Maud Carpenter

Maud Carpenter (Liverpool Playhouse photograph)

Maud Farrington OBE (née Maud Carpenter; 19 March 1892 – 18 June 1967)^[1] was a British theatre manager, who was the first woman to join the board of the Liverpool Playhouse in 1945.

Early years and education

Born in Liverpool, Maud was the daughter of George Carpenter, a bricklayer, and his wife Mary Jane.^[2] She was educated in Liverpool.^[3]

Career

Carpenter began working in the box-office of Kelly's Theatre in Paradise Street, Liverpool.^[4] She joined the Liverpool Playhouse in its first, experimental season in 1911, working as a secretary, as well as an assistant,^[3] before becoming its Administrator in 1922. She was appointed its business manager in 1923,^[5] a year after William Armstrong was appointed the theatre's director, and they formed a successful partnership until his retirement in 1944.^[6] Carpenter remained the manager of the theatre until her retirement on 8 June 1962.^[2][7] She served on the board of the Playhouse until her death in 1967.^[5]

Carpenter was a powerful influence on the theatre scene in Liverpool. Though she reportedly knew little about theatre and often got confused with the titles of plays, her enthusiasm and promotion of the theatre was well known locally, earning her the nickname "the Lady Mayoress of Liverpool". During The Blitz of the Second World War, she would reputedly stand on the roof of the Playhouse yelling "Don't bomb my theatre. Don't bomb my theatre". She once scolded Anthony Hopkins when he turned up at the theatre wearing jeans and an open neck shirt, instead of dressing formally.^[8] The author Sheila Hancock describes Carpenter as a "local powerhouse".^[9] Carpenter married Dr David Farrington in 1919;^[3] she died in 1967.

References

1. Dawe 2012, p. 59.
2. Document 283 BED/2/1, Liverpool Record Office, retrieved 11 March 2016 (subscription required)
3. Gale Group 1978, p. 384.
4. Dawe 2012, p. 60.
5. "Liverpool Playhouse centenary – in pictures". The Guardian. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
6. Rowell & Jackson 1984, p. 59.
7. Ackroyd 1996, p. 51.
8. "Memorial to Maud Farrington nee Carpenter". Sarsfieldmemorialsliverpool.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
9. Hancock 2009, p. 37.

Sources

• Ackroyd, Harold (1996). The Liverpool Stage. Amber Valley. ISBN 978-0-9514235-3-0.
• Dawe, Christine (31 January 2012). Merseyside's Own. History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-8247-7.
• Gale Group (1978). Who was who in the theatre, 1912–1976: a biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, directors, playwrights, and producers of the English-speaking theatre. Gale Research Co. ISBN 978-0-8103-0406-2.
• Hancock, Sheila (17 August 2009). The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4088-0693-7.
• Rowell, George; Jackson, Anthony (18 October 1984). The Repertory Movement: A History of Regional Theatre in Britain. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-31919-5.