AustLit

'Eliza Winstanley (1818 - 82) and Maria Taylor (1805? - 41) were English-born actors who were among the early leading performers in Barnett Levey's acting company at his Theatre Royal in George Street, Sydney. Taylor's parents were 'singing actors' who, in the first years of the nineteenth century, performed at London's Haymarket and Covent Garden theatres, and were regularly engaged for the summer seasons in provincial theatres. Winstanley also came from a theatrical family - her father was a scenic painter and her younger sister Ann was a performer. This article describes how Maria Taylor and Eliza Winstanley brought their theatrical skills and resilience to the task of building a theatrical culture in Australia. Both women faced many challenges in their personal and professional lives but both possessed the capacity to bounce back, continuing to practise and refine their craft in difficult circumstances.' (Publication abstract)