Nancy Price
{{Short description|English actress, author and theatre director (1880–1970)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nancy Price
| image =Nancy Price 1900s.jpg
| image_size =240px
| caption =
| birth_name = Lilian Nancy Bache Price
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1880|2|3}}
| birth_place = Kinver, Staffordshire, England, UK
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1970|3|31|1880|2|3}}
| death_place = Findon, Sussex, England, UK
| spouse = {{Marriage|Charles Maude|17 May 1907|1943|end=d.}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|author|theatre director|theatre founder}}
}}
Nancy Price, CBE (3 February 1880 – 31 March 1970) was an English actress on stage and screen, author, animal welfare activist and theatre director. Her acting career began in a repertory theatre company before progressing to the London stage, silent films, talkies and finally television. In addition to appearing on stage she became involved in theatre production and was a founder of the People's National Theatre.
Personal life
Christened Lilian Nancy Bache Price in Kinver, Staffordshire, England, in 1880, Nancy was the daughter of William Henry Price (a retired farmer) and Sarah Mannix. Her mother was the granddaughter of Sir Henry Mannix. After schooling in her home village and then in nearby Malvern Wells she decided at an early age to become an actress. She married the actor Charles Maude on 17 May 1907, and they were together until his death in 1943. They had two daughters Joan Maude and Elizabeth Maude. Joan, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's daughter Jennifer Phipps all went on to become actresses.{{Cite web|title = Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia|url = http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Phipps%2C%20Jennifer|website = www.canadiantheatre.com|accessdate = 2015-11-23}} Soon after Charles and Nancy's daughters were born, they made the village of Findon in Sussex her home, living in a cottage called "Arcana" in Heather Lane on the Downs.[http://www.findonvillage.com/0361_margot_and_nancy.htm Margot and Nancy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020233735/http://www.findonvillage.com/0361_margot_and_nancy.htm |date=20 October 2006}}. findonvillage.com
She wrote many books, including her autobiography, Into an Hour-Glass (1953). At one time she managed the "Little Theatre" in the Adelphi, off the Strand.
Findon remained her home until her death in 1970.
Animal welfare
Price was an advocate of animal welfare and co-founded the Council of Justice to Animals in 1911.{{cite book |last=Oakes |first=Charles Henry |date=1957 |title=Who's Who: Volume 109 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Who_s_who/12LruVcDYVUC |publisher=A. & C. Black |page=2446}}{{cite book |last=Wojtczak |first=Helena |date=2008 |title=Notable Sussex Women: 580 Biographical Sketches |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Notable_Sussex_Women/6P4MAQAAMAAJ |publisher=Hastings |pages=59-60 |isbn=978-1904109150}} Price became a vegetarian in the 1920s after an experience at a walking tour in the fens. She became lost in a fog and credited the local sheep as saving her life by offering her protection and keeping her warm.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002167%2F19380727&page=5|title=No Meat for Nancy Price|newspaper=Worthing Gazette|date=July 27, 1938|page=5|url-access=subscription}} Price was president of the Sussex Vegetarian Society and lectured on vegetarianism in Worthing.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002167%2F19551005&page=9|title=Vegetarian Talk|newspaper=Worthing Gazette|date=October 5, 1955|page=9|url-access=subscription}} In 1951, at a vegetarian public meeting she argued that more people would turn to vegetarianism if they visited a slaughterhouse. She suggested that vegetarian restaurants should be publicized more.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001920%2F19511012&page=11|title=Nancy Price Cure for Meat-Eating|newspaper=The Herald|date=October 12, 1951|page=11|url-access=subscription}}
In 1937, Price denounced the use of gin traps on rabbits as "barbarous cruelty" and a "savage instrument of torture".{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001670%2F19370410&page=6|title=Rabbits and Gin Traps|newspaper=Warwick & Warwickshire Advertiser|date=April 10, 1937|page=6|url-access=subscription}} Price authored a book on dogs, Tails and Tales, published in 1945. The anthology is made up of facts about dogs taken from many sources.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000650%2F19450411&page=2|title=A Tribute to Dogs|newspaper=Liverpool Daily Post|date=April 11, 1945|page=2|url-access=subscription}} In 1949, she funded the creation of a "Warrior Birds" memorial stone at Beach House Park to commemorate war pigeons who gave their lives in service during World War II.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002166%2F20040930&page=4|title=Bid to Restore Park Memorial in Honour of Wartime Pigeons|newspaper=West Sussex Gazette|date=September 30, 2004|page=4|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite web|date=2024|title=Beach House Park|url=https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/parks/find/worthing/beach-house-park/|website=Adur & Worthing Councils|language=en-GB|archive-date=April 1, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250401192108/https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/parks/find/worthing/beach-house-park/|url-status=live}}
Price was concerned about rabbits suffering from myxomatosis.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001920%2F19541001&page=1|title=Rabbit Plague Here: Cruelty Petition|newspaper=Worthing Herald|date=October 1, 1954|page=1|url-access=subscription}} In 1954, Price supported a petition urging the Government to pass a new law making delibrate speading of myxomatosis an offence. The petition gained support from the RSPCA and animal lovers in Worthing. In 1963, Price campaigned against the careless ringing of young birds by ornithologists. She commented that the metal often damaged the legs of small birds and suggested legislation to prevent unqualified people from bird ringing.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002134%2F19631214&page=6|title=Still campaigning in a cause of which Boney would have approved|newspaper=The Birmingham Post|date=December 14, 1963|page=6|url-access=subscription}} She was an opponent of blood sports and attended meetings of the League Against Cruel Sports Worthing branch.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000379%2F19341214&page=9|title=Cruel Sports|newspaper=The Lichfield Mercury|date=December 14, 1934|page=9|url-access=subscription}}{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001920%2F19471010&page=4|title=Parliament May Ban Cruel Sports|newspaper=Worthing Herald|date=October 10, 1947|page=4|url-access=subscription}}
Price was an anti-vivisectionist. She was a speaker at the annual meeting of the National Anti-Vivisection Society in 1939.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000475%2F19390721&page=6|title=Thousands of Mice: A Vivisector's Bogus Claim|newspaper=The Arbroath Herald|date=July 21, 1939|page=6|url-access=subscription}}{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0003076%2F19390722&page=8|title=Refusing the Truth: The Crime of Vivisection|newspaper=The Standard|date=July 22, 1939|page=8|url-access=subscription}} She was president of the Richmond and Twickenham branch of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) in 1944.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0004049%2F19440520&page=11|title=Legalised Cruelty: Miss Nancy Price on Vivisection|newspaper=The Herald|date=May 20, 1944|page=11|url-access=subscription}}
Price was president of the Storrington and district branch of the BUAV in 1954.{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001925%2F19540611&page=8|title=Fight Vivisection Says Nancy Price|newspaper=West Sussex County Times|date=June 11, 1954|page=8|url-access=subscription}} She stated that "if people could see inside a vivisector's chamber and see what was going on they would be horrified".{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001927%2F19540611&page=6|title=Vivisection is a Vile Serpent|newspaper=Littlehampton Gazette|date=June 11, 1954|page=6|url-access=subscription}}
Theatre career
File:Nancy Price (1880–1970) as Princess Bellini in The Eternal City.png
Nancy joined F.R. Benson's theatre company whilst still at school. The company specialised in Shakespeare's plays and toured extensively in the provinces. Her first big break came when she caught the attention of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who cast her as Calypso in Stephen Phillips's production of Ulysses at Her Majesty's Theatre, London in 1902, a role in which she enjoyed great success.{{cite book|last=Hartnoll|first=Phyllis|author2=Peter Found|title=The Concise Oxford companion to the theatre|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1992|page=[https://archive.org/details/conciseoxfordcom0000unse_w9v4/page/392 392]|isbn=978-0-19-866136-8|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseoxfordcom0000unse_w9v4/page/392}} The part of Hilda Gunning was written for her by Arthur Wing Pinero in Letty (1904),{{cite book |title=Into An Hour Glass |author=Price, Nancy |publisher=Museum Press |location=London | year=1953|page=185 }} a role in which the theatre critic J. T. Grein said: "In Letty, while others enhanced their fame, Miss Nancy Price, in the part of Hilda, the shop-girl, made her name. If we read the character aright, Miss Price realised it well-nigh to perfection".{{cite book | title=Dramatic Criticism (Volume 5) | author=J.T. Grein | publisher=General Books LLC | location=London | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-153-97084-6}} In 1909 she appeared as Mrs. D'Aquila in George Dance's production of The Whip at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She joined Edith Craig's Pioneer Players at the Kingsway Theatre in 1911 for a performance of Christopher St. John's The First Actress. In March 1912, she appeared as India in Sir Edward Elgar's Imperial Masque The Crown of India at the London Coliseum.
Together with the Dutch-born theatre impresario J.T. Grein, Nancy Price founded the People's National Theatre in 1930. Their first production was The Man from Blankleys by F. Anstey at the Fortune Theatre.[http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Fortune.htm The Fortune Theatre, Russell Street, London, WC2]. arthurlloyd.co.uk When Grein left the company Nancy became its honorary director, and in 1932 a permanent home was found at the Little Theatre in the Adelphi with Nancy as manager. The enterprise came to an end with the destruction of the theatre in 1941.{{cite book|last= Stanton |first= Sarah |author2=Martin Banham |title=Cambridge paperback guide to theatre|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996|page=282|isbn=978-0-521-44654-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ubr35UeE-UQC&q=nancy+price| accessdate=10 September 2011 }} During this period, Nancy established the English School Theatre Movement, which toured productions of Shakespeare plays to working class children.{{cite book|author=Gale, Maggie Barbara.|title=West End women: women and the London stage, 1918–1962|publisher=Routledge|year=1996|page=64|isbn=0-415-08495-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1F_KttO7Gh8C&q=nancy+price+actress&pg=PA64| accessdate=10 September 2011 }}
In the 1950 King's Birthday Honours, Nancy was awarded a CBE for services to the stage.{{London Gazette|issue=38929|supp=y|pages=2785–2785|date=2 June 1950}} In the same year, she gave her final stage performance as Martha Blanchard in the play she co-wrote with Eden Phillpotts, The Orange Orchard, at the New Lindsey Theatre.[http://www.theater-dictionary.com/definition/Lilian-Nancy-Bache-Price.html] {{Dead link|date=September 2014}}
Theatre performances
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Theatre |
| Season
! Play Title ! Theatre ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1900
| Pericles | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | Diana | |
| 1900
| Macbeth | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | Hecate | |
| 1902
| Ulysses | Her Majesty's Theatre, London | Calypso | Written by Stephen Phillips, produced by Beerbohm Tree |
| 1902–03
| The Eternal City | His Majesty's Theatre, London | Princess Bellini | Dramatisation of Hall Caine's novel of the same name |
| 1903
| Em'ly | Adelphi Theatre, London | Rosa Dartle | |
| 1903
| A Snug Little Kingdom | Royalty Theatre, London | Sister Hope | |
| 1903
| The Two Mr. Wetherbys | Imperial Theatre, London | Constantia | Stage Society production of St. John Hankin's first play |
| 1903–04
| Letty | Duke of York's Theatre, London | Hilda Gunning | |
| 1908
| Garrick Theatre, London | Sophy Fullgarney | |
| 1908–09
| A Modern Aspasia | The Aldwych Theatre, London | Muriel Meredith | Play by Hamilton Fyfe, cast included her husband Charles Maude |
| 1909
| One of the Best | The Aldwych Theatre, London | Esther Coventry | Play by Seymour Hicks |
| 1909
| The Fountain | The Aldwych Theatre, London | Dinah Kippin | Play by George Calderon |
| 1909–10
| The Whip | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London | Mrs. D'Aquila | |
| 1911
| His Majesty's Theatre, London |One of The Twelve Hours |Play written by Ben Jonson Coronation Gala performance |
| 1911
| The First Actress | The Kingsway Theatre, London | Margaret Hughes | |
| 1911
| The Merchant of Venice | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | Portia | |
| 1915–16
| Richard III | His Majesty's Theatre, London | | |
| 1923
| Everyman Theatre, London | Mrs. Cliveden-Banks | Play by Sutton Vane |
| 1923–24
| Ambush | Garrick Theatre, London | Harriett Nichols | |
| 1925
| Enrico IV (Henry IV) | Everyman Theatre, London | Marchioness Matilda Spina |Play written by Luigi Pirandello |
| 1925
| And That's the Truth (If You Think it is) | Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London | Signora Frola | Based on the play Così è (se vi pare) by Luigi Pirandello |
| 1925
| Gloriana | Little Theatre in the Adelphi, London | Princess Elizabeth | Appearing alongside John Gielgud |
| 1929–30
| Belle: or What's the Bother? | Prince Of Wales Theatre, London | Annie Collins | Later renamed as Down Our Street |
| 1931
| Fortune Theatre, London | Mrs. Jones |Play written by John Galsworthy |
| 1931
| Salome | Savoy Theatre, London | Herodias | First public performance in England of Oscar Wilde's previously banned play |
| 1932
| Trifles | Duchess Theatre, London | Mrs. Hale | Play written by Susan Glaspell |
| 1932
| Little Theatre in the Adelphi, London | Miss Agatha | Pulitzer Prize winning play written by Susan Glaspell |
| 1934
| Nurse Cavell | Vaudeville Theatre, London | Edith Cavell | Play written by C. E. Bechhofer Roberts and C.S. Forester |
| 1934
|The Life That I Gave Him |People's National Theatre |Don'Anna Luna |Play written by Luigi Pirandello (Italian source: La vita che ti diedi, 1923) |
| 1939
|Mrs Van Kleek |Playhouse Theatre, London |Mrs Van Kleek, the lead |Play written by Elinor Mordaunt from her book of the same name published 1933 ran 10 March to 15 April 1939 Queen Mary attended Friday 14 April 1939 [The Times 18 March 1939] |
| 1941–42
| Whiteoaks | Theatre Royal, Bath and Comedy Theatre, London | | |
| 1943
| Vintage Wine | Madame Popinot | |
| 1943–44
| The Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool | | |
| 1944–45
| Lisa | The Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool | | |
| 1950
| The Orange Orchard | New Lindsey Theatre, London | Martha Blanchard | |
Film career
Having established herself as a stage actress in London's West End, Nancy's first film role was in the black and white, silent film The Lyons Mail. In the next decade she appeared in a further eight silent films before her first "talkie", The American Prisoner, which was recorded in mono sound in 1929. The last silent film in which she appeared The Price of Divorce was adapted by producer Oswald Mitchell to incorporate sound and released under the name Such is the Law.
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1916
| Janette | |
| 1921
| Countess de Blangy | |
| 1923
| Lady Kingsburgh | Appearing alongside Ivor Novello |
| 1923
| Governess | |
| 1923
| Mrs. Titmouse | |
| 1923
|Balloon blowers wife's friend | |
| 1927
| Mrs. Moran |Based on novel by John Buchan |
| 1928
| Lady Ridgeley |Silent film which is believed lost.{{Cite book|last=Lobenthal|first=Joel|title=Tallulah: the life and times of a leading lady|publisher=HarperCollins|page=130|year=2004|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BXgZ9W758fQC&pg=PA130|isbn=0-06-039435-8}} |
| 1928
| The Price of Divorce | |released as Such is the Law |
| 1929
| Lovey Lee | |
| 1930
| Posie Nancy | |
| 1930
| Aunt | |
| 1931
| Mrs. Staunton |Early Sherlock Holmes film |
| 1932
| Annie Collins | |
| 1934
| Miss Bryany | |
| 1939
| Martha Fenwick | Adapted by A.J.Cronin |
| 1940
| Madame Pelletier |Roddy McDowell in an early role |
| 1942
| Violette, housekeeper | |
| 1944
| Mama Barucci |Produced by Gainsborough Pictures |
| 1945
| Mrs. Crozier |Petula Clark in an early role |
| 1945
| Mrs. Wilson | |
| 1946
| Carnival | Mrs. Trewhella | |
| 1947
| Lydia Crowther |Nicholas Parsons in a minor role |
| 1948
| Gertrude Morgan-Vaughan |Screenplay co-written by Dylan Thomas |
| 1950
| Theresa Suprenant |Film also known as Maria Chapdelaine |
| 1952
| Mandy | Jane Ellis |Distributed by Ealing Studios |
Television filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Television |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1938
| Will Shakespeare | Queen Elizabeth | BBC production |
| 1948
| Nurse Cavell | Edith Cavell | BBC production |
| 1949
| Down Our Street | Annie Collins | BBC production |
| 1950
| The Silver Box | Mrs.Jones | BBC production based on a play by John Galsworthy |
| 1950
| Thérèse Raquin | Madame Raquin | BBC production based on novel Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola |
| 1950
| The Orange Orchard | Martha Blanchard | BBC production |
| 1951
| Whiteoaks | Grandma Adeline Whiteoak | BBC production |
Radio broadcasting
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 1951
|The Life That I Gave Him |Donn'Anna Luna |BBC production. From the play La vita che ti diedi, 1923, by Luigi Pirandello. Translated by Clifford Bax. Adapted for broadcasting and produced by Mary Hope Allen |
Bibliography
= Plays =
- Whiteoaks: A Play (With Mazo de la Roche, Macmillan, 1936)
- The Orange Orchard (With Eden Phillpotts, London: Samuel French, 1951)
= Poetry =
- Hurdy-Gurdy (London : Frederick Muller, 1944)
= Novels =
- Ta-mera (London : Hutchinson & Co., 1950)
= Essays, memoires and diaries =
- Behind the Night-Light: the by-world of a child of three. Described by Joan Maude and faithfully recorded by Nancy Price (London : John Murray, 1912)
- Vagabond's Way. Haphazard wanderings on the fells ... With illustrations by A.S. Hartrick (London : John Murray, 1914)
- Shadows on the Hills, etc. On the English Lake District. With plates (London : Victor Gollancz, 1935)
- The Gull's Way. An account of a cruise along the East Coast of England (London : Victor Gollancz, 1937)
- Nettles and Docks, etc. Essays (London : G. Allen & Unwin, 1940)
- Jack by the Hedge, etc. Sketches of country life (London : Frederick Muller, 1942)
- I had a Comrade "Buddy" On the author's dog (London : G. Allen & Unwin, 1944)
- Tails and Tales. On dogs (London : Victor Gollancz, 1945)
- Where the Skies Unfold, etc. Essays (Birmingham : George Ronald, 1947)
- Wonder of Wings. A book about birds (London : Victor Gollancz, 1947)
- Acquainted with the Night. A book of dreams (Illustrated by Michael Rothenstein, Oxford : George Ronald, 1949)
- Bright Pinions. On parrots (Oxford : George Ronald, 1952)
- Feathered Outlaws (London & Worthing : Henry E. Walter, 1953)
- In Praise of Trees. An anthology for friends (London : Frederick Muller, 1953)
- Into an Hour-Glass. An autobiography (London : Museum Press, 1953)
- Pagan's Progress. High days and holy days (London : Museum Press, 1954)
- The Heart of a Vagabond. On country life in Sussex (London : Museum Press, 1955)
- I watch and listen. A book mainly concerned with the courtship and song of birds (London : Bodley Head, 1957)
- Winged Builders. A book of bird lore, chiefly concerned with the nesting, building and family habits of British birds (London : George Ronald, 1959)
- Each in his own way! Personalities I have valued, selected from my album of memories ... Woodcuts by William Wood (London : Frederick Muller, 1960)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061020233735/http://www.findonvillage.com/0361_margot_and_nancy.htm Photos of Nancy Price]
- [http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/3268-little-theatre-london Little Theatre in the Adelphi]
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070528005549/http://www.zither-banjo.org/pages/nancy.htm Nancy playing banjo]}}
- [http://www.publicsculpturesofsussex.co.uk/object?id=333 Tribute to Warrior birds commissioned by Nancy Price]
- [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=48378 British Pathe newsreel film featuring Nancy Price]
- [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an23217122 Photograph of Nancy Price as Mrs. D'Acquilar in The Whip]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Nancy}}
{{Animal welfare|state=collapsed}}
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:20th-century English diarists
Category:20th-century English women writers
Category:20th-century English novelists
Category:20th-century English poets
Category:20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
Category:20th-century English essayists
Category:Actresses from Staffordshire
Category:Actors from Arun District
Category:Actresses from West Sussex
Category:Anti-hunting activists
Category:English animal welfare workers
Category:English anti-vivisectionists
Category:English film actresses
Category:English silent film actresses
Category:English stage actresses
Category:English television actresses
Category:English vegetarianism activists
Category:English women novelists
Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Category:English theatre directors
Category:British women theatre directors
Category:British women memoirists
Category:English women diarists
Category:English women non-fiction writers