Marjorie Dence
{{Short description|British actress and theatre manager (1901–1966)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Marjorie Dence
| image = Marjorie_Dence_MBE_of_Perth.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 14 June 1901
| birth_place = Teddington
| death_date = {{death-date and age|23 August 1966|14 June 1901}}
| death_place = Perth
| death_cause =
| other_names =
| known_for = running the theatre in Perth, Scotland
| education = London
| employer =
| occupation = Theatre manager and actor
| spouse =
| partner =
| relatives =
| signature =
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| nationality = British
}}
Marjorie Lillian Dence MBE (14 June 1901 – 23 August 1966) was a British actress and the first female theatre manager and owner in Scotland, based in Perth.
Life
file:Perth_Theatre_-_geograph.org.uk_-_920542.jpg in 2008]]
Dence was born in Teddington in 1901. Her parents were Annie Eleanor Searle and Ernest Martin Dence (d. 1937) who was a brass-founder and company director.{{Cite ODNB|title=Dence, Marjorie Lillian (1901–1966), actress and theatre manager|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-67798|access-date=2020-06-12|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/67798}}
Dence went to University in London where she joined the local dramatic society, where she met David Steuart. In 1934 they were both members of the Lena Ashwell Players.
Dence's management career began when her father decided to buy the theatre in Perth after Marjorie saw it advertised for £4,000 in The Stage.
Dence's parents appointed her as manager and she and David Steuart found another £1,000 to refit the theatre. David was an actor and close friend but they were (only) business partners. Dence appointed the new theatre's company and in 1935 they staged their first play The Rose without a Thorn by Clifford Bax followed by others each week.{{Cite web|title=Marjorie Dence {{!}} Mapping Memorials to Women in Scotland|url=https://womenofscotland.org.uk/women/marjorie-dence|access-date=2020-06-12|website=womenofscotland.org.uk}} Dence and Steuart created the "Perth Repertory Company" which was the first professional theatre company in Scotland, led by a woman. In 1937 her father died and she became the owner of the theatre.{{Cite web|title=Theatres in Perth, Scotland|url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/PerthTheatres.htm|access-date=2020-06-12|website=www.arthurlloyd.co.uk}} Finances were slim and the theatre closed for three months in 1937 and 1938 but the following year they created Scotland's first Theatre Festival just before the second world war started.{{Cite web|last=|title=Perth Repertory Theatre|url=http://www.mandy.comhttp//www.mandy.com/company/13966/perth-repertory-theatre|access-date=2020-06-12|website=Mandy|language=en-GB}}
During the war the theatre was organised and staffed by the company. The actors lived in the theatre and they undertook all the jobs necessary to keep the theatre running. The theatre made a profit and those profits were shared equally with the company.{{Cite book|last1=Ewan|first1=Elizabeth L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zs6qBgAAQBAJ&q=%22marjorie+dence%22&pg=PA94|title=Biographical Dictionary of ScottishWomen|last2=Innes|first2=Sue|last3=Reynolds|first3=Sian|last4=Pipes|first4=Rose|date=2007-06-27|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-2660-1|language=en}}
Dence was a Justice of the Peace. She was made an MBE in 1952 for Services to the Festival of Britain.
Death and legacy
File:Marjorie Dence Plaque in Perth Theatre hallway.jpg
Dence died in 1966 in Perth. Under the terms of her will the theatre was offered to the city of Perth for the fixed price of £5,000. This was equal to the original investment in the 1930s. There is a plaque in Perth Theatre's foyer recording Dence's contribution to the city.
Wire Sculpture
"Raise the Roof" 2022, (Visit Scotland Media Toolkit {{Cite web |last=VisitScotland |title=Visit Scotland Media Toolkit |url=https://toolkit.visitscotland.org/?meta=raising+the+roof&order=top-picks |access-date=2023-10-15 |website=toolkit.visitscotland.org |language=en}}), a Visit Scotland Year of Stories, event in Perth, conducted a project to create artistic wire sculptures of notable Perth Women, including Dence.{{Cite web |last=Ballantyne |first=Hannah |date=2022-05-26 |title=First look at life-size wire statues honouring Perth's inspirational women from Eve Muirhead to burned witches |url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/perth-kinross/3332553/wire-statues-perth-art-trail/ |access-date=2023-10-15 |website=The Courier |language=en-GB}} The Wire Women project took place as part of Perth and Kinross’ Year of Stories' with community groups, creatives and cultural organisations sharing the stories of women.
Dence was No 17 of 20 wire sculptures which were set out in a trail around Perth City Centre.{{Cite web |last=Emma |date=2022-08-20 |title=Raise the roof Perth Sculpture Trail • Foodie Explorers |url=https://www.foodieexplorers.co.uk/raise-the-roof-perth-sculpture-trail/ |access-date=2023-10-15 |website=Foodie Explorers |language=en-GB}} The Dence sculpture was situated outside the Theatre's High Street entrance but was subject to vandalism whilst it was sited there.{{Cite web |last=Bonn |first=Melanie |date=2022-08-02 |title=Perth statue trail suffers vandalism |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/perths-womens-statue-trail-suffers-27635334 |access-date=2023-10-15 |website=Daily Record |language=en}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dence, Marjorie}}
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Category:English theatre managers and producers
Category:Actors from Perth, Scotland
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire
Category:People from Teddington
Category:Actresses from Perth and Kinross
Category:20th-century English businesspeople
Category:20th-century English businesswomen