Louisa Bland

Louisa Bland (fl 1860s) was a British actress

Biography

Usually billed as Louisa Bland or Miss Bland, she was either the sister or the daughter of the stage manager and performer Shuter Bland and his wife, and was an actress in her own right.

In Parry's announcement of the arrival of the Bland family as part of his company in 1861, she is described as being "from the Royal Theatre of Bath".

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

According to a letter dated 22 May 1861 (published in the The Era of 30 June, 1861), a "Mr & Mrs W. Bland & Louisa Bland", set sail from Bristol on the barque Chevy Chase, bound for Cape Town, as part of a contingent of performers, arriving on 7 May. However, in the announcement for the opening of the newly renovated Theatre Royal in Cape Town, published in the Cape Argus of 1861, the names are given as Mr Shuter Bland, Mrs Shuter Bland and Miss Louisa Bland.

The Blands were all members of Sefton Parry's first full professional company in 1861-1862, Louisa Bland as an actress, and they are said to have participated in 50 productions between May and November of 1861 alone, in addition to a three-month tour to Port Elizabeth in 1862 as well, before returning to Cape Town and returning to England.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefton_Henry_Parry

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1277610/silk-programme-parker-john/

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 96, 103, 178

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