Lady Constance Malleson

"Colette O'Niel" redirects here. For the Scottish television actress, see Colette O'Neil.
Lady Constance Malleson

Portrait of Lady Constance Malleson

Lady Constance Malleson in 1922
Born Constance Mary Annesley
(1895-10-24)24 October 1895
Castlewellan Castle
Died 5 October 1975(1975-10-05) (aged 79)
Bury St Edmunds
Nationality English
Other names Colette O'Niel
Occupation writer and actress

Lady Constance Malleson (24 October 1895 – 5 October 1975) was a British writer and actress (appearing as Colette O'Niel).

Biography

Malleson was born Constance Mary Annesley on 24 October 1895 at Castlewellan Castle in Northern Ireland. She was the youngest child of Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley and his second wife Priscilla Cecilia Armytage-Moore. Annesley's sister, Lady Clare Annesley, was a feminist and pacifist who stood as a Labour Party parliamentary candidate in the 1920s and 1930s. She also had two half siblings, Lady Mabel Annesley and Francis Annesley, 6th Earl Annesley, from her father's first marriage to Mabel Wilhelmina Frances Markham.[1]

Annesley trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. While there she met Miles Malleson, whom she married on 12 April 1915 at the age of 19. The couple divorced in December 1922 after Miles failed to comply with a decree for restitution of conjugal rights obtained by Constance on 15 May the same year.[2][3] After graduating she studied in Paris and Dresden and spent the 1922 season with the Plymouth Repertory Theatre as lead actress.[3][4][5] Malleson took up acting because she believed "that every woman ought to be able to earn a living."[6] She was concerned with fair wages for all actors going on to speak publicly about the importance of securing the minimum wage of 3 pounds a week and payment for rehearsal for everyone, not just lead actors.[7]

Malleson appeared in many West End productions, including The Orphans at the Lyceum Theatre,[8] and at least one film, Hindle Wakes. She joined the Hull Repertory Theatre Company for the 1925 season appearing in several productions including Peter and Paul and Advertising April, alongside actor Colin Clive, and a C. K. Munro production of At Mrs. Beam's.[4][9][10] Malleson believed that the short run plays that define repertory theatre were important for the development of young dramatists because they provided an opportunity to see how an audience reacts to one's work.[7] In March 1928, Malleson produced a stage version of her three-act play The Way. The cast, which included Una O'Connor and Charles Carson, was headed by Moyna Macgill in the role of Rosaleen Moore, a part written for her by Malleson. The play was performed twice and was reviewed by The Times as a "pretentious sham!"[11][12]

During the First World War, her pacifist opinions brought her into contact with Bertrand Russell. The pair met in 1916 at a trial for Clifford Allen, then, chairman of the No-Conscription Fellowship.[13] Having mutually agreed to an open marriage with her husband, Malleson and Russell carried on a relationship until 1920.[14] During that time Russell struggled with how seriously Malleson took her career and her continued involvement with other men.[1] Their affair eventually ended because she did not want children.[15]

After retiring from acting Malleson moved to the country, traveled and authored several books. Her autobiography was published in 1931 followed by her first novel, The Coming Back in 1933. Despite claiming it as fiction the work is considered a roman à clef regarding her relationship with Russell. In addition to two more works of fiction, Malleson carried out lecture tours in Scandinavia during the 1930s and 1940s, resulting in the publication of In the North: Autobiographical Fragments in Norway, Sweden, Finland in 1946.[1]

Malleson died in a nursing home near Bury St Edmunds on 5 October 1975.[1]

Stage roles

Title Year(s) Role Theatre Notes Ref(s)
The World of Boredom 1915 Suzanne Queen's Theatre July [16]
L'Enfant Prodique 1916 Phrynette [17]
Fishpingle 1916 Lady Margaret Maltravers Haymarket Theatre May [16]
Phyl 1918 Maybel Ponsonby Gaiety Theatre May [16]
The King and Queen 1919 Ila The Comedy Theatre February [16]
The Trojan Women 1919 Helen Royal Victoria Hall October [3][18][19]
Sakuntala 1919 Anasuya Winter Garden November [16]
Abraham Lincoln 1921 Mrs. Otherley Lyceum Theatre July [3][16]
Deburau 1921 Mme. Rébard Ambassadors Theatre 3–26 November 1921 [20]
The Rise of Silas Lapham 1922 Nan Corey Lyric Theatre 20–24 February 1922 [20]
The Orphans 1923 Henriette Lyceum Theatre 28 February – 7 April [20]
The Country Wife 1924 Squeamish Regent Theatre 17–18 February [20]
John Gabriel Borkman 1925 Mrs. Wilton Hull Repertory Theatre Company September [21]
Peter and Paul 1925 Eva Hull Repertory Theatre Company September [22]
Young Heaven 1925 [Lead actress] Hull Repertory Theatre Company October [23]
Advertising April 1925 Rachel Shaw Hull Repertory Theatre Company November [24][25]
At Mrs. Beam's 1925 Miss Cheezle [4]
From Morn to Midnight 1926 Lady Regent Theatre 9–20 March [4][26]
The Cradle Song 1927 The Vicaress Hull Repertory Theatre Company October [4][27]
Belinda Unknown Unknown Unknown [28]

Works

Publications

Stage plays

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Slater, John G. (31 December 1975). "Lady Constance Malleson, "Colette O'Niel"". Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies (20). doi:10.15173/russell.v0i4.1435. ISSN 1913-8032. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Decree Against and Actor - Malleson vs Malleson". The Times (43206). London, England. 5 December 1922. p. 5. Mrs. Mary Constance Malleson, whose maiden name was Annesley, was granted a decree nisi dissolving her marriage with William Miles Malleson, an actor, because he failed to comply with a decree of restitution of conjugal rights and because of his adultery.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Obituary - Miss Colette O'Niel: Actress and writer". The Times (59521). London, England. 8 October 1975. p. 16.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Gardiner, Bennitt (1976). "Colette O'Niel: a Season in Repertory". Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies: 26–36. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  5. ↑ C.E.B. (19 August 1925). "Bid for Popularity". Daily Mail (12441). Hull, England. p. 4. The leading lady, Miss Colette O'Niel, who is the daughter of Countess Annesley, has had considerable stage experience. After graduating at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art she studied in Paris and Dresden. She has played with Miss Sybil Thorndyke and was leading lady of the Plymouth Repertory Theatre for a season.
  6. ↑ "ITEATABLETALK - Barry Dock News". South Wales Advertising, Printing, and Publishing Company. 1919-08-29. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  7. 1 2 Portia (30 October 1925). "Miss Colette O'Niel - Address to Hull Women - The Real Actor's Intense Love of His Work". Daily Mail (12503). Hull, England. p. 3.
  8. ↑ "Melville Collection". University of Kent Information Services - Special Collections. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  9. ↑ C.E.B. (8 September 1925). "Packed Out! Hull Little Theatre's Splendid Send Off". Daily Mail (12458). Hull, England. p. 3. The women were uniformly good. Miss Colette O'Niel played the part of an old maid with quiet distinction, while Miss Margaret F. Ross..
  10. ↑ Rowell, George; Jackson, Anthony; Jackson, Tony (1984). The Repertory Movement: A History of Regional Theatre in Britain. Cambridge University Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780521319195.
  11. ↑ "Arts Theatre Club - "The Way." by Constance Malleson (Colette O'Niel)". The Times (44851). London, England. 26 March 1928. p. 10.
  12. 1 2 C.E.B. (24 February 1928). "Musical and Dramatic". Daily Mail (13224). Hull, England. p. 8. A forthcoming production at the Arts Theatre Club, London, will be of more than passing interest to Hull Little Theatre supporters. "The Way" a three-act play by Constance Malleson (Colette O'Niel), is to be given on Sunday evening, March 25th, and the following Monday afternoon by a company headed by Moyna McGill, for whom the leading part was written. Miss O'Niel will produce.
  13. ↑ Bell, Robert H. (Summer 1983). "Bertrand Russell and the Eliots". 52 (3): 309–325. JSTOR 41210949.
  14. ↑ Wallace, Irving; Wallace, Amy; Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Sylvia (2008). The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People. Feral House. pp. 492–493. ISBN 9781932595291.
  15. ↑ Burn, Michael (18 May 1972). "Bertrand Russell: St. George and the Dogma". The Times (58481). London, England. p. 18.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Who's who in the theatre. London: Pitman. 1922. pp. 626–627.
  17. ↑ "Queen Alexandra and "L'Enfant Prodique"". The Times (41094). London, England. 19 February 1916. p. 10. It was played by the original cast, except that Colette O'Niel (Lady Constance Malleson) took the part of Phrynette, Mlle. Andrée Mielly being Pierrot and M. Gilbert Dalleu Pierrot père.
  18. ↑ Turcon, Sheila (2010). "What did Colette know and when did she know it?". Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies. 30 (Winter 2010-2011): 149–154. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "Euripides at The Old Vic". The Times (42231). London, England. 15 October 1919. p. 10.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Wearing, J.P. (2014). The London stage, 1920-1929 : a calendar of productions, performers, and personnel (Second edition. ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 1034. ISBN 9780810893023. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "Drama at the Little Theatre - Clever Performance of Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman"". Daily Mail (12476). Hull, England. 29 September 1925. p. 7. ...while Colette O'Niel, as the divorced Mrs. Wilton, made the most of the typical vamp character
  22. ↑ "Hull Little Theatre - Performers Who Will Be Seen in Next Week's Play". Daily Mail (12462). Hull, England. 12 September 1925. p. 2.
  23. ↑ "Mixed Fair at Little Theatre - Fine Dramatic Acting and Excellent Comic Relief". Daily Mail (12482). Hull, England. 6 October 1925. p. 5.
  24. ↑ "Little Theatre Anti-Climax - Unworthy Finish to Highly Successful Season". Daily Mail (12512). Hull, England. 10 November 1925. p. 8.
  25. ↑ C.E.B. "Musical and Dramatic". Daily Mail (12509). Hull, England. p. 6.
  26. ↑ Skal, David J.; Rains, Jessica (2009). Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice. University Press of Kentucky. p. 304. ISBN 9780813138855. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  27. ↑ C.E.B. (28 October 1927). "Musical and Dramatic". Daily Mail (13123). Hull,England. p. 8. The Hull Repertory Theatre have a splendid play to offer on Monday next, that exquisite comedy, “The Cradle Song.” of Martinez Sierra. Practically an all-woman cast is necessary, and patrons of the Little Theatre will welcome back the popular actress Colette O'Niel, which in addition to the clever performers Mr Whatmore is fortunate to have in this company will be Rita Trekelle in an important part.
  28. ↑ Gardiner, Bennitt (1980). "The Wisdom of Colette". Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies: 31–39. Retrieved 2 November 2015.

Further reading

External links

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