On the 12th of June 1906 Ellen Terry celebrated her 50th year on the British Stage with a 'Jubilee' matinee at Drury Lane, London. To celebrate the matinee contained amongst other things a song from the Great Caruso and selected scenes from 'Much Ado about Nothing' which starred Lillie Langtry, Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Ellen Terry herself as well as other famous names of the stage at the time. It raised £6000, today that would be over half a million pounds, for Terry. However the day was tinged with sadness, I qoute from Terry's autobiography 'The Story of My Life'.
'The recognition of my fifty years of stage life by the public and by my profession was quite unexpected. Henry Irving had said to me not long before his death in 1905 that he believed they (the theatrical profession) "intended to celebrate our jubilee". (If he had lived he would have completed his fifty years on the stage in the autumn of 1906.) ... After his death, I thought no more of the matter. Indeed I did not want to think about it, for any recognition of my jubilee which did not include his, seemed to me very unnecessary... I enjoyed all the celebrations... but all the time I knew perfectly well that the great show of honour and "friending" was not for me alone.'
Ellen Terry was an extraordinary woman and I know barely anything about her. I look forward to learning more about this woman and her work in the future. Terry finally retired in 1925 just one year shy of her 70th year on the stage. She passed in 1928 at her home in Smallhythe and is today remembered as the greatest female Victorian actor in the World.
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