Harold Harley (20 June 1860 – 11 August 1937), known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Mark Ambient, was an English actor and dramatist. He is particularly noted as a writer of the musical comedy '' The Arcadians'', first produced in 1909. He was born in Rastrick, Yorkshire, son of Robert Harley, a Congregational minister and mathematician. He was educated at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

in London, where his father was vice-principal, and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, graduating BA in 1884.''Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900''
Volume 2, page 246.

Works

* ''Oh! Susannah!'' "A Farcical Comedy" in three acts: first produced at the Eden Theatre,

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, opening on 6 September 1897, afterwards at 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.

, London. * ''A Little Ray of Sunshine'', a play in three acts by Ambient and Wilton Heriot, was first performed in the Assembly Rooms,

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

, opening on 3 May 1898. The first London performance was at the Royalty Theatre, opening on 31 December 1898; it featured W. S. Penley as Lord Markham. In New York it opened at Wallack's Theatre on 28 August 1899, running for 22 performances. It was the inaugural production of the Great Queen Street Theatre, London, after its reconstruction; it ran from 24 May to 6 July 1900 (44 performances). * ''A Snug Little Kingdom'', "A Comedy of Bohemia" in three acts, was performed at the Royalty Theatre, running from 31 January to 28 February 1903 (28 performances). It featured Charles Warner, Lyn Harding and

H. B. Warner Henry Byron Warner (né Lickfold; 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfully moved int ...

. * '' The Arcadians'', "A Fantastic Musical Play" in three acts: book by Ambient and Alexander M. Thompson, lyrics by

Arthur Wimperis Arthur Harold Wimperis (3 December 1874 – 14 October 1953) was an English playwright, lyricist and screenwriter, who contributed lyrics and libretti to popular Edwardian musical comedies written for the stage. But, with the advent of talking f ...

, music by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot. It was first produced at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London, opening on 29 April 1909 and running for 809 performances. In New York it opened at the

Liberty Theatre The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant ...

on 17 January 1910, running for 136 performances. * ''The Light Blues'', a musical comedy: book by Ambient and Jack Hulbert, lyrics by

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific English writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th ...

, music by Howard Talbot and

Herman Finck Herman Finck (4 November 1872 – 21 April 1939) was a British composer and conductor of Dutch extraction. Born Hermann Van Der Vinck in London, he began his studies training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established a career ...

. It was first seen on a provincial tour in 1915. At the Shaftesbury Theatre in London it ran from 14 September to 30 September 1916 (20 performances).London Musicals 1915–1919
Over the Footlights, accessed 19 August 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambient, Mark 1860 births 1937 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English musical theatre librettists People from Rastrick