Edward Vincent

Edward Vincent (1862-1932)[] was an actor, theatrical manager and playwright.

Biography

Born Edward Timothy Vincent in Liverpool on 14 December 1862, he left England for Australia at an early age and made his debut at the Melbourne Opera House on Christmas Eve 1885.

In 1891 he appeared in the play Claudian at the Prince’s Theatre in Bristol, in 1895 he toured with Wilson Barrett’s hugely popular The Sign of the Cross and in 1908 he was in London With the Lid Off at the Theatre Royal in Stratford, and he directed Ethel Irving and Frank Cellier in The Ware Case, with Harcourt Collett in a supporting role.

In 1894 he was one of the founders of Cape Town's famous Owl Club and in 1909 he was its President.

He died in Bulawayo in

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

In between his European and Australian activities he was also active in South Africa, performing on the stage in both Cape Town and Johannesburg as well as directing plays and appearing in a number of films.

His South African stage career

In 1904 a New Zealand newspaper reported that Vincent was “piloting Johnny Sheridan’s Company through South Africa“ and at one stage he was also associated with Leonard Rayne, as well as with the Wheeler Theatre Company. In fact, for the Wheelers he staged J.M. Barrie’s Walker, London on the occasion of the opening of the new Port Elizabeth Opera House on 1 December 1892. During this time he also toured the country with a one-man presentation of A Christmas Carol. A performance in Grahamstown (held in the Albany Hall in October 1906) was said to have lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Amongst his most significant roles in this country were Pope Pius in The Eternal City, Zakkuri in The Darling of the Gods and the merchant on the jury in the stage version of Tolstoy’s Resurrection. Other performances include roles in The Bells of Haslemere],

His South African film career

All the films in which he featured were shot between 1918 and 1920 while he was with African Film Productions. By that time he was a distinguished-looking, white-haired gentleman and the parts he played corresponded to his age and appearance. The films were: The Voice of the Waters (Joseph Albrecht/1918), The Bridge (Dick Cruikshanks/1918), Fallen Leaves (Dick Cruikshanks/1919), Allan Quatermain (H. Lisle Lucoque/1919), With Edged Tools (Joseph Albrecht/1919), Isban Israel / The Buried City (Joseph Albrecht/1920), Prester John (Dick Cruikshanks/1920) and The Madcap of the Veld (Joseph Albrecht/1919). During this time he worked as a scenario editor for AFP and also wrote the screenplay for Prester John.

In later years he gradually withdrew from the stage, though he still gave occasional recitals and was active as a producer in the amateur theatre. He settled in Bulawayo, where he became the Rhodesian manager of African Consolidated Theatres. (FO)

Sources

Dictionary of South African Biography

Le Roux, André I. & Fourie, Lilla – Filmverlede: geskiedenis van die Suid-Afrikaanse speelfilm

Ranby, W.E. - The Owl Club

http://scifac.ru.ac.za/cathedral/spire/dec06/oldtimes.htm

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