Hester Booth

An Interview with Hester Booth

By:KF6

KF6: To begin, I would like to welcome you here, and would like to thank you for agreeing to come and talk to me.

Hester Booth: It’s my pleasure. Thank you for having me!

K: So Hester I understand that you are an incredible actress. Could you explain to me a little of why you decided to become an actress?

H: I would love to. To me, my life was an exciting one. I actually did not start out as an actress, I was a dancer. I was named “England’s first ballerina” (“Hester Santlow”). I started dancing in the Drury Lane theater in 1706.

At the time it was still very rare to see women on stage, because for many years only men had been allowed to perform. But most recently women were finally accepted by the theatre. So I took it upon myself to take the stage and make a name for myself. And that exactly what I did. 3 years after I became and dancer I decided it was not enough and became an actress as well.

K: Thank you for that amazing story. Now if you would could you tell me, did you have any mentors when you were growing up? If so, how did they help you develop your interests and talents as an actress?

H: It would be my pleasure to answer that for you. I had many friends help me on my way to fame. But honestly I did not have any mentors. I have a choreographer that would be the closest I had to a mentor. His name is John Weaver.

He pushed me my hardest. And I have him to thank for being a great dancer. So I suppose he was the closest thing I had to a mentor. But he is not quite as famous as I am, but he has become more famous over the years.

K: That’s lovely. When you entered the field of acting what was the world of art like?

H: That’s a great question. As I told you in my first answer, the acting world was lacking women. It had been such a long time that women were not allowed in the theatre. Though you did not see young boys playing girls as often.

They realized that it would be easier to have a women play a women. Young boys did not look like girls, and small men did not sound like girls. But it was still rare to see a woman in the theatre. We were still getting the hang of it.

K: Ah I see. Now how did all the major cultural, economic, and political situations of your time affect your work?

H: Well the economy I suppose was doing well. There were many people getting jobs, because of the Industrial Era. People I suppose were doing well. The culture was wonderful. The culture really was the arts. At least it was for me.

I saw, felt, and was the arts. It was everything about me. There were always large outdoor plays going on, royal ballets and the circus. They were all wonderful. As for politics, during this time the English church was still trying to gain control over Great Britain. Though I don’t know how much effect this had on me, but I hope this has answered your question.

K: Now I know you probably have many accomplishments. What are some of your most famous accomplishments? And did you use any particular methods?

H: Well for one, I was a woman. It was very rare to see women doing anything around this time. We were still expected to be in the home, cooking and cleaning. But I decided that it wasn’t enough for me.

So I guess my greatest accomplishment would be that I made it as an actress. My second great accomplishment was that I was named “England’s first ballerina”. I also outshone all the other female dancers and sparkled next to some pretty wonderful French male actors (Macaulay 2009). As for the method part, I don’t know if I can exactly tell you. I did many Shakespeare things. So I guess in a way that was my method.

K: I know being a privileged woman such as yourself you probably had many opportunities that led to the turning point in your art. Can you tell me what some of those are?

H: Well I as you have guessed I did have many opportunities. One being that my family came from money. I was born in the aristocracy. My family had no problem with money. I also had the opportunity to play the harlequin for more than 20 years. That’s what I believe really set my career off and going.

I also had the opportunity to double as both an actress and a dancer. Which most women did not get to do. Actually to be honest not very many men did this either. Many didn’t do this because of all the hard work it took. But I did it for many years and pulled it off fabulosly. Or so I’ve been told.

K: Well I suppose you are very proud of yourself. Now I understand most have to make personal sacrifices or choices. What were yours?

H: Well of course I had to make sacrifices. It's hard work to be an actress. So you have to be totally committed. I did have to make one huge personal sacrifice. I was on stage on my daughter’s wedding night. It was hard but I do not regret it.

I also had to have friends who supported me. My husband was also an actor and a manager. He did lots of Shakespeare as well. I guess you could also say that made me more successful. After all he was one the the greatest actors of the 18^th century.

K: Wow that’s amazing. I’m sure it was hard to get to where you are. What kind of hardships or roadblocks did you have to overcome in order to be an artist?

H: Well there is the obvious one that I have told you about. That I was a woman. Many people (men) believed I could not be as good because I was a woman. But I will say I did not have as many hardships as most.

But I still had to work very hard. It takes time and effort to be an actress, and to be a good one it takes even longer. So I suppose that’s a hardship. But still the biggest hardship I had was being a woman, in a man’s world.

K: Well I’m glad you didn’t have too many hardships. Now what kind of limitations did you run into as both an artist and a person?

H: Well as I have been told, I was a good-looking woman. So once I had some men fight over me. I guess it may have been more of an annoyance than a limitation. It was a limitation once though. One night while I was in the theatre James Craggs the younger allowed himself into my booth and began to talk to me throughout the production.

I eventually told him to be quiet, as I was more keen on watching the production then him. Then there is the answer I have been giving you. Of course I had limitations as an actress. I WAS A WOMAN! But that didn’t stop me.

K: That is a very interesting story Mrs. Booth, thank you. Do you have any other personal stories that best illustrate how you became successful in the arts?

H: Well I suppose it’s the same story I’ve been telling you. When I became a dancer I had my role as the harlequin. That was what really started my career. It got me the publicity I needed. Then I studied under the great dancer John Weaver.

He and I did many dances together. And I soon became known for my “fancy foot work”. And I was known as “England’s first ballerina”. Then when I became an actress my fame increased even more. I was one of few people who was doing double duty. Then when I married my husband it got better. He was also an actor, and a very famous one as well. So naturally that boosted my success. And I believe that is my story.

K: Wow, you sure do have an interesting story. I guess that’s all my questions for you. Again I would like to thank you for coming to talk to me.

H: No it really is my pleasure. I loved telling my story. I hope you enjoyed it.

Bibliography

Macaulay, Alastar. “A Star of the Early 18^th Century Shines Anew as Works are Revived.” New York Times 21 January 2009: C3. Print

“Hester Santlow” http://ww.peopleplayuk/collections/object.php? Object_id=387 2010. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/Hester_Santlow>.

Carroll, Heather. ”Tart of the Week: Hester Santlow.” The Duchess of Devonshire’s Gossip Guide To The 18^th Century. 3 July 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. http://georgianaduchessofdevinshire.blogspot.com/2009/07/tart-of-the-week-hester-santlow.html

Mrs. Woffington, . "Baroque star Hester Santlow." Memoirs of the Celebrated Mrs. Woffington. 22 January 2009. Web. 25 Feb 2011. <http://www.mrswoffington.blogspot.com/2009_01_18_archive.html>.

"Dance in Popular Theatre." V&A. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb 2011. <http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/theatre_performance/features/dance/dance_popular_theatre/index.html>. BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION: "Dance in Popular Theatre." V&A. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb 2011. <http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/theatre_performance/features/dance/dance_popular_theatre/index.html>. [NOTE: Italicize "V&A"] PARENTHETICAL CITATION: ("V&A") "England."

Countries and their Cultures. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb 2011. <http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/England.html>.

"Culture of the United Kingdom." 2011. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_United_Kingdom>.

"Britain in the Mid-1700s." Macrohistory and world report. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb 2011. <http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h29-fr.htm>.

"The British Empire." Oracle ThinkQuest. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb 2011. <http://library.thinkquest.org/C005121/data/britain1.htm>.

Wikipedia. "Barton Booth." 2010. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_Booth>.

This is a picture of myself when I was younger.

This is the outside of the Drury Lane Theater. This is where i started my career.

This is the inside of the Drury Lane Theater. This was the first stage I ever preformed on as a proffesional. Its also where I became famous

This is a painting of me in my costume for the Harlequin dance. the Harlequin dance was my most famous dance, and is what got me known as "Englands first ballarenia"

This is a photo of Codelia from King Lear. This is not a photo of myself, but i did play Codelia. It was my most famous role as an actress. It was also one of my frist roles as an actress.

This is John Churchill. He and I were very close. He was what people now would call a "boyfriend". though i was actully I was his mistress, actully his only mistress (at the time)

This is James Craggs The Younger. He was another one of my "boyfriiends". He and I later had my beautiful daughter Harriot.

This is in fact my wounderful husband. Barton Booth. He was and manager and an actor as well. I love him dearly.

This is a painting of the Baroque dance. This was another dance that I was famous for. Everyone loves my fancy footwork!

This is the cover for a lovely book that was writen about my life by Moir Goff. You must read it sometime. Its a very good read.

Hester Booth

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