Gertrude Bugler (1897 – 1992[1]) was a British stage actress of the Edwardian Era best known for acting in plays adapted by Thomas Hardy.[2][3][4]

Biography

Gertrude Bugler was born in 1897 in Dorchester, Dorset (the hometown of Thomas Hardy). Gertrude was the daughter of Augusta, a hotelier and confectioner.[5] When previously working as a milkmaid, Augusta had attracted the attention of the young Thomas Hardy, before he became a writer.[6] Hardy was too shy to approach Augusta, but in 1890 he had used her as the model for the heroine in his novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles.[7] Hardy then moved to London to pursue his successful writing career and did not see her again until he returned to Dorchester in 1913. Hardy, then age 72, had returned to his old home to work on dramatizations of his novels. By this time, Augusta had been married and was running a hotel where Hardy set up house and used as a headquarters for his theatrical troupe called The Hardy Players, made up of local amateur actors.

Early performances

Augusta's daughter, Gertrude Bugler, then 16, joined the troupe in 1913, playing Marty South in The Woodlanders.[8][9] Hardy met her at a rehearsal[10] and later described her, in a letter to Edward Clodd, as "the pretty daughter of a baker here."[11] The play was staged locally. Drama critics who came from London to preview the play gave Bugler glowing reviews for her angelic beauty and her naturalistic style of acting.[12] The Daily News of 20 November 1913 reported that "the performance will probably be remembered by most people as a setting for the debut of Miss Gertrude Bugler" and suggested she might one day play Tess.[1] In 1914, she played the Waiting Maid in The Dynasts.[13] In 1918, she appeared with her parents and sister in The Mellstock Quire, taking the part of schoolmistress Fancy Day.[14][1]

Returning in 1920, Hardy cast her in the leading role of Eustacia Vye in Return of the Native.[15][16] The Daily Mirror described her as a "country maid with talents worthy of Bernhardt".[15] The Bournemouth Guardian review quoted others, some – including the Daily Mail – strongly positive, others – including the Daily News – more mixed.[9] The Dorset County Chronicle devoted two columns to its review, reporting that "The 'star' of the company, Miss Gertrude Bugler, naturally and deservedly shone above all others..." and that her voice "conquered the echoes of a very difficult building."[17] In 1921 the Hardy Players performed Return of the Native at the Guildhall School of Music in London. The Times and Directory newspaper noted that Bugler’s "acting was extremely good for an amateur performance".[18]

1921 Marriage

Stinsford parish church

In July 1921, Bugler announced her betrothal to a cousin, Ernest Bugler, a farmer in Beaminster.[19] They were married on 11 September 1921.[20] They continued farming in Beaminster.[21] Bugler spent the next three years away from the stage.[22] In 1923, she appeared in a local play The Beaminster Road in the rectory garden in Stoke Abbott.[23] Also in 1923 she was due to appear in a play based on Hardy's Desperate Remedies but withdrew when she became pregnant. Her first baby was stillborn,[1] but the couple went on to have a daughter Diana in March 1924.[10][14]

1924 Tess in Dorchester

Dorchester Corn Exchange

In 1924, Hardy adapted Tess of the d'Urbervilles and cast Bugler in the title role.[22] Interviewed about her role, Bugler said that the character was controversial. "A friend of my father was shocked ... Even to-day there are people who think I am not quite nice to appear in 'Tess',"[22] though the Leeds Mercury responded that acting is about "imaginative interpretation", not "autobiographical expression" so Bugler would "live down the prejudice".[24] Another interviewee was concerned about how London critics, drawn to Dorchester by Hardy's name, would respond to an amateur production.[22]

The play opened in Dorchester on 26 November 1924[25] at the Corn Exchange.[26] The Daily Mail described is as "less a play in the accepted sense than four outstanding episodes ... told in the language of the book", and reported that the production's "beauty ... lay chiefly in the acting of Tess by Mrs Gertrude Bugler".[25] The Yorkshire Post likewise reported that the script was "in many cases apparently reproduced from the text" and that Bugler "adds that role to the several of the Wessex heroines in which she has made successes."[27]

First London performance of Tess

The success of the 1924 performances in Dorchester raised expectations of a London production.[28] Hardy made plans to take the play to London with Bugler in the lead role.[10][29] She was then approached by Frederick Harrison who leased and managed the Haymarket Theatre. They had been introduced to each other at a Dorchester rehearsal and he then wrote to her in January 1925 inviting her to play 'Tess' in a series of matinées provisionally scheduled for April or May.[10] Around the same time, Hardy approved a new MacMillan edition of the book illustrated with pictures of Bugler.[1]

Hardy's wife Florence Dugdale had been jealous of Hardy's affection for Bugler even though he was at that point 83 years old and Bugler was 26 and married.[30] Dugdale forbade the bringing of the Buglers to the London production.[31][32] Hardy had envisaged Sybil Thorndike playing Tess if Bugler declined the role,[1][32] and Lady Forbes-Robertson had enquired about it,[1] but it was eventually taken by Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies.[28][5]

Hardy's relationship with Bugler is often revisited by later biographers and critics. For example Michael Millgate accepts that Dugdale was distressed by Hardy's (unquestioned) infatuation.[33] Christopher Nicholson turned the story into Winter, a romantic historical novel.[34] Emma Tennant included the story in her retelling of Tess.[35] However, Bugler's sister Norrie Woodhall always maintained that the relationship was platonic.[35][36] She wrote that Florence's "insane jealousy of my sister was all in her mind".[37] In his scathing review of Winter in the Hardy Society Journal, Keith Wilson concludes that Hardy may have been unwisely admiring and protective of Bugler but blames the gossip about their relationship on "the allure of sensationalism".[38]

1929 London performance

Duke of York's Theatre

After Hardy's death in 1928, Dugdale invited Bugler to play Tess in a 1929 London production at the Duke of York's Theatre.[39][10] Woodhall attributes Dugdale's change of heart to guilt over her 1924 intervention.[37] The role garnered praise for her sensitive performance and natural charm. However, J. P. Wearing states that the reviews were decidedly mixed,[40] a view shared by Bugler herself.[10][30]

Advance publicity emphasised Bugler's authentic background,[21] her connection with Hardy, and the status of other cast members including Martin Lewis as "the sinister" Alec, and Barbara Gott.[39][41] There was however scepticism that an amateur actress could hold her own in a professional production.[41]

Following the first night on 23 July 1924, newspaper reviews continued to note her authentic background as (in the language of the time) a farmer's wife, a farmer's daughter, or a tradesman's daughter. They praised aspects of her performance but lamented her lack of training in performing and in responding to the audience. They also commented on contrasts in style between her approach and that of the professional cast members giving an inconsistent overall effect. The most positive first-night reviews were enthusiastic about her natural approach and her popularity with the audience.[42]

Later reviews continued in similar vein. Vaughan Dryden, in the Sporting Times, referred to her "nervous tension", and the "resentment and jealousy ... [of] out-of-work professional actresses".[43] The Stage reviewer was critical but more positive, drawing attention to her becoming more expressive as the performance progressed.[44] The Illustrated London News attributed this to the play itself coming to life in later scenes where "the best-trained artist could not be more sincere or more poignantly effective".[45] The Civil and Military Gazette added that "in the heart-breakingly moving finale at Stonehenge she recaptures for us, just for a few moments, the fleeting haunting beauty of the book."[46]

Bugler's inclusion in the cast inspired longer articles on wider topics. For example Herbert Farjeon wrote a full-page essay in The Graphic beginning: "The revival of Tess of the D'Urbervilles at the Duke of York's Theatre brings me face to face with those two fearsome questions – What is a good play? What is good acting?"[47] "G.F.H." in The Sketch lamented that "so much has been lost in the adaptation for the stage that nothing producer or player can do makes sufficient compensation" and "the unwisdom of rooting up an amateur actress from her surroundings." "Trinculo" in Tatler asked:

Are we to assume that every hunchback is a potential Richard the Third? That acting is merely an accident of birth or a matter of appearance? That the art of being natural is to ignore technique? It must in fairness be recorded that the majority of an enthusiastic audience appeared to answer these questions in the affirmative"[48]

The play had a successful run of sixty performances.[49][50] After finishing its run, the play toured to King's Theatre, Hammersmith and the Hippodrome Margate, after which Bugler and two other actors withdrew.[10]

Later life

After enjoying her moment in the sun, Bugler, now married with a daughter and an ailing mother (who later died in 1940), stopped acting and returned to Dorchester, living to the age of 95.[51] She maintained an interest in the theatre. In 1930 she produced a play for Beaminster Show.[52] In 1938 she was "coaching and casting" for the Melplash Players.[53] In 1939, she gave a talk on the radio titled "Thomas Hardy at Max Gate", part of a series The House and the Man.[54] Bugler later wrote about her experiences in Personal Recollections of Thomas Hardy, published by The Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society in 1962.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Travell, John C. T (2015). "Why Hardy helped the Hardy Players or how Gertrude made a dream come true: A suggested explanation". The Hardy Society Journal. 11 (2): 67–83. ISSN 1746-4617.
  2. ↑ Bies, Werner (1978). "A Glimpse of Hardy". English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920. 21 (4): 268–269. ISSN 1559-2715.
  3. ↑ Williams, Merryn (1996-03-01). "The Complete Poetical Works of Thomas Hardy, vols. 4 and 5". Notes and Queries. 43 (1): 111–113.
  4. ↑ Dalziel, Pamela (1988). "Thomas Hardy on Stage by Keith Wilson (review)". ESC: English Studies in Canada. 24 (1): 110–112. doi:10.1353/esc.1988.0011. ISSN 1913-4835.
  5. 1 2 Dimery, Martin (10 August 1992). "The toast of Casterbridge: Obituary: Gertrude Bugler". The Guardian. p. 33.
  6. ↑ Pinion, F. B. (1992), Pinion, F. B. (ed.), "Late Drama and T. E. Lawrence", Thomas Hardy: His Life and Friends, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 357–375, doi:10.1007/978-1-349-13594-3_27, ISBN 978-1-349-13594-3, retrieved 3 Feb 2023
  7. ↑ Harvey, Geoffrey (2003). Thomas Hardy. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203422939. ISBN 9780203422939.
  8. ↑ "The Woodlanders". The Daily News and Leader. 17 November 1913. p. 3.
  9. 1 2 F.J.H. (20 November 1920). "The Return of the Native: The players and the place". Bournemouth Guardian. p. 1.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bugler, Gertrude (1962). Personal recollections of Thomas Hardy. Dorchester: The Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society.
  11. ↑ Purdy, Richard Little; Millgate, Michael, eds. (1984). The Collected Letters of Thomas Hardy, Vol. 4: 1909-1913. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198126218.
  12. ↑ Evans, Evelyn (1964). My Father Produced Hardy's Plays. Toucan Press. p. 17.
  13. ↑ "Gertrude Bugler; Obituary". The Times. 12 August 1992.
  14. 1 2 Tomalin, Claire (2002). Thomas Hardy: The Time-torn Man. Penguin. ISBN 9780241963289.
  15. 1 2 "From land girl to tragedienne: Amateur "star" in Hardy play tells her story". The Daily Mirror. 19 November 1920. p. 2.
  16. ↑ "Finding herself famous". Yorkshire Evening Post. 18 November 1920. p. 6.
  17. ↑ "The new Hardy play: The Return of the Native". Dorset County Chronicle and Somersetshire Gazette. 25 November 1920. p. 2.
  18. ↑ "Hardy Players in London: "The Return of the Native"". The (Swanage) Times and Directory. 5 February 1921.
  19. ↑ "Hardy Players betrothal". The (Swanage) Times and Directory. 2 July 1921. p. 3.
  20. ↑ "Miss Gertrude Bugler, the country girl actress...". Daily Mirror. 12 September 1921. p. 10.
  21. 1 2 Bugler, Gertrude (13 July 1929). "The modern rustic". Daily Chronicle. p. 6.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "Dorchester folk to play Tess – Thomas hardy to be in the audience – Day kept secret – Local girl as the tragic heroine". The Daily Chronicle. 21 November 1924. p. 9.
  23. ↑ "Stoke Abbot play: Work of Miss Myra Lovett". The Hampshire Advertiser. 23 June 1923. p. 7.
  24. ↑ "A girl and the stage". Leeds Mercury. 25 November 1924. p. 5.
  25. 1 2 "Tess on the stage – Hardy's play produced for the first time – In her native Wessex". Daily Mail. 27 November 1924. p. 10.
  26. ↑ "Hardy Players produce Tess". The Birmingham Post. 27 November 1924. p. 8.
  27. ↑ "Stage version of Tess – Successful production – the Hardy Players at Dorchester". Yorkshire Post. 27 November 1924. p. 6.
  28. 1 2 Dimery, Martin (12 March 1998). "Hardy's Tess: Martin Dimery remembers the amateur actress Gertrude Bugler who was hand-picked by Thomas Hardy to star in his West End play". The Stage. p. 35.
  29. ↑ Millgate, Michael (12 August 1992). "Obituary: Gertrude Bugler". The Independent.
  30. 1 2 Dimery, Martin (9 January 1992). "A curtain call for Hardy's own Tess; At 94, the woman Thomas Hardy chose to play Tess in the stage adaptation of his best-known novel talks to Martin Dimery about her brief, brilliant acting career". The Guardian. p. 26.
  31. ↑ "Woman Chosen by Thomas Hardy to Play 'Tess' Dies at 95". AP News. 11 August 1992. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023.
  32. 1 2 Bugler, Gertrude (4 February 1925). "Letter from Gertrude Bugler to Thomas Hardy, 4 February 1925". Hardy's Correspondents. University of Exeter.
  33. ↑ Millgate, Michael. "Thomas Hardy: the biographical sources". In Kramer, Dale (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy. Cambridge University Press. p. 15.
  34. ↑ Nicholson, Christopher (2014). Winter. London: Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-0-00-751607-0.
  35. 1 2 Rowe, Tina (4 June 1993). "Passions rise over Hardy and his Tess". Western Daily Press. p. 3.; Tennant, Emma (1993). Tess. Harper Collins. ISBN 9780246136640.
  36. ↑ "Norrie Woodhall: Obituaries. Dorset poultry farmer and amateur actress who was the last surviving link with Thomas Hardy". Daily Telegraph. 29 October 2011. p. 31.
  37. 1 2 Woodhall, Norrie (2006). Norrie's Tale: An Autobiography of the Last of the Hardy Players. Mrs Devina Symes. ISBN 978-0950405346.
  38. ↑ Wilson, Keith (2014). "Reviewed work: Winter by Christopher Nicholson". Hardy Society Journal. 10 (2): 106–112. page 107
  39. 1 2 "Notes and topics". Dorset County Chronicle. 18 July 1929. p. 4.
  40. ↑ Wearing, J.P. (2014). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0810893016.
  41. 1 2 "Amateur competition". The Sporting Times. 20 July 1929. p. 11.
  42. ↑ Reviews published 24 June 1929 include: Sheffield Daily Telegraph p5; Devon and Exeter Gazette p8; Daily Mirror p2; Aberdeen Press and Journal p7; The Daily Herald p7; Daily News and Westminster Gazette p8; Daily Chronicle p7
  43. ↑ Dryden, Vaughan (27 July 1927). "The ordeal of Gertrude Bugler". Sporting Times. p. 11.
  44. ↑ "Duke of Yourk's Tess of the d'Urbervilles". The Stage. 25 July 1929. p. 16.
  45. ↑ "A farmer's wife as Hardy's Tess". Illustrated London News. 10 August 1929. p. 272.
  46. ↑ "Farmer's wife as stage heroine: Hardy's own Tess". Civil and Military Gazette. 11 August 1929. p. 3.
  47. ↑ Farjeon, Herbert (3 August 1929). "The London Stage: The Tess from Wessex". The Graphic. p. 229.
  48. ↑ "Trinculo" (21 August 1929). "Tess of the d'Urbervilles". Tatler. No. 1469. p. 347.
  49. ↑ "Dorchester". Dorset County Chronicle. 15 August 1929. p. 8.
  50. ↑ "Tess goes on tour". The Derby Daily Telegraph. 29 August 1929. p. 5.
  51. ↑ Clifford, Simon (11 August 1992). "Tess of the D'Urbervilles is dead. Loyal Gertrude, 95 carries into eternity the sweet secrets of Hardy's unrequited love". Western Daily Press. p. 3.
  52. ↑ "Beaminster vegetable & flower show: Show attractions". Western Gazette. 8 August 1930. p. 7.
  53. ↑ "These players have their own authoress". News Chronicle. 26 May 1938. p. 20.
  54. ↑ "Broadcasting: Programmes". Western Morning News. 7 June 1939. p. 8.

Bibliography

  • "Personal recollections of Thomas Hardy", (Gertrude Bugler, The Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1962)
  • "The Life of Thomas Hardy: A Critical Biography", (Paul Turner, 2001)
  • "Thomas Hardy: A Biography Revisited", (Michael Millgate, Oxford University Press, 2004)
  • "Thomas Hardy: The Guarded Life", (Ralph Pite, York University Press)
  • "Thomas Hardy: The Time-torn Man", (Claire Tomalin, 2002)
  • "The Pessimism of Thomas Hardy", (G. W. Sherman)
  • "The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel", (J. P. Wearing, Rowman & Littlefield).
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