David Prince Miller (1809–1873) was a Scottish showman and magician who founded several Adelphi Theatres in at least

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

and

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

. Conceptual, he created the idea of reduced Shakespeare plays, creating plays which lasted twenty minutes, an idea later followed by the

Reduced Shakespeare Company The Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC) is an American touring acting troupe that performs fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of different topics. The company's style has been described as "New Vaudeville," combining both physical a ...

Career

From around 1825, he appeared as an illusionist in small theatres and halls in England and southern Scotland. He came to Glasgow in July 1839 from

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

, setting up a show on

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

during the

Glasgow Fair The Glasgow Fair is a holiday usually held during the second half of July in Glasgow, Scotland. 'The Fair' is the oldest of similar holidays and dates to the 12th century. The fair's earliest incarnation occurred in 1190, when Bishop Jocelin o ...

. Other acts at the same fair included

John Henry Anderson John Henry Anderson (1814–1874) was a Scottish professional magician. Anderson is credited with helping bring the art of magic from street performances into theatres and presenting magic performances to entertain and delight the audience. C ...

. Although Miller only charged one penny for entrance, he netted £70 during the fair (the equivalent of £7,500 in 2020) and was able to reinvest this money in his travelling show which he took to

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

and

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

. He over-wintered in Airdrie before starting the circle again in 1840. In 1842 (using his profits from the travelling show), he built the Sans Pareil Theatre (holding 1,200 people) near the

Saltmarket The Saltmarket is a thoroughfare in the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is a southward continuation of the High Street, Glasgow, High Street, running south from Glasgow Cross to the junction with Clyde Street and Crown Street by the River Clyde. I ...

in central Glasgow and the Adelphi Theatre (holding 2,500 people) on the edge of Glasgow Green. The Adelphi was one of only two large theatres at that time and was in rivalry with Anderson's Theatre Royal. Miller targeted the poorer residents of the city. In 1845, he is listed as "Manager of the Adelphi Theatre", living at 4 Steel Street, close to Glasgow Green. The theatre was timber-built and huge, even by modern standards, holding 2,500 spectators. A false alarm in the theatre caused a panic in which an 18-year-old boy received fatal injuries. In 1848, he sold the theatre to James Calvert of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. It burnt down soon after. Miller went on tour with a show called ''Through Fire and Water''. In 1855, Miller was on tour with a play concerning his own life: ''The Ups and Downs of Life'' which was performed at the Royal Clarence Theatre in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1863, in partnership with a Walter Edwin, he built an Adelphi Theatre in Coatbridge, holding an audience of 1,500. Roughly at the same time, he also opened an Adelphi Theatre in Dumbarton. In later life, he ran the Prince's Mall Theatre. He was then living at 48 London Street in the centre. The Adelphi Theatre in Coatbridge was renamed the Princess Theatre in 1873 having been sold to new owners.

Personal life

He was married with a namesake son, David Prince Miller, and daughter, Elizabeth Miller.

Death

He died on 24 May 1873. He is buried in the lower south section of

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian era, Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of St. Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow, Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have ...

Other works

In 1853, he published a book of his struggles, entitled ''The Life of a Showman''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, David Prince Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Date of death missing 1809 births 1873 deaths 19th-century British theatre managers 19th-century Scottish autobiographers 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 19th-century Scottish male writers British male magicians Burials at the Glasgow Necropolis Businesspeople from Glasgow People from Dalkeith Scottish founders Scottish magicians Scottish male entertainers Scottish theatre managers and producers Theatre people from Glasgow Writers from Glasgow