Mr Cooke

(17?-18?) Professional actor and singer who, with three other visiting professionals from the Theatre Royal, Liverpool - Mrs Cooke, Miss Williams and Mrs Brough - performed in semi-professional plays with the Gentlemen Amateurs) (English Amateur Company) during a successful the 1818 season in the African Theatre, Cape Town. They began with The Honey Moon (Tobin) and The Devil to Pay (Coffey) on 24th January 1818 and ended on 21 November 1818 with Catherine and Petrucchio (Shakespeare), Crochet Lodge (Hurlstone), and a divertissiment called Sandy and Jenny, or Love in a Sack (Griffin), as a Benefit Performance for Mr Cooke. After this they left the Cape for Calcutta and a tour of the east.

Mr Cooke's performances as actor, like those of his wife, generally received high praise from the local critics, and among the roles specifically mentioned in his case are a lead in The Honey Moon (Tobin) and "Frederick" in Lovers' Vows. As a singer he is singled out for his performance, with Mrs Cooke, of "The Bird Duet" form Dibdin's The Cabinet.

See also the Gentlemen Amateurs for the full programme of the 1818 season

[JH/TH]