Susanna Verbruggen (née Percival) (–1703), aka Susanna Mountfort, was an English

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

working in London.

Life

She was the daughter of

Thomas Percival Thomas Percival (29 September 1740 – 30 August 1804) was an English physician, health reformer, ethicist and author who wrote an early code of medical ethics. He drew up a pamphlet with the code in 1794 and wrote an expanded version in 180 ...

, a member of the

Duke's Company The Duke's Company was a theatre company chartered by King Charles II at the start of the Restoration era, 1660. Sir William Davenant was manager of the company under the patronage of Prince James, Duke of York. During that period, theatres ...

for more than a decade. Her first recorded stage appearance may have been as early as 1681 in D'Urfey's ''

Sir Barnaby Whigg ''Sir Barnaby Whigg; Or, No Wit Like A Womans'' is a 1681 comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It was first staged by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. A song for the play was composed by Henry Purcell. The origi ...

''. In 1686 she married the actor

William Mountfort William Mountfort (c. 1664 – 10 December 1692), English actor and dramatic writer, was the son of a Staffordshire gentleman. He met his death at the hand of notorious brawler Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun of Okehampton, who had just take ...

, and after Mountfort's infamous murder in 1692, she married the actor John Verbruggen. She was a successful and popular comedian, known especially for her

breeches role In theater, a breeches role or breeches part (also pants role, pants part, trouser role, trouser part, and Hosenrolle) is a role in which a female actor performs in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were a standard male ...

s. Her greatest success was as the main character Lucia in

Thomas Southerne Thomas Southerne (12 February 166026 May 1746) was an Irish dramatist. Biography Thomas Southerne, born on 12 February 1660, in Oxmantown, near Dublin, was an Irish dramatist. He was the son of Francis Southerne (a Dublin brewer) and Margare ...

's ''Sir Anthony Love'', where Lucia partakes of the freedom of the roistering Restoration

rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

by disguising herself as "Sir Anthony". Both men and women in the audience loved her performance in these types of roles. She was one of the leading actresses at the United Company, but when the company split in two in 1695 (see Restoration comedy) she was, however, not offered a share in the actors' cooperative, but merely a salary. This may have been the biggest tactical mistake the actors' company made: both the Verbruggens were dissatisfied with the offer, reasonably so since Susanna was extremely versatile and popular with audiences, and returned to the parent company, thereby substantially improving its odds in the competition between the companies (see

The Relapse ''The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger'' is a Restoration comedy from 1696 written by John Vanbrugh. The play is a sequel to Colley Cibber's '' Love's Last Shift, or, The Fool in Fashion''. In Cibber's ''Love's Last Shift'', a free-living Re ...

). Her daughter (also named

Susanna Mountfort Susanna Mountfort (1690-1720) was a British stage actress. She was the daughter of the actors William Mountfort and his wife Susanna Mountfort. In 1692 her father was killed in a duel and her mother remarried and became known as Susanna Verbrug ...

, 1690-1720) was an actress at Drury Lane, beginning her career in 1703.

Selected roles

* Winifred in ''

'' by Thomas D'Urfey (1681) * Prudentia in ''

A Duke and No Duke ''A Duke and No Duke'' is a 1684 comedy play by the Irish writer Nahum Tate. It was originally staged by the United Company at the Drury Lane Theatre in London with a cast including John Wiltshire as Lavinio, Thomas Gillow as Barberino, Jos ...

'' by

Nahum Tate Nahum Tate ( ; 1652 – 30 July 1715) was an Anglo-Irish poet, hymnist, and lyricist, who became Poet Laureate in 1692. Tate is best known for '' The History of King Lear'', his 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', and for his libr ...

(1684) * Juliana in '' The Disappointment'' by

(1684) * Girtred in ''

Cuckold's Haven ''Cuckold's Haven; Or, An Alderman No Conjurer'' is a 1685 comedy play by the Irish writer Nahum Tate. It was first staged at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London by the United Company. It was a reworking of George Chapman, Ben Jonson and John Ma ...

'' by

(1685) * Nell in ''

The Devil of a Wife ''The Devil of a Wife, or A Comical Transformation'' is a 1686 comedy play by the English writer and actor Thomas Jevon. It was first performed by the United Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London. The original Dorset Garden cast include ...

'' by

Thomas Jevon Thomas Jevon (1652–1688) was an English playwright, and one of the first English Harlequins. He began his career as a dancing master, but worked his way onto the stage, and played leading low-comedy parts in London between 1673 and 1688. His br ...

(1686) * Isabella in ''

The Squire of Alsatia ''The Squire of Alsatia'' is a 1688 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Shadwell. Alsatia was a nickname for the Whitefriars area of London, deriving from Alsace in northeastern France. A restoration comedy, it was performed at the Drury ...

'' by

Thomas Shadwell Thomas Shadwell ( – 19 November 1692) was an English poet and playwright who was appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate in 1689. Life Shadwell was born at either Bromehill Farm, Weeting-with-Broomhill or Santon House, Ly ...

(1688) * Morayma in '' Don Sebastian'' by

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

(1689) * Mrs Gertrude in '' Bury Fair'' by

(1689) * Maria in '' The Fortune Hunters'' by John Carlile (1689) * Feliciana in '' The Successful Strangers'' by

(1690) * Sir Antony Love in ''

Sir Anthony Love ''Sir Anthony Love; Or, The Rambling Lady'' is a 1690 comedy play by the Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was originally staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with a cast that included Susanna Mountfort in a breeches ...

'' by

(1690) * Phaedra in ''

Amphitryon Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named ...

'' by

(1690) * Florella in ''

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the eight Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World H ...

'' by

(1691) * Mrs Wittwoud ''

The Wives Excuse ''The Wives Excuse'' also ''The Wives Excuse; Or, Cuckolds Make Themselves'' is a 1691 comedy play by the Anglo-Irish writer Thomas Southerne. The title is sometimes written more grammatically as ''The Wives' Excuse''. It was originally staged a ...

'' by

(1691) * Eugenia in '' The Volunteers'' by

(1692) * Belinda in ''

The Old Bachelor "The Old Bachelor" at Covent Garden in 1756 featuring Mrs Elmy... ''The Old Bachelor'' is the first play written by United Kingdom">British playwright William Congreve, produced in 1693 in literature, 1693. Incidental music for the play was wri ...

'' by

William Congreve William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright, satirist, poet, and Whig politician. He spent most of his career between London and Dublin, and was noted for his highly polished style of writing, being regard ...

(1693) * Catchat in ''

The Female Virtuosos ''The Female Virtuosos'' is a 1693 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Wright. It is based on the 1672 play ''Les Femmes Savantes'' by the French writer Molière about two young sisters who try and get out of a marriage arrangement with a f ...

'' by Thomas Wright (1693) * Lady Susan Malepert in '' The Maid's Last Prayer'' by

(1693) * Annabella in '' A Very Good Wife'' by George Powell (1693) * Hillaria in '' The Canterbury Guests'' by

Edward Ravenscroft Edward Ravenscroft ( – 1707) was an English dramatist who belonged to an ancient Flintshire family. He was entered at the Middle Temple, but devoted his attention mainly to literature. Ravenscroft was the first critic to posit that Shakesp ...

(1694) * Dalinda in '' Love Triumphant'' by

(1694) * Lionell in '' The Married Beau'' by

John Crowne John Crowne (6 April 1641 – 1712) was a British dramatist. His father "Colonel" William Crowne, accompanied the earl of Arundel on a diplomatic mission to Vienna in 1637, and wrote an account of his journey. He emigrated to Nova Scotia where ...

(1694) * Ansilva in '' The Rival Sisters'' by Robert Gould (1695) * Olivia in '' The Younger Brother'' by

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; baptism, bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration (England), Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writ ...

(1696) * Berrinthia in ''

'' by

John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restor ...

(1696) * Olivia in ''

The Lost Lover ''The Lost Lover'' (), is a 1999 Italian-British drama film directed by Roberto Faenza. Cast * Ciarán Hinds : Adam * Juliet Aubrey : Asya * Stuart Bunce : Gabriel * Clara Bryant : Dafi * Erick Vazquez : Na'im * Juliet Aubrey: Asya * Cyrus E ...

'' by

Delarivier Manley Delarivier "Delia" Manley (1663 or – 24 July 1724) was an English author, playwright, and political pamphleteer. Manley is sometimes referred to, with Aphra Behn and Eliza Haywood, as one of " the fair triumvirate of wit", which is a later at ...

(1696) * Madam La Marquise in '' The Campaigners'' by Thomas D'Urfey (1698) * Lady Lurewell in '' The Constant Couple'' by

George Farquhar George Farquhar (1677The explanation for the dual birth year appears in Louis A. Strauss, ed., A Discourse Upon Comedy, The Recruiting Officer, and The Beaux' Stratagem by George Farquhar' (Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1914), p. v. Strauss notes t ...

(1699) * Louisa in ''

Love Makes a Man ''Love Makes A Man; Or, The Fop's Fortune'' is a comedy play by the English writer Colley Cibber written and first performed in 1700, and first published in 1701. It borrows elements from two Jacobean plays '' The Elder Brother'' and ''The Custo ...

'' by

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''An Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in ...

(1700) * Gillian in '' The Bath'' by Thomas D'Urfey (1701) * Lady Lurewell in '' Sir Harry Wildair'' by

(1701) * Lady Cringe in ''

The Modish Husband ''The Modish Husband'' is a 1702 comedy play by the English writer William Burnaby. It is in the Restoration-style comedy of manners.Nicoll p.153 Staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in London, the cast included Robert Wilks as Lionel, Colley Cibb ...

'' by William Burnaby (1702) * Hypolita in ''

She Would and She Would Not ''She Would and She Would Not'' is a 1702 comedy play by the English actor-writer Colley Cibber. The original Drury Lane cast included Cibber as Don Manuel, Benjamin Husband as Don Philip, John Mills as Octavio, William Pinkethman as Trappanti, ...

'' by

(1702) * Hillaria in '' Tunbridge Walks'' by Thomas Baker (1703) * Mrs Cringe in ''

The Fair Example ''The Fair Example, or the Modish Citizen'' is a 1703 comedy play by the English writer Richard Estcourt, originally staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Drury Lane Theatre. It was part of a growing trend of plays to feature a plot of an hone ...

'' by

Richard Estcourt Richard Estcourt (1668–1712) was an English actor, who began by playing comedy parts in Dublin. His first London appearance was in 1704 as Dominick, in John Dryden, Dryden's ''Spanish Friar'', and he continued to take important parts at Drury ...

(1703)

Notes

References

* *Highfill, Philip Jr, Burnim, Kalman A., and Langhans, Edward (1973–93). ''Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800''. 16 volumes. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Verbruggen, Susanna 1660s births 1703 deaths English stage actresses 17th-century English actresses 18th-century English actresses Actresses from London