Shuter Bland

Shuter Bland (fl. 1860s) was a British actor, stage manager and theatre manager.

He is also listed as C. Bland by F.C.L. Bosman (1980) for some unknown reason, and as W. Bland by Wikipedia.

Biography

Shuter Bland seems to have been a well-known British actor, stage manager and later theatre manager. For example both Mr Bland and Mrs Bland are mentioned in a silk programme from the Theatre, Hereford (held by the Victoria and Albert Museum , London). It is for a production of The Lady of Lyons and The Railway Station! and mentions Bland himself served as an Acting Manager and actor, and his wife as actress.[1]

According to a letter dated 22 May 1861, that appeared 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, arriving on 7 May. However, in the programme for their opening performance at the

The Bland family (which also included his wife , billed as Mrs Bland, and presumably his sister or daughter, Louisa Bland) came to South Africa for a tour in 1861-2, Bland and the others participating in 50 productions between May and November of 1861 alone, followed by a tour to Port Elizabeth and a return visit to Cape Town in 1862. According to Sefton Parry's promotional announcement for his new company in 1861, Bland and his wife had worked at the theatres royal of Bath, Bristol and Newcastle, and Louisa Bland in the one in Bath.

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

The Blands were all members of Sefton Parry's first full professional company in 1861-1862, Shuter Bland himself largely in the capacity of the stage manager, a job which he is said to have done most competently. As an actor he is specifically mentioned as playing "Friday" in the pantomime of Robinson Crusoe, or The King of the Caribbee Islands

In addition to his work for Parry, he also gave lectures for the Mechanic's Institute (among them one on Theodore Hook's play Trial by Jury on 11 May 1861 and another on 1 May 1862 on the "Origin of Lawyers and Courts of Justice").

At the end of the first Parry season, on 14 November 1861, the company did a special benefit performance for him, with performances of The Momentous Question (Fitzball) and Dominique the Deserter, or The Gentleman in Black (Murray), with a dance by Miss Powell and a performance by the band of the Cape Royal Rifles.

Another benefit, this time a farewell one for both Mr and Mrs Bland, was held on 11 April, 1862, with performances of All is not Gold that Glitters (Chettle and Rowley) and The Omnibus, or A Convenient Distance (Anon.)

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 96, 100, 102, 108-113.

William Groom. 1899-1900. Drama in Cape Town. Cape Illustrated Magazine, 10(4): 478-481, 517-520, 547-552, 580-584, 640-643, 670-672, 706-708.

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