Roger+Bridgwater



Roger Bridgwater (Died 1754, actor and dancer) Despite his prolific career in the theatre, not very much information is available on Roger Bridgwater’s personal life. Though the year of his birth is unknown, a will for a Roger Bridgwater written on August 17, 1754 was very likely the actor’s.
 * __Background__**

Within the will, he left to a William Bridgwater and his wife of Ripley 20 euros each, with a following request that they: //not go into mourning for me but employ the money for the benefit of themselves and family and I desire them to take care of their graceless son William who has disobliged me in the highest degree.//

Furthermore, despite his rancor at William’s behavior, Bridgwater also left 30 euros to the child when he became 21. To each of his four sisters, he gave 10 euros. He also made bequests to two servants and to the son of a friend, Thomas Smith. With the remaining bulk of his estate, Bridgwater left for George Villett, his clerk (Highfill).

Records of the actor appear when Roger Bridgwater made his appearance on stage at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (which is more commonly known as simply Drury Lane), a theatre located in Convent Garden, London. It is notably acclaimed as being one of London’s leading theatre. He played the Earl of Northampton in //Sir Thomas Overbury// on June 12, 1723 at Drury Lane, but it wasn’t until the following October that his name appeared on the playbills; he was noticed in printed casts of 1723 and later. The first bill carrying his name was on October 15, 1723 when he was listed as playing Garcia in //The Mourning Bride// at Drury Lane – a younger man’s part, which suggests that perhaps Bridgwater was born around the turn of the century, although this is unproven (Highfill).
 * __Early Career__**



In addition to being an actor, he was also a dancer early in his career, but the majority of his time was spent playing dramatic roles. Though a relatively young man in 1727, he seems to have held a strong position in the company from the start, as he played both mature and younger roles. At this time, he specialized in the younger roles such as Archer in //The Strategem//, but in tragedy, sometimes took older roles such as the Ghost in //Hamlet// and Banquo in //Macbeth// (Cooper).

During the summer of 1724, Bridgwater performed in several locations including Richmond, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and Pinkethman’s booths at Bartholomew and Southwark Fairs. Several of his parts over this summer were of importance: Archer in //The Strategem//, Marplot in //The Busy Body//, and the title role in //A Duke and No Duke//. After a successful run, Bridgwater returned back to Drury Lane from 1725 through 1730, and he played many youthful roles such as Duart in //Love Makes a Man//, Belfond Junior in //The Squire of Alsatia//, Aimwell in //The Strategem//, Kastril in //The Alchemist//, and Hippolitus in //Phaedra and Hippolitus//. He also attempted more mature parts like Theodosius in //Timon of Athens//, the Ghost in //Hamlet//, and Banquo in //Macbeth// (Highfill).

Bridgwater continued to add a number of other significant roles to his growing repertory: Shore in //Jane Shore//, the Governor in //Oroonoko//, Thorowgood in //The London Merchant// (at the premiere on June 22, 1731), Tamerlane in //Othello//, Hotspur in //I Henry IV//, Valentine in //Love for Lo//ve, Mirabel in //The Way of the World//, Polydore in //The Orphan//, Horner in //The Country Wife//, and Buckinghman in //Henry VIII//. Although he might have been suited to some of these parts, some others he probably performed because those who had played many of them previously had left (Holland).

In September 1733, there was a revolt from some of the performers against the Drury Lane theatre, and the head of the rebellion, Theophilus Cibber, took most of the best actors with him to the Haymarket Theatre. Bridgwater, however, perhaps recognizing an opporuntiy to succeed to some good new roles, stayed at Drury Lane. Unfortunately, for the brief period when the dissenting actors were gone, Bridgwater did not get many windfalls. He was given a few notable roles, including the Copper Captain in //Rule a Wife and Have a Wife//, Kite in //The Recruiting Officer//, Trincalo in //The Tempest//, and Aboan in //Oroonoko//. Bridgwater continued with some of his old parts, but the entire troupe Drury Lane, bereft of some of its best performers, turned to light entertainments during this period, and Bridgwater made few gains. Consequently, Bridgwater may have felt his opportunities at Drury Lane were limited because on May 16, 1734, he left the company and became affiliated with John Rich at Covent Garden(Highfill).



Bridgwater moved from Drury Lane to the Covent Garden Theatre, where, after his first seasons, he began to migrated away from comedic roles and to appear more consistently in tragedies and history plays (Fielding). In 1734 to 1735, Bridgwater moved into some important, and //much// weightier, parts with his new colleagues such as Manly in //The Plain Dealer//, Sullen in //The Stratagem//, the King (and sometimes Falstaff) in //I Henry IV//, Balance in //The Recruiting Officer//, Buckingham in //Richard III//, Sir John Brute in //The Provoked Wife//, the title role in //The Old Bachelor//, and Gloucester in //King Lear//. On March 22, 1735, Bridgwater was also given a solo benefit at Covent Garden. His first season with John Rich had definitely been encouraging, and he had wisely dropped lighter roles which didn’t allow him to showcase his full potential on the stage (Cooper).
 * __Later Career__**

In the seasons through 1736 and 1737, Bridgwater continued in many of his old parts, but there were some interesting changes: he played the first Gravedigger in //Hamlet// instead of the Ghost; he shifted to the lesser part of Leontine in //Theodosius// (he had previously played the lead); he added Julius Caesar to his repertory; he changed from the major part of Aboan in //Oroonoko// back to the smaller one of the Governor; and he gave up Banquo to play Duncan in //Macbeth//. Among his other new roles during these seasons were Creon in //Oedipus//, Voltore in //Volpone//, Priuli in //Venice Preserved//, and Teague in The //Committee// (Highfill).

In May 1737, Bridgwater and a few other London actors were lured to Dublin by Lewis Duval to play at the Smock Alley Theatre in June. There, he acted a principal role (which was unfortunately unnamed in the bill) in //The Orphan// on June 24, Cassius in //Julius Caesar// on June 27, and Corbaccio in //Volpone// on June 30; the leading roles were taken by his fellow colleagues Denis Delane and Adam Hallam (Holland).

In the latter part of 1737, Bridgwater returned back to London where he rejoined the Covent Garden company, and there he remained for the rest of his career. He kept most of his old roles, though again he made some significant changes: on January 17, 1738, he switched to Claudius in //Hamlet//; on February 13 and 16, he played Falstaff in //Henry IV//; and on September 15, 1738 he changed from his small part in //Theodosius// to the melodramatic character of Marcian. By April 7, 1739 he was living closer to the theatre beside the Red Lion in Bow Street, Drury Lane (Highfill).

On September 15, 1739 he was playing Sohemus in //Mariamne// and accidentally wounded his fellow actor Rosco in the Act V fight; Rosco, fortunately, recovered quickly. At this time in his career, by the 1740 and 1741 season, he was seldom adding any new roles to his list, and the bulk of his parts were now mature. Occasionally, he would still act younger men, as on December 10, 1740 when he played Kastril in //The Alchemist//. But his health was not very strong now, and when he advertised his benefit on April 9, 1741, he offered an apology: //I humbly hope my Friends will excuse my personal application, it being publickly known how unfortunate I have been in my health for some months past, & though I have ventured abroad I find myself so weak & so incapable {because} of fatigue that I hope my friends will accept of this publick notice–that my Benefit is on Thursday the 9th of April// (Highfill).

By March 27, 1742 Bridgwater was living at the lower end of Water Lane in Fleet Street. As the years passed, he continued acting regularly, and only infrequently did he attempt new roles. Three interesting new ones, however, were Pinchwife in //The Country Wife//, Morose in //The Silent Woman//, and Adam in //As You Like It//. Such strenuous parts as Falstaff he had now dropped, but he did continue acting Gloucester, Balance, Priuli, and Caesar (Fielding).
 * __Last Years__**

During the 1740’s, Bridgwater had set up business as a coal dealer at a wharf near Whitefriars. He may have had to augment his theatre income during those declining years of his life; on May 29, 1747, he was getting 2 euros per week at Covent Garden, and since he was now less useful to the troupe and had another activity, he began to neglect his duties at the playhouse. The spring of 1754 was his last one in the theatre. He played Sir John in //The Conscious Lovers// on March 26, Priuli in //Venice Preserved// on March 30, King Henry in //Richard III// on April 2, the Constable in //Henry V// on April 17, Sir John Brute in //The Provoked Wife// on April 18, and Trusty in //The Funeral// on April 23. Throughout May, several plays in which he normally would have acted were performed, but other actors took over his roles. Bridgwater died at Bath on August 20, 1754, and the prompter Cross, taking note of it, described him as “an Old Actor and honest Man” (Cooper).

Bridgwater enjoyed a very active and busy acting career much for which he was either praised for. Having played a great many roles from younger characters to heavy characters, he was extremely versatile. He notably praised for being the finest actor in his performances due to his manner of speaking distinctly and much louder compared to his colleagues. In fact, at his peak career, he was known for his thundering voice (Cooper).
 * __Critical Rception__**

Still others described as “bombastic” and “brazen-fronted,” and in 1732, when he was considered to be a flourishing asset to the genre of tragedy, //The Theatrick Squabble// described him as simply being a bombastic actor (Fielding).

One other critic, Davies, described mixed reactions and views of Bridgwater’s abilties well: //Bridgwater was esteemed a general player; and it was with some a doubt whether he acted best or worst in tragedy or comedy; and, though it may seem paradoxical, yet he certainly was equally well and ill in both. For example, in the Ventidius of Dryden in his All for Love, he was a true portrait of the rough, brave, old soldier in Tamerlane, he was solemnly drowsy in speaking, and struttingly insignificant in action. He was a very judicious plater in the character of the Suspicious Husband, and disagreeable in the Lover of the Miser. His Hubert in King John was as characterisitcally just as his King Henry in Richard III was truly offensive. In short, Bridgwater made it doubtful, whether he pleased or displeased most// (Highfill).

__**Works Cited**__ Cibber, Colley. //Love Makes a Man: or, the Fop's Fortune. A comedy. As it is acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, by His Majesty's servants. By C. Cibber//. London: printed for J. Clarke, D. Brown, J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper, J. Watts, C. Corbet, T. Harris and J. Robinson, MDCCXLV. [1745]. //Eighteenth Century Collections Online//. Web.

Cooper, Tiffany Potter. //The Rival Widows, Or, Fair Libertine (1735)//. Toronto: U of Toronto, 2013. Print.

Fielding, Henry. //Henry Fielding - Plays, Volume II, 1731 - 1734//. Clarendon, 2007. Print.

Highfill, Philip H., Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans. //A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. Volume 2, Belfort to Byzand// / Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1973. Web.

Holland, P. //Players, Playwrights, Playhouses: Investigating Performance, 1660–1800//. Springer, 2007. Print.

Lillo, George. //The London Merchant: or, the History of George Barnwell. A tragedy. By George Lillo. To which is prefixed the life of the author//. Edinburgh: printed by and for Martin & Wotherspoon, M.DCC.LXVIII. [1768]. //Eighteenth Century Collections Online//. Web.