Polly Peachum in a Lilliputian production of The Beggar's Opera. She made her first important appearance in Dublin in 1737 as Ophelia and followed it with her greatest role, the breeches part (male role) of Sir Harry Windair in Farquhar's Constant Couple, which in 1740 led to her engagement by John Rich for Covent Garden. She was Garrick's leading lady in London and Dublin from 1742-48. Her attachment to Garrick was the most publicized of her numerous affairs. Ill health compelled her to retire in 1757. She was best suited for comedy, although her grace and vivacity helped to overcome the harshness of her voice in tragic roles. Charles Reade's play Masks and Faces and his novel Peg Woffington are based on her life.
Bibliography
See biography by J. Dunbar (1968); B. Marinacci, Leading Ladies (1961).
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Oxford Companion to Irish Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature. Copyright © 1996, 2000, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Peg of Old Drury
(1936 Romance Film)
Mrs Lander
(American theater)
Charles Reade
(English novelist & dramatist)
Grace George
(American Theater)
1740
(chronology)
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