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For the earlier actress known by this name, see Mary Powell (actress).

Jane Powell
as Boadicea by Samuel De Wilde
Bornc. 1761
Cranbrook, Kent
Died31 December 1831
London
NationalityBritish
Other namesMrs Farmer, Mrs Renaud
Known forActing
SpouseMr Powell

Jane Powell or Mrs Powell (c. 1761 – 31 December 1831) was a British actress. She was also known as Mrs Renaud and Mrs Farmer.

Life

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Powell made her debut as Alicia in Nicholas Rowe's Jane Shore to mixed reviews in 1787, but her name was uncredited. She came to notice when she appeared at the Haymarket Theatre in the 1780s under the name of "Mrs Farmer" or "Mrs Palmer" as the papers failed to agree.[1]

She is thought to be the first woman to take the title role of Hamlet in London in 1796 when she appeared at Drury Lane.[2] She then took the role of Edmunda in Vortigern and Rowena after Sarah Siddons refused the role. The newly discovered play that was said to be by Shakespeare proved to be a forgery.[3]

Mrs Powell had a benefit at Drury Lane on 2 May 1795 when she played Young Norval. This role was recorded in Norval's death scene from Act V in a painting by Samuel De Wilde.[4] Samuel De Wilde had made a painting of her as Mary Queen of Scots and another of her as Boadicea. However the Garrick Club who own the paintings say that she never appeared in those roles in London.[5]

A Cruikshank cartoon satirising the Duke of Cumberland's love for Mrs. Powell.

Up to 1811 she was a regular at Drury Lane Theatre until she moved her allegiance to the Covent Garden Theatre. In 1812 her husband died and the following year she married John James Renaud and became Mrs Renaud. In 1814 the marriage was over but she kept the new name.[3]

In 1818 she moved to Edinburgh when she enjoyed being cast in leading productions.[3]

Powell died in London at the end of 1831.[6] It was said that she was still being paid two pounds a week by her manager in Edinburgh.[3]

Selected roles

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References

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  1. ^ "CollectionsOnline | Name". garrick.ssl.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  2. ^ Howard, Tony (2007). Women as Hamlet : performance and interpretation in theatre, film and literature (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0521864664.
  3. ^ a b c d Crouch, K. A. (23 September 2004). "Powell [Renaud], Jane (c. 1761–1831), actress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22641. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ "CollectionsOnline | G0691". garrick.ssl.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  5. ^ "CollectionsOnline | G0689". garrick.ssl.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  6. ^ The Annual Biography and Obituary, Volume 17. 1833. p. 451.

Bibliography

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  • Burnim, Kalman A. & Highfill, Philip H. John Bell, Patron of British Theatrical Portraiture: A Catalog of the Theatrical Portraits in His Editions of Bell's Shakespeare and Bell's British Theatre. SIU Press, 1998.
  • Howard, Tony. Women as Hamlet: Performance and Interpretation in Theatre, Film and Fiction. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
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