by Annette Rubery | Nov 29, 2023 | Opera, Theatre History
Bedford Row, London, November 2023. I wrote the other day (in Operatic foundations: A relic of the Haymarket theatre) about the curious stones in the front garden of a law office in Bedford Row and how I think they once formed the foundation of John Vanbrugh’s...
by Annette Rubery | Nov 11, 2023 | History
The Hercules Pillars pub: between Holborn and Covent Garden, London. Last night we went to see Handel’s Jephtha at Covent Garden. On the way, we stopped for a drink at the Hercules Pillars. On August 7th 1718, Sir John Vanbrugh wrote to the Duke of Newcastle: I...
by Annette Rubery | May 28, 2023 | Events
Peg Woffington: The Female Rake. 27th May 2023, 11am, Bromley House Library, Nottingham. I had a great time visiting Bromley House Library in Nottingham (a hidden gem) to give a talk on Peg Woffington. This beautiful subscription library moved to Bromley House in...
by Annette Rubery | May 21, 2023 | History, Literature
New leaves on our cutting of Johnson's Fourth Willow, Spring 2023. Photograph: Annette Rubery. Dr Johnson figure, carved from the wood of the Third Willow. Houghton Library, Harvard. Photograph: Annette Rubery. When the Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon wanted the...
by Annette Rubery | Jan 6, 2023 | Theatre History, Woffington
Figure 1: Peg Woffington by John Lewis, oil on canvas, feigned oval 1753. National Portrait Gallery, London. On January 29th 1753 at Smock Alley playhouse in Dublin, Peg Woffington performed in drag as Lothario in Nicholas Rowe’s tragedy The Fair Penitent (Greene...
