Jane Egleton facts for kids
Jane Egleton (died 1734) was a famous British stage actress from the 1700s. She worked with John Rich's theater company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London.
Before she married John Egleton in 1721, she was known as Jane Giffard or Mrs Giffard. It's not completely clear where she came from, but she was a talented performer.
One of her most famous roles was playing Lucy Lockit in John Gay's popular play, The Beggar's Opera, which first opened in 1728. She was the very first actress to play this character!
Jane Egleton continued acting with Rich's company at Lincoln's Inn until 1732. After that, she moved with the company to the new Covent Garden Theatre for its first year before she retired from acting.
Besides acting, Jane Egleton also wrote a type of play called a ballad-opera. Her play, The Maggot, was performed at Lincoln's Inn Fields on April 18, 1731.
Her Famous Roles
Jane Egleton played many different characters during her career. Here are some of the plays she was in:
- Bettrice in The Lady's Triumph (1718)
- Le Jupe in The Coquet (1718)
- Lucy in 'Tis Well if it Takes (1719)
- Lady Raleigh in Sir Walter Raleigh (1720)
- Iris in Love and Duty (1722)
- Mother Stubble in Hanging and Marriage (1722)
- Salome in Mariamne (1723)
- The Devil of a Wife in The Devil of a Wife (1724)
- Frizle in The Capricious Lovers (1725)
- Lady Amsbace in The Bath Unmasked (1725)
- Mrs Joiner in The Female Fortune Teller (1726)
- Lucy Lockit in The Beggar's Opera (1728)
- Wife of Bath in The Wife of Bath (1730)
