Sarah Maria Wilson (died 1786) was an English actress.

Early life

Her maiden name was Adcock. She acted in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, where, as Mrs. Weston, in the summer of 1773 she played Lucy Lockit in the ''

Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

'', Miss Notable in the 'Lady's Last Stake,' and other comic parts.

The London stage

After appearing in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, where she became a favourite, and in Glasgow in 1774, she came to London. There she came to know Richard Wilson, and as Mrs. Wilson she played at 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 ...

on 19 May 1775, Betsy Blossom in ''The Cozeners'', and Lucy in ''The Virgin Unmasked''. She was seen in her first Haymarket season as Lucy in ''The Mirror'', Nell in the 'Devil to Pay,' Lydia in the 'Bankrupt,' Sophy in the 'Dutchman,' and Juletta (an original part) in 'Metamorphoses' (26 August 1775). On 30 April 1776 she was at Covent Garden, for Wilson's benefit, Hoyden in the 'Man of Quality.' In the summer of 1776 and that of 1777 she was in Liverpool. At Covent Garden she had played meanwhile Polly Honeycombe in Colman's piece so named, Mrs. Pinchwife in the 'Country Wife,' and Kitty in '

High Life Below Stairs ''High Life Below Stairs'' is a 1759 comedy play by the British writer James Townley.Worrall p. 30 An afterpiece, it premiered at Drury Lane on a double bill with a revival of Dryden's ''The Mourning Bride''. A popular hit, it was frequently revi ...

.' On 2 February 1780 she was the first Betsy Blossom in Pilon's 'Deaf Lover,' and on 5 August at the Haymarket the first Bridget in Miss Lee's 'Chapter of Accidents.' At the Haymarket Wilson was on 16 June 1781 the original Comfit in O'Keeffe's 'Dead Alive,' and played Filch in the 'Beggar's Opera,' with the male parts played by women and vice versa; she played also Nysa in 'Midas' (15 August), and Flippanta in the 'Confederacy.'

Death

Wilson did not act after the 1785 season, and died in Edinburgh in 1786.

Family

Her husband, Richard Wilson (fl. 1774–1792), born in Durham, played over many years comic characters at Covent Garden and the Haymarket. He was a good actor in comedy, taking parts such as Hardcastle, Justice Woodcock, Sir Anthony Absolute, Tony Lumpkin, Malvolio, Touchstone, Falstaff, Ben in 'Love for Love,' Scapin, Shylock, Fluellen, Polonius, Sir Pertinax Macsycophant, and

Sir Hugh Evans ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

. His original parts included Don Jerome in the 'Duenna,' Lord Lumbercourt in the 'Man of the World,' Father Luke in the 'Poor Soldier,' Mayor in 'Peeping Tom,' John Dory in 'Wild Oats,' and Sulky in ' The Road to Ruin.' According to a barely credible account of Lee Lewes, he married in the country, as a seventh husband, a Mrs. Grace, who is said to have been the original Jenny in the 'Provoked Husband.' She was, in fact, Myrtilla, Mrs. Cibber playing Jenny. She must have been fifty years of age, and Wilson little over twenty. Wilson then married, it is said, a daughter of

Charles Lee Lewes Charles Lee Lewes (1740 – 13 July 1803) was an English actor. Biography He was born the son of a hosier in London. After attending a school at Ambleside he returned to London, where he found employment as a postman. In about 1760 he went on th ...

, and afterwards, it is to be presumed, Mrs. Weston.

Selected roles

* Bridget in '' The Chapter of Accidents'' by Sophia Lee (1780) * Miss Turnbull in '' Duplicity'' by

Thomas Holcroft Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet, novelist and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Ri ...

(1781) * Kitty Carrington in ''

The Walloons ''The Walloons'' is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London in April 1782. The original cast included John Henderson as Father Sullivan, Richard Wroughton as Mo ...

'' by

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) Richard Cumberland (15 July 1631 (or 1632) – 9 October 1718) was an English philosopher, and Bishop of Peterborough from 1691. In 1672, he published his major work, ''De leg ...

(1782) * Kitty in '' Which is the Man?'' by Hannah Cowley (1782) * Minette in ''

A Bold Stroke for a Husband ''A Bold Stroke for a Husband'' is a 1783 comedy play by the British writer Hannah Cowley. The title is a variation on Susanna Centlivre's '' A Bold Stroke for a Wife''. The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as Don Julio, ...

'' by Hannah Cowley (1783) * Miss Juvenile in ''

More Ways Than One ''More Ways Than One'' is a 1783 comedy play by the British writer Hannah Cowley.Nicoll p.249 The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as Bellair, John Quick as Doctor Freelove, John Edwin as Sir Marvel Mushroom, Ralph We ...

'' by Hannah Cowley (1783) * Grace in '' Fashionable Levities'' by Leonard MacNally (1785) * Susan in '' The Campaign'' by Robert Jephson (1785) * Fish in '' Appearance Is Against Them'' by

Elizabeth Inchbald Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson, 15 October 1753 – 1 August 1821) was an English novelist, actress, dramatist, and translator. Her two novels, '' A Simple Story'' and '' Nature and Art'', have received particular critical attention. Life B ...

(1785) * Carlota in '' A School for Greybeards'' by Hannah Cowley (1786) * Harriet in ''

Seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...

'' by

(1787)

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Sarah Maria Year of birth missing 1786 deaths English stage actresses 18th-century English actresses Place of birth missing