Emma Nicol (1800 – 2 November 1877) was a British actress who became known for playing older women in Edinburgh as her mother had before her.

Life

In 1800 Emma Nicol was born, she was the first of four daughters of

Sarah Bezra Nicol Sarah Bezra Nicol (died 1834 or after) was a British actress who became known for playing older women character roles in Edinburgh. Life Sarah's birth name is unknown. At the end of the 18th century, she was first noticed as a servant to Colonel ...

and her husband who were to become actresses.J. Gilliland, 'Nicol, Sarah Bezra (d. in or after 1834)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 8 Feb 2015
/ref> Rob Roy MacGregor 1819 17 Feb with Miss Nicol and Mrs Nicol in it

Rob Roy MacGregor 1819 17 Feb with Miss Nicol and Mrs Nicol in it

Emma's father was a printer and by 1807 her mother was playing old woman roles at the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh as "Mrs.Nicol". In the following year her mother had her first

benefit performance A benefit performance is a type of live entertainment which is undertaken for a cause. In its original usage, benefit performances were opportunities for an actor to supplement his/her income. In its modern usage, benefit performances are given to ...

where her daughter made one of her first appearances. Her mother appeared with

Henry Siddons Henry Siddons (4 October 1774 – 12 April 1815) was an English actor and theatrical manager, now remembered as a writer on gesture. Life Siddons was the eldest child of Sarah Siddons, and was educated at Charterhouse School, being inten ...

at the New Theatre Royal on

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the east end of the city centre to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the str ...

and she went on to play character roles like

Mrs Malaprop A malapropism (; also called a malaprop, acyrologia or Dogberryism) is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance. An examp ...

. In 1819 she and her mother were chosen to perform in an operatic adaptation of the novel '' Rob Roy'' for the first time in Edinburgh. Her mother played the role of ''Jean McAlpine'' and she took the role of ''Mattie''.Playbill of 17 Feb 1819
Theatre Royal, National Libraries of Scotland, retrieved 12 February 2015 When

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

saw ''Rob Roy'' they were still in these roles. She also took the part of ''Madge Wildfire'' in

The Heart of Midlothian ''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' is the seventh of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of ''Tales of My Landlord, 2nd series'', and the author was given as "Jedediah Clei ...

; ''Miss Neville'' in

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays ...

and ''Maria'' in

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

. Emma left the city to find work in London at some time around 1823 and she was at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

by November 1824. She worked for two years in Surrey. non. 'Nicol, Emma (1800–1877)’, rev. J. Gilliland, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 8 Feb 2015
/ref> By 1833 her mother was too elderly to get regular work and she died sometime after her farewell performance at a benefit in 1834. By November 1834 Emma was back in Edinburgh playing the type of roles her mother had played at the Theatre Royal. It was noticed that she had developed her skills considerably since she had left the city. Nicol worked in leading roles where she extended her range when

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.

came into fashion. She had her own benefit performances in 1862 and after this she retired to London. She died in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

in 1877.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Emma 1800 births 1877 deaths British actresses 19th-century British actresses British stage actresses