Interview with John Brougham
Hello, my name is Caleb Hunter and few weeks ago I got the chance to sit down with John Brougham and ask him questions about his life.
Me- Hello, Mr. Brougham, would you mind telling us about your family and where you are from?
Brougham- Me was born in, Ireland, in de city of Dublin(britanicca) though I did most of me acting and play writing outside of Ireland later in my life. Me mother was de daughter of a Huguenot. So politically adversity got de best, and poor mum was forced into exile. Well I was de oldest of t’ree children. Me dad left us and I don’t know how me mum could live with no husband, in exile, and then de worst thing hit her, me younger siblings died, in youth. (wiki)
Me mum was depressed and had barely any money. But me uncle was kind enough to take me into his house hold. Me uncle sent me to an academy called, Trim County Meath, to prepare me for de college I planned to attend in a surgical career. I ended up going to Dublin University. (Wiki)
Me- What were those “magical” events that caused you to become interested in theatre?
Brougham- Well I wanted to have a surgical career at de Peter Street Hospital in Dublin. Well d’ere me was studying and pursuing me surgical career, well me uncle fell very ill and, well he not with us anymore. Well that left me fending for me self. (wiki) That’s when me actually started participating in small theatricals, they weren’t professional but me thinks, every experience is a good one.(encyclopedia)
Me- I agree with you one hundred percent. How did mentors help you get inspired to do theatre since you had originally wanted to be a surgeon?
Brougham- Oh, well now dat’s a good question. I got de brilliant opportunity to work with de brilliant, most brilliant of brilliant, Madame Vestris (yatedo).
Me- Well, would you mind saying what made her so brilliant?
Brougham- Well don’t ye know? Madame Vestris was absolutely amazing! She revolutionized de stages of England in de 19th century! She was me idol! She did so much! She took over de Olympic theater in 1830. And let me tell ye, that was such a bold move for a woman in that time. Also believe it or not, she was such an amazing opera singer. Oh what a beauty she was.(wayneturney) Without Madame Vestris me life would have been a lot different without an inspiration like her.(wayneturney)
Me- What was the theatre like when you entered it, and when did you enter it and where?
Brougham- Well Ibecame an “official” actor in London in 1830. Madame Vestris ran the Olympic Theater. I was in tom and jerry there where I played six roles. (wayneturney). So dat really helped me well, progress as you might say, Madame Vestris was very generous to me, and oh dear, how I loved her so.
Well most music by then was not being taken seriously and so it had to be produced through them musical plays.(ecfs) De theaters in London had an informal atmosphere; people would play cards or talked about Them personal problems.(ecfs) De seating was outrageous! Let me tell ye, the seating, you could pay a penny to stand, but you had to pay extra for a seat, even more extra to have a cushion to sit under your bum, even more extra to sit in one of those fancy boxes. Well that’s not all, the most outrageous t’ing was, you could pay even more extra to TAKE A STOOL AND SIT OPOUN IT ON THE STAGE!(ecfs) You know the old mind like mine, that’s really all I can remember.
Me- What were some major cultural, politics, and economic situations in the 1830’s that impacted your work?
Brougham- Lots and lots of railroads were being built by the English Government. London was also becoming de world’s largest city.(old) Let me tell ye, that big of a city it was quite an adventure. With many people, there were many immigrants such as me self. The Irish actually were de highest percent of those immigrants (old).
Like other capital cities London was very much a political administrative center. Thousands of civil servants worked for the bureaucracies. It also attracted many political figures. I would call it a financial center, we had many railroads, and a large market for goods.(uncp) So we had a very good economy. This made living in London very much easier. Politics actually caused a few riots within the theaters.(ecfs) I guess since me had Madame Vestris being an immigrant was easier because I kind of had a big buddy to help me around.
Me-What were your major accomplishments and how did you achieve them?
Brougham- Well, I don’t mean to brag, but, I have accomplished probably more den anybody. Ever. I produced 126 works(jstor), I acted, directed(journals) managed theaters(jstor), and opened theaters(Hawes 73), traveled(jstor), had more than one wife(nndb), now that last one there ladi, is a tricky accomplishment-
Me- Do you mind talking about those particular accomplishments?
Brougham- Well if ye would have let me finish then I would have. And trust me ye might want to be writing this down with a freshly sharpened pencil, this will take a little while.
I ‘rote a few plays in London (jstor), I ‘rote “Basket of Chips” a famous play.(quod). I also opened de Lycuem Theatre in New York. I traveled from Ireland to England to the United States of America, I went back and forth quite a few times (nndb). Me first wifey, Emma Williams, an actress who was born in da year of 1838. Well, I abandoned her, for a younger, fresher, mmmhhm, a lass named Annette Hawley.(nndb)
Me- What were some important opportunities led to you to be an artist?
Brougham- Well I have to say dat going to England and working with de brilliant Madame Vestris, was de opportunity of a life time. I got de chance to act in my first official play, “Tom and Jerry”, where I actually got the chance to play 6 different roles. (nndb). Now dat was very very very very hard. I also wrote me first play. My experience in America was different from the one in England because I was already known.
Another very good opportunity that lead to me big success was collaborating with Dion Boucicult to write de comedy, London Assurance which ran for 69 performances (nndb). 1840 I got de opportunity to travel to America. There I opened the Lycuem Theater. There I wrote plays for both of Wallack’s and Daly’s theaters.(nndb)
Me-What made it hard for you to be an actor and a play write?
Brougham- Well, moving so much really was hard. Each time I moved It was like I was starting all over. Madame Vestris made London easy but, America dere was no one to welcome me, I didn’t know de place, and people, didn’t really know me. So I was on my own.
Me- So, was there anybody else who inspired you?
Brougham- Well, definitely Madame Vestris, a lot of de other play writes such as, Dion Boucicult (nndb). A lot of other actors who were better dan me inspired me to be a better actor. And the other famous play writes inspired me to write better plays. So really the world in general inspired me, I took in my surroundings and put my thoughts about them into a play. Which usually became a big hit.
Me- What personal stories best show how you became successful theatrical arts?
Brougham- Well this is all a story and I think that it best shows how I became successful in theatrical arts. I started off a poor boy, (Wiki) my uncle took me in and sent me to school. In 1830 I moved to London. I got de amazing chance to work with the amazing Madame Vestris (wayneturney). I helped write de play, “London Assurance”(nndb). I moved to to a new land, America, opened de Lycuem Theater.(nndb) I also began to write plays for de other theatres around.(nndb)
To me my whole life is only one story. I considered myself successful, but de story of my life as one is more successful den any individual story I could tell.
Me- Thank you so much for your time mr.brougham.
Brougham- Oh anytime ladi! I’ll just be going back to me grave now, I kind of miss the ol’ thing already.
Work cited list (bibliography)
. "John Brougham ." britaniica. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/81430/John-Brougham>.
. "John Brougham." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 feb 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brougham>.
. "John Brougham." Yatedo. N.p., n.d. Web. 25b feb 2012. <http://www.yatedo.com/p/John Brougham/famous/dbb00824111b01e70430ea1a4f686c64>.
. "Mme Vestris." wayneturney. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 feb 2012. <http://www.wayneturney.20m.com/mmevestris.htm>.
Mongero, Alberto. "Cultur of London up to the 1830's." ecfs. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar 2012. <http://www.ecfs.org/bome/cities/london/hband/Monegro/culture_prehist.html>.
Emsley, Clive, Tim Hitchcock, and Robert Shoemaker. "London History." A Population History of London. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar 2012. <http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Population-history-of-london.jsp
Brown, Robert. "The City in European History." uncp. The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, 2004. Web. 24 feb 2012. <http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/london_19c.html>.
Hawes, David. "Much Ado About John Brougham and Jim FISk." 73. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/amerstud/article/viewFile/2193/2152>.
Ryan, Pat. "The Hibernian Experience: John Brougham's Irish-American plays." 33. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/pss/467308>.
. "John Brougham." NNDB tracking the entire world. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://www.nndb.com/people/340/000029253/>.
Brougham, John. "A Basket of Chips." Quod. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb 2012.
p.s. I tried to get as many sources, the web journals and plays took for ever to read so they should count for 2(: haha see you Monday. P.s.s. this little hello is not going on the blog hehehe.
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