Edgar Bruce (c. 1845–1901) was an English actor-manager, appearing in comedies and later producing plays. He built the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in 1884.

Life

Bruce's first stage appearance was in 1868 at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in Liverpool. His London debut was in August 1869 at the

Royal Strand Theatre The Royal Strand Theatre was located in the Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps. It was demolished in 1905 to ...

, in a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

''The Pilgrim of Love''. In August 1871 he became a member of the Wyndham Comedy Company, which performed in the US and Canada. In the company Bruce played leading parts in plays by

T. W. Robertson Thomas William Robertson (9 January 1829 – 3 February 1871) was an English dramatist and stage director known for his development of Naturalism (theatre), naturalism in British theatre. Born to a theatrical family, Robertson began as an acto ...

: as D'Alroy and Hawtree in ''

Caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

'', Mcalister and Chalcot in ''Ours'', and Lord Beaujoy in ''School''."Bruce, Edgar". Charles E Pascoe, editor. ''The Dramatic List: a record of the performances of living actors and actresses of the British stage''. 1880. In 1873 in London he joined the company of the Court Theatre, where he appeared in plays including ''About Town'', ''Marriage Lines'' and ''Wedding March''.

As theatre manager

In June 1875 he opened the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

under his management, for a period of six weeks. In February 1876 he produced at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

the play ''Jo'', based on Charles Dickens's ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

'', with Jennie Lee in the title role. In the following year at the same theatre he produced ''Cora'', with Mrs Hermann Vezin in the title role. In 1878 at the Criterion Theatre he appeared as Greythorne'' in The Pink Dominos'' by James Albery. He then toured with George Honey in

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

's play '' Engaged''. In April 1879 the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

, under his management, produced ''Crutch and Toothpick'', adapted by George R. Sims from a French farce; it ran for 240 nights.

Prince's Theatre

From 1880 Bruce managed the

Prince of Wales's Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772; the last was demolished in 1969, after a catastrophic fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was known as th ...

, where in the following year he produced '' The Colonel'' by F. C. Burnand, which ran for 550 nights. The theatre building was condemned in 1882, and with the profits from ''The Colonel'' he built the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theatr ...

. It opened in January 1884 with W. S. Gilbert's '' The Palace of Truth''."The Prince Of Wales Theatre, Coventry Street, London"
''ArthurLloyd.co.uk''. Retrieved 19 December 2021. The theatre was renamed the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1886, and in December of that year he staged there the original production of the musical ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

''.

Family

Sybil Etonia Bruce, daughter of Bruce and his wife Lucy, was born in 1892; she became, as Toni Edgar-Bruce, a stage and screen actress."Bruce, Tonie Edgar (1892–1966)"
''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved 20 December 2021. Bruce died in 1901.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Edgar 1840s births 1901 deaths 19th-century English male actors English male stage actors Actor-managers