'Recollections of
Wilkie Collins.'Wybert Reeve, Chambers
Journal, 9 June (1906): 458-61.
Recollections by Wybert Reeve
(1831-1906) were published in Chambers
Journal but were based on an earlier, very similar essay in Reeve's
collection of sketches, From Life
[George Robertson:
Melbourne
1891].Some of these had in turn
previously been published in The
Australasian, a weekly
Melbourne
newspaper.In his preface, Reeve
described himself as "an actor, writer, manager, and traveller over the
greater part of the civilized world."He
was also a theatrical collaborator and long standing friend of Collins.
Reeve was born in
London
and entered the theatre at
Bradford
in 1849.His first part was
Frederick
in The Wonder.Following several juvenile roles, he produced his first play, a farce
called An Australian Hoax, in
Plymouth
during 1852.He played mainly comic
parts with several provincial companies and managed the Theatre Royal Sheffield
for three years from 1862.He became
the lessee in 1867 and, later, the proprietor of the Theatre Royal Scarborough.Plays - mainly farces - written by Reeve included Never
Reckon your Chickens, Parted, The Better Angel, I Love You,
A Match for Mother-in-law and Pantomime
for Bluebeard, the Great Bashaw, or, Harlequin Stormcloud, and the Fairy
Starlight Queen.
Reeve returned to
London
to appear in Collins's dramatic adaptation of The
Woman in White, staged at the Olympic Theatre.He originally played Walter Hartright from the play's opening on 9
October 1871.When George Vining
fell ill, Reeve took over the role of Fosco from 11 January 1872 and
subsequently took the production on tour around
England
for over a year.He joined Collins
on his reading tour of
North America
in 1873 and played Fosco for a two week run at the Broadway Theatre, New York.During an eight year period, Reeve played the role over 1,500 times in
England
,
Canada
and the
USA
[Winter,Old Friends,
New York
: 1909, p. 209]. Reeve produced his own adaptation of The
Woman in White with the Majeroni Company at the Bijou Theatre Melbourne from
the 6 to 16 August 1887.
Reeve also dramatised works for
the stage including, at Collins's request, No Name.Although never staged in
England
, the play was performed in both
New York
and
Melbourne
; in the latter case it had the new title Great Temptation for its
production during 1879.Reeve spent
much of his theatrical life touring in the
USA
and
Australia
.Collins maintained a regular
correspondence with him in
Australia
and in December 1883, sent him a New Year card of English oaks adding the note
"a little bit of English landscape, my Dear Reeve, to remind you of the old
country and this old friend."
Pascoe, Charles
Eyre, The Dramatic List: A Record of the
Principal Performances of LivingActors
and Actresses on the British Stage,
London
: Hardwicke and Bogue, 1879.
