Ethel Irving (1869-1963)

"Years of Discretion"
By Frederick Hatton and Fanny Locke Hatton.
Produced at the Globe Theatre, London - September 8, 1913.
Reviewed in Playgoer and Society Illustrated, Vol 9 No 49, October 1913.

Mrs. Farrell Howard is a widow with a son twenty years old. She suddenly discovers that she is not so old as she thinks she is; that the love of her dead husband and the respect of her living son are not what her heart is yearning for. So she leaves her home and comes to town. Mrs. Howard transforms herself; she becomes a made-up but quite charming young thing in society. Three men propose to her - an Irishman, an anarchist, and a millionaire. The millionaire is not so young as he would like to be, but he longs for "one last fling," and the widow accepts him. On their wedding day they discover that they are both growing old after all. So they decide to settle down and continue to grow old gracefully together. She changes her "flighty" frocks for well-cut, smart, "middle-aged" costumes and he puts on his skull-cap and spectacles and settles down cosily in his armchair. The plot or central idea seemed a little bit thin for three acts, but the interest was sustained by the really wonderful acting of Miss Ethel Irving. The part was one that suited this accomplished actress to the letter, and she made much out of it. Mr. Aubrey Smith, too, as the millionaire, Christopher Dallas; had a part that seemed to have been written for him. Mr. Gerald Lawrence played the anarchist, and gave an interesting study of this rather weird and confusing person, while the part of the Irishman, Michael Doyle, was allotted to Mr. Lionel Atwill, who played it with a delightful brogue. The other parts were well taken care of.

"The Witness For The Defence"
By A.E.W. Mason
Produced at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, Australia - 8th July, 1911.
Reviewed in The Advertiser (Adelaide, Australia), 10th July 1911.

MISS ETHEL IRVING - A REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE.

Seldom has the first appearance of an actress been awaited with more interest than was that of Miss Ethel Irving at the Theatre Royal on Saturday night. This distinguished visitor was given a great reception on her entrance. The house was crowded in all parts, and its welcome was as prolonged as that to Mr. Asche and Miss Brayton at the same theatre two years ago. Many of the audience had waited from 9 o'clock in the morning, and all traffic in the vicinity of the theatre was completely held up. Miss Irving did not step out of the part she was playing to acknowledge the storms of applause, but she must have been keenly conscious of it. She came on the stage a graceful figure of a woman, beautifully dressed, young, and with much of the subtle charm that many women can suggest before they have said a word. As the action proceeded she deepened the impression made at the outset and added to it. At the fall of the last curtain Miss Irving, standing almost up to her waist in flowers, responded with a few words to the acclamations of her admirers. "I feel too nervous to know what I am saying," she exclaimed after repeatedly bowing acknowledgments, but in the end she thanked the audience charmingly for their welcome, and said how pleased she had been to come to Australia.

The "Age" critic, referring to the performance, says:- "With Miss Ethel Irving as the heroine, everyone will want to see 'the witness for the defence.' So far as the author of the play, Mr. Mason, is concerned, he has not given us a very remarkable portrait. It is only when the part falls into the hands of such an actress as Miss Ethel Irving that its characteristics stand out in clear relief, and that all its possibilities, its strength, its weakness, its mental womanliness, are illumined as if by lightning flashes. She rises, as her English admirers have said, to the height of genius. She does what only the greatest artists can hope to do. Miss Irving is supported by a company that is thoroughly well-balanced and capable of doing every justice to this successful London play. Mr. Stephen Ewart created a good impression."