Nancy Hallam (died ''after'' 1773) was an English-born American stage actress and singer. She was engaged in the

Old American Company The Old American Company was an American theatre company. It was the first fully professional theatre company to perform in North America. It also played a vital role in the theatre history of Jamaica. It was founded in 1752 and disbanded in 1805. ...

, the first permanent theater company in America, and as such belonged to the first generation of pioneer actresses in North America.

Life

Nancy Hallam was the niece of Sarah Hallam and a cousin of

Isabella Mattocks Isabella Mattocks (1746 – June 25, 1826) was a British actress and singer. Early life Hallam (later Mattocks) was baptised in Whitechapel in 1746 by Lewis and Sarah Hallam Douglass. Her father and her uncle William were also actors.Jared Bro ...

. She was engaged in the American Company as a child. In 1760, she returned to Great Britain to be trained as a singer. In 1765, she returned to America with David Douglass after his visit to England to recruit new actors. Hallam became known for her

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

an roles and for her ability as a singer. When

Margaret Cheer Margaret Cheer (d. February 15, 1800 in Old Harbour, Jamaica), was an English-born American stage actress known as Miss Cheer. She was engaged in the Old American Company, the first permanent theater company in America, and as such belonged to th ...

retired and left the company in 1769, Nancy Hallam took over the principal female roles from her as well as from Sarah Hallam Douglass. She became a very popular actress and singer of the American colonial stage, and idolized on stage. Her likely most famous role was the crossdressing role in Cymbeline, which she performed the first time i the New Theatre in Annapolis in 1770. She returned to Great Britain in 1773. Nancy Hallam is the subject of a famous painting by

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, and ...

References

* Robin O. Warren,
Women on Southern Stages, 1800-1865: Performance, Gender and Identity
'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallam, Nancy 18th-century American actresses American stage actresses 18th-century American singers British emigrants to the United States