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| Archive Reference / Library Class No. | D5459/1/56 |
| Former Reference | D5459/1/31 |
| Title | Sidonian Visages : or the working up of the passions |
| Date | [1780-1789] |
| Description | A study of the audience's reaction during a performance given by the actress Sarah Siddons. The audience is depicted as a sea of faces behind a wooden barrier, with only those at the front differentiated. A lady in a spotted dress at the very front on the left has fainted and is being supported by a men in a red suit, while a man in a blue coat and wig administers smelling salts and a tall thin woman in white looks on from the left. Just behind them a person in a cap is drinking out of a bottle, and to the right of them a man sits, hands folded, with an expression of puzzlement. A woman just behind him cries into a large handkerchief. On the far right a man in a yellow jacket claps, whilst behind him can be seem a child holding its hand over its face and a man wiping a tear away. Available on CD 158. |
| Level | Item |
| Repository | Derbyshire Record Office |
| Artist | Woodward, George Murgatroyd (?1765-1809) |
| Archive Creator | George Murgatroyd Woodward (1765-1809), artist and writer |
| Further Information | G M W Invt : April
Although no mention is made in the picture of either the theatre or the performance in question, it may well refer to her performance in the role of Euphrasia in the 'Grecian Daughter'. She first played the role in Bath in 1778, and her first performance of the role at Drury Lane in 1782 provoked 'sobs and shrieks'. It is not clear if the theatre is Drury Lane, as there is no evidence of Adam's ornamentation but it cannot be ruled out. |
| Physical Description | Coloured drawing. Size 250 x 190 mm. Portrait. |
| Copies | A digital copy can also be viewed on the public computers at the record office. |
| Related Material | See D5459/1/34/2 for more information on Mrs Siddons and D5459/1/52 for a portrait of her as Euphrasia. |
| Publication Note | B.D.A., London Stage. |
| Image | 
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