Pope, Maria Ann

1775

1803

Born in Waterford in 1775, Maria Ann Campion was the daughter of a merchant. She made her theatrical debut at the Crow Street playhouse in Dublin on 13 February 1790 as Monimia in "The Orphan", but her effort was marred by an attack of stage fright. In March and April she was seen as Juliet (G0686), Rutland in "The Earl of Essex", Desdemona in "Othello" and Cordelia in "King Lear". Miss Campion (who, beginning in 1795 called herself Mrs Spencer, a stage name probably), spent the next five years gaining experience in Galway, Cork, Derry, Waterford and Belfast as well as Dublin; she also worked at York and Hull, with Tate Wilkinson’s company. Finally, on 13 October 1797 she made her London debut at Covent Garden, playing Monimia with great success. The critics liked Mrs Spencer’s ‘unaffected simplicity’ and ‘artless innocence’ and compared her favourably with Mrs Cibber. Maria Ann was an actress who appeared unconscious of her pretty face and elegant form. The "Monthly Mirror" thought her worth a long article that praised her judgment, attractiveness and taste but hoped she would develop a voice with more consistency and smoothness and bring her gestures under better control. On 24 January 1798 she married the actor Alexander Pope, who had been widowed in March 1797. His own career as an actor was modest, but his first wife had been near the top of the acting profession; his new wife was closer to him in age and was, like him, still developing her career. The couple toured the provinces in the summers and acted at Covent Garden in the winters, she earning £8 weekly and he £12, though her roles were usually significant: Indiana in "The Conscious Lovers", Lady Macbeth, Portia in "The Merchant of Venice", Desdemona in "Othello", Statira in "Alexander the Great" and the like, along with smaller parts. But at the turn of the century she was settling into attitudes and postures. Like her husband, Mrs Pope showed promise but never achieved stardom. She acted Desdemona on 10 June 1803 but became ill in the third act and could not finish her role. On the eighteenth she suffered a stroke and died. (BDA) [EAL]