Ethel Coleridge (14 January 1883 – 15 August 1976) was an English actress, best known for her roles in the original

Aldwych farce The Aldwych farces were a series of twelve stage farces presented at the Aldwych Theatre, London, nearly continuously from 1923 to 1933. All but three of them were written by Ben Travers. They incorporate and develop British low comedy styles ...

s in the 1920s and 1930s.

Life and career

Coleridge was born Ethel Coleridge Tucker in South Molton,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

shire, and educated at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

. At the age of 22 she appeared onstage for the first time as a member of the chorus in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

''.Miss Ethel Coleridge, ''The Times'', 18 August 1976, p. 14 Over the next fifteen years she acted in a wide range of touring companies, and finally made her West End debut in a cast led by Gladys Cooper, in a revival of ''My Lady's Dress'' by Edward Knoblock; she played several roles in the piece, including Mrs Moss, "a stout, elderly, motherly type". Following this she was cast as Nancy Sibley in a revival of Knoblock and

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...

's ''Milestones''. Over the next six years she played character roles in plays ranging from earnest drama to farce, and in 1926 she was recruited by

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

for what became virtually a stock company at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

, led by Walls,

Ralph Lynn Ralph Clifford Lynn (8 March 1882 – 8 August 1962) was an English actor who had a 60-year career, and is best remembered for playing comedy parts in the Aldwych farces first on stage and then in film. Lynn became an actor at the age of 1 ...

and

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, Order of the British Empire, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the p ...

, performing

s. At the Aldwych between 1926 and 1931, Coleridge played Gertrude in '' Rookery Nook''; Lady Benbow in '' Thark''; Mrs Orlock in ''

Plunder Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

''; Kate, the maid in '' A Cup of Kindness''; Mrs Knee in '' A Night Like This''; and Mona Flower in '' Turkey Time''. Established as a character actress, Coleridge continued to be cast in West End productions. Among her best-known roles was the bullying Clara Soppitt in J. B. Priestley's comedy, ''

When We Are Married ''When We Are Married'' is a three-act play by the English dramatist J. B. Priestley, described as "A Yorkshire Farcical Comedy". Written in 1934, it is set about thirty years earlier, and depicts the consequences when three middle-aged couples ...

'' (1938). Coleridge continued to act during and after the Second World War, and later appeared on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio and television. She acted in films in the 1930s and 1940s.

Selected filmography

* '' Rookery Nook'' (1930) * ''

'' (1931) * '' Laburnum Grove'' (1936) * '' Lonely Road'' (1936) * '' Keep Your Seats, Please'' (1936) * '' Feather Your Nest'' (1937) * ''

Penny Paradise ''Penny Paradise'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Carol Reed and starring Edmund Gwenn, Betty Driver and Jimmy O'Dea. Plot The film is set in Liverpool, where tugboat captain Joe Higgins, believing he has won £20,000 on the foot ...

'' (1938) * '' Second Best Bed'' (1938) * ''

'' (1943) * '' Murder in Reverse?'' (1945) * '' The Loves of Joanna Godden'' (1947)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleridge, Ethel 1883 births 1976 deaths English film actresses English stage actresses Actresses from Devon Alumni of the University of Bristol Aldwych farce People from South Molton 20th-century English actresses