Margaret "Maggie" Knight (c. 1857 – 20 October 1917) was a New Zealand actress who had a significant career on the Australian stage.
History
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Knight was born Margaret Harkness in Auckland, New Zealand around 1857.[1]
She played leading lady to Wybert Reeve in many productions at the Sydney Opera House, in 1883, and also at the Gaiety Theatre. Among her roles were:
- Lady Henry Fairfax, in Diplomacy, based on Sardou's Dora,[2] in 1879.
- Polly Eccles in Robertson's Caste.[3] in 1878 and 1880, when she took her benefit and gave a retirement speech.[4]
Maggie Knight must be one of the most popular members of the dramatic company who are now closing their season at the Theatre Royal, as the house was crammed on Wednesday night . . . We believe it to be as much for Miss Knight's pleasing face and pleasant manners as for her ability as an actress that she is so highly esteemed by the play-going public[4]
She did return however, playing many character parts for the J. C. Williamson organization, also for Bland Holt and George Rignold.
- Nellie Denver in Henry A. Jones and Henry Herman's The Silver King in 1885.
- Kate Verity in Pinero's The Squire in 1888
- the old Scotch peasant in Clarke and Meynell's production of Seymour Hicks' The Gay Gordons in 1910.
- supporting Cyril Maude as the Marquise, in a charity production of Robertson's Caste, September 1917.[5]
She died barely a month later.[3]
Personal
editKnight married Henry R. Jewett (died 1930) on 2 March 1888 and had a son, Eric. They divorced in 1891 and the following year he left for America, where he had a successful stage and directorial career in Boston. Knight married again in 1893 to Henry William Henderson, general manager of the German-Australian Steamship Company. They had a waterside home at Darling Point.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Knight, Maggie (c. 1857–1916)". Theatre Heritage Australia Inc. p. 3. Retrieved 20 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Advertising". The Evening Journal (Adelaide). Vol. XI, no. 3168. South Australia. 2 June 1879. p. 1. Retrieved 18 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c "Death of Maggie Knight". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 24, 897. New South Wales, Australia. 22 October 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 18 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Music and the Drama". South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail. Vol. XXIII, no. 1, 155. South Australia. 9 October 1880. p. 24. Retrieved 20 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Actors' Matinee in Aid of Benevolent Fund". The Sun (Sydney). No. 2241. New South Wales, Australia. 4 September 1917. p. 5. Retrieved 20 April 2021 – via National Library of Australia.