In the 1830s and 1840s, the female management of London theatres, conducted singly or in partnership, was surprisingly common. Charismatic actress-managers such as Madame Vestris and Mrs Keeley have long been familiar to students of British theatre, as too the establishments they managed. Much less well known is the City of London Theatre in Norton Folgate, one of several minor playhouses then active in the East End. Opened in the year that Victoria came to the throne (1837), during its first decade the City was unrivalled as a home for the so-called ‘wo-manager’. Although largely forgotten today, Lucy Honey, Eliza Vincent, Harriett Lacy, and Maria Honner added much to the cultural vibrancy of an important theatre district at a moment of significant social change. Stephen Ridgwell here explores an under-researched world of theatre enterprise, and argues that the marginality subsequently conferred upon these women in no way reflects their contemporary visibility and standing. The article also highlights the importance of Eliza Vincent’s collaborations with George Dibdin Pitt, a dramatist of growing interest to scholars across a range of fields, and proposes that further consideration of this partnership might usefully be undertaken.

中文翻译：

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城市女性：伦敦城市剧院的经理和女主角，1837 年至 1848 年

在 1830 年代和 1840 年代，伦敦剧院的女性管理者（单独或合伙经营）出人意料地普遍。维斯特里斯夫人和基利夫人等富有魅力的演员兼经纪人长期以来一直为英国戏剧专业的学生所熟悉，他们管理的机构也很熟悉。不太出名的是诺顿福尔盖特的伦敦市剧院，它是当时活跃在东区的几个小型剧院之一。这座城市于维多利亚登基那年（1837 年）开业，在其成立的第一个十年里，这座城市作为所谓“女性经理”的家园是无与伦比的。尽管如今大部分人已被遗忘，但露西·哈尼、伊丽莎·文森特、哈里特·莱西和玛丽亚·洪纳在社会发生重大变革的时刻，为这个重要剧院区的文化活力增添了许多活力。斯蒂芬·里奇韦尔在这里探索了一个未被充分研究的戏剧企业世界，并认为随后赋予这些妇女的边缘地位绝不反映她们当代的知名度和地位。文章还强调了伊丽莎·文森特与乔治·迪布丁·皮特（George Dibdin Pitt）合作的重要性，乔治·迪布丁·皮特是一位受到各领域学者越来越感兴趣的戏剧家，并建议进一步考虑这种伙伴关系。