Astley Bransby (died 1789) was an English stage actor and theatre manager who was a long-standing member of the company of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane under David Garrick.[1] His first known performance was Captain Plume in George Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer in 1744 at the Haymarket where he was part of a group of young actors being trained by Charles Macklin. The following year he made his first appearance at Drury Lane and remained there for three decades, with the expection of a four-year spell at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden from 1749 to 1753. He played a vast number of supporting roles in the repertory as well as occasionally originating new roles.[2] He retired from thestage in 1777 from ill health.[3] He was a co-manager of Richmond Theatre.[4]
Selected roles edit
- Captain Plume in The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar (1744)
- Octar in The Orphan of China by Arthur Murphy (1759)
- Dumnorix in The Siege of Aquileia by John Home (1760)
- Blandford in All in the Wrong by Arthur Murphy (1761)
- Bridgemore in The Fashionable Lover by Richard Cumberland (1772)
- Russet in The Jealous Wife by George Colman the Elder (1777)
References edit
Bibliography edit
- Greene, John C. Theatre in Dublin, 1745–1820: A Calendar of Performances. Lehigh University Press, 2011.
- Highfill, Philip H, Burnim, Kalman A. & Langhans, Edward A. A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, Volumes 1-2. SIU Press, 1973.
- Pedicord Harry William & Bergmann, Fredrick Louis (ed.) The Plays of David Garrick: Volume II. SIU Press, 1980.
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