Biography

Stephen Kemble (1758 –1822)

Many books and articles have been written about John Philip Kemble and his sister Sarah Siddons, as one might expect for metropolitan stars with nationwide fame; however, no book has been written about their younger brother Stephen Kemble, despite the fact he was one of the greatest provincial managers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, who made the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne his base.

Kemble was described as “the best Sir John Falstaff which the British stage ever saw”. He also specialised in sentimental roles including Freeport in The English Merchant and Sir Christopher Curry in Inkle and Yarico which allowed him to express “honest indignation against vice”.

A major northern celebrity in his own right, Kemble’s success also lay in his family connections. Kemble’s company was very much a family business. Bland, Benson, DeCamp, Mason, Satchell and Siddons are names that regularly appear on his company playbills, and all are families related to the Kembles by marriage.

Stephen Kemble was also a prominent freemason who served as Worshipful Master of the Marquis of Granby Lodge in Durham after his retirement from the stage.

 

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