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Born
William and Anne Freeman. Baptised 20th November 1669 in Whalpole, Lincs. Other suggestions are that she was born Susannah Rawkins. Or she might have been born in Ireland, where Freeman 'a zealous Parliamentarian... was necessitated to fly' at the Restoration. But why the big wait until baptism? Pretty unusual. -
Period: to
Stint as a boy
A bizarre story of her sitting by the wayside, crying having left home, and a Cambridge undergrad called Anthony Hammond comes along, takes her under his protection by dressing her in boys' clothes and introducing her to his friends as 'cousin Jack'. She stays with his a few months and learns to fence, studied grammar and the terms of logic, rhetoric and ethics, Hammond thought she was being watched a bit too closely and advised her to resume her own gender and move on to London. -
Possibly joined a band of strolling players
before she was 16. -
Period: to
'Married or something like it'
to a Mr Fox, but this lasted for less than a year (for whatever reason). When she was 16 -
Period: to
Married to army officer named Carroll
He died within one and half ears of the marriage. Gee what is wrong with this girl. -
The Perjured Husband - first play
Produced with the help of Abel Boyer at Drury Lane, under her married name of Carroll, and according to her 'it went off with good applause, and... only wanted the addition of good actors and a full town to have brought... a sixth night.' However, not successful, and attacked by some for indecent language, and particularly for the part of Lady Pizalta. Centilivre defended it by saying it was unrealistic to want to put prayer books into every woman's hands. -
The Beau's Duel
Lincoln's Inn Fields. Satirised beaus and fops, and made humorous allusions to the popular craze for astrologers and pjhilomaths, was the first of many which she centred round a woman of sense, morally and intellectually independent, as much the pursuer in love as any man. -
The Stolen Heiress
Tragicomedy, Lincoln's Inn Fields. Published anonymously 1703. Printed by Will Turner who didn't say it was a play by a woman but printed lists of other plays he had - from Behn, Trotter, Pix and Wiseman. The play criticised the law which made it punishable by death to marry an heiress against her father's wishes (wft). -
Love's Contrivance
Drury Lane, published ten days later. Had the wrong initials on it (RM) and 'thus passing as a man's it has been played at least a hundred times.' Suzannah incensed, wrote a lettersaying the nitial s are wrong and that writing it like a lottery. (Hadn't they just been introduced to fund the wars?) -
The Basset Table
'endeavouring to ridicule and correct one of the most reigning vices of the age.' Valrie with her scientific experimentation. -
The Gamester
huge success, Lincoln's Inn Fields, all str cast, published anonymously. Used to open the Queen's Theatre, Haymarket on 27th April 1705. Story about a 'spark' who had seen it three of four times went to buy the book and asked who the author was, and being told it was a woman 'threw down the book and put up his money, saying he had spent too much after it already, and was sure, if the town had known that, it would never have run for ten days.' (Preface to the Platonik Lady) -
Joins players in Bath
Acted Alexander the Great in breeches at Court with the strolling players. Charmed Joseph Centilivre, one of Her Majesty's Cooks, 'that he fell in love with her, and married her'. -
The Platonic Lady
Haymarket. Only 4 nights only. 'hoping among the humerous crowd to find some souls great enogh to protect her against the carping malice of the vulgar world, who think it a proof of their sense to dislike everything that is writ by women.' -
Love at a Venture
To the strolling players, Duke of Grafton's servants, at Bath's New Theatre. Had been rejected by Colley Cibber and the following year scenes from it appeared in his play, The DOuble Gallants. Later admitted that his play was 'made up of what little was tolerable in two or three others that had no success.' -
Marries Joseph Centilivre
Benet's church (where Delarivier Manely was to be buried in 1724), and they lived from then at his house in Buckingham Court, Spring Gardens. The Centilivres (St Livers) paid higher rates than anyone except the Admiralty. His position was Yeoman of the Mouth with an annual salary of 60 pounds a year. -
The Man's Bewitched
Quarrel with the actors, who didn't want to play their parts and made fun of them. Pastoral comedy. Cancelled on the second day, withdrawn on the fifth. -
The Busy Body
Became one of the most successful plays of the 18thc. Acted over 450 times before 1800, stock piece. The Tatler: 'the plot and incidents of the play are laid with the subtlety of spirit which is peculiar to females of wit.' the Hanovarians were mad about it with the Prince of Wales cancelling a performance of Othello to make way for it in 1717, his father George 1 asking for performances in Dec 1719 and March 1720, much better than 'O'Keefean trash'.. 13 nights 1st season, 40 editions by 1884 -
A Bickerstaff's Burying
one-act black comedy, her first after-piece, at Drury Lane. In a double-bill with Vanbough's The Mistake. Sounds hilariously intriguing must read this. -
The busy Body, Mar-Plot
Drury lane with elaborate scenery, but closed after six nights. -
The Perplexed Lovers
Aggressively displaying her Whig politics. ran only three nights. The main problem was the epilogue: it praised the Duke of Marlbrough's exploits on the continent. On one night it the play was shown without an epilogie and Henry Norris spoke six lines extempore. The audience thought this was the intended epilogue and hissed. by the 21st Centilivre had got a license for the epilogue but Mrs Oldfield had been advised to refuse it. -
The Wonder!
dedicated to Prince George, who was very unpopular at the time but was king within six months. Ran only six nights to start but was performed 250 times before 1800. the lead male role Don Felix became Garrick's favourite. Favourite play with the latter Hanovarian kings. even Victoria commanded a performance in 1840. -
A Wife Well Managed - not performed
Short farce. A Wife well managed was never performed as 'it was said there would be offence taken at the exposing of a POpish priest.' 'Good God!' cries Mrs Centilivre 'To what sort of people are we changed?' (dedication to the Gotham Election) -
Wrote A Gotham Election (but not performed until 1724)
makes fun of exorbitant pre-election promises, nepotism, the buying of votes, and ends with a riot. Not surprisingly, the play was suppressed. The passage from Stuart to Hanovarian rule was not an easy one. In 1714 the clergy were ordered to refrain from political sermons, and the violence of the election in January 1715 led to the passing of rhe Riot act in June 1715. In tackling current socio-political problems head on, this play was well ahead of its time. Eventually perf. Haymarket 1724. -
The Cruel Gift
Seven time, three of which were benefit performances. However no other play that season had more than seven performances either. It was a tragedy but none of the people marked out to die actually died. -
A Bold Stroke for a Wife
added the phrase 'simon pure' meaning the real person or the genuine article with this play. Became a stock piece. Was severely criticised for mocking religion and encouraging children to disobey their parents. Performed 80 times by 1750 went went on to be even more popular during the second half of the 18thc. -
The Artifice
Her coarsest comedy. Ran only three nights. 'the whole scope of The Artifice is to encourage adultery, to ridicule the clergy and set women above the arbitrary power of their husbands, to exert their natural right for the preservation of their lusts'... 'a scurrilous, impious, monstrous performance, without any beauty to recommend it except the principles of genuine Whiggism.' Has one of her most amusing character, Widow Heedless, who stamps about shouting and boxing ears. -
Dies (56)
Buried four days later in what is not the actor's church, St Paul's Covent Garden. Extremely successful and earned a good living from her work, but was subject to accusations that success made a female 'unfeminine' and critics were obsessed with the wen on her left eyelid which gave her a squint.