New-York tribune., 1912-01-14
YOUNGEST LEADING WOMAN
Madge Titheradge Tells of Her
Home in Australia.

Madge Titheradse. the young woman who
has attracted considera BILE attention as
Peggy in Lewis Walters production of "A
| Butterfly on The Wheel" at the Thirty
ninth Street Theatre, is now visiting this
country for tho first time. although her
father, George TitIeradge, came TO Amer
lea on several occasions with Mrs. Patrick
Campbell and other well known actors.
Miss Titheradge is the youngest leading
woman in England, and her success in the
main role OF a Butterfly on the Wheel is
such that she has practically become in
tcrnationally known at the age Of only
twenty-thrcc Other actresses have at
tanned prominence equally early in Hfe.
but usually in ingenue characters. This
success in a highly emotional role, requir-
ing a great deal of personal force is far
mere rare.
You know | am really an Australian -
said Miss Titheradge the other night in
her dressing room at the theatre afteF
the second act Of the play, when tho stage
was being set for the big trial scene.
"In fact. ] did rot go 10 England until
was twelve years old and quite big girl
My home was about twenty-five miles out
side Of Melbourne-not exactly In the
bush but in country where there were
very few houses indeed.
I'm order TO go 10 school I had 10 go
two and half miles TO a railway station.
where ] took the train. About three miles
from the house, i'm exactly the opposite d-
rection, was the penitentiary where they
had hundreds OF burglars and murderers.
Almost every day they used TO take sew
eral wagonloads of the prisoners under
guard from the penitentiary 10 the station
for transportation or bring them from the
station to the prison. They always had to
PASS our house.
lone day / started to walk TO the sta
ton and caught up with the wagons taxi
ing the prisoners. In the last one of all
was a terrible looking murderer and a
warden was sitting beside him with gun.
He saw me walking along and called TO
me: Don't you want to hop in and ride
little lady?
And of course j said Yes"
"And / rode for nearly two and half
miles between the murderer and the guard
from the prison. But the murderer was
lust the incest sort, in spite Of what he
had done. and he was very polite and
really quite romantic. / felt then that !
had had something Of an adventure
when Miss Titheradge went TO England
she continued her schooling for a couple OF
wears before going on the stage Her first
role was that of one of the fairies in
production of Charles Kingsley's Water
RabIes." One night she danced so enthu-
siastically that she tumbled right over the
footlights into the bass drum.
81 thought that the first night audience
very hypercritical," she said. 81 was never
so much frightened in my life. / was far
moro frightened than on my first London
annearance as Peggy The second night
bouever. 7 felt that the audience was with
me and the people seemed far more ap-
preciative.
"I like American audiences, judging from
the few before which have already ap-
n.ared hecause they are attentive. They
emma N see tho play and they fix their
r,,n6s on II. Only once hav' 1 seen
woman sitting in box obviously thinking
% overvthing else except the drama, and
,ar1ujdly tanning herself after the manner
.hat>is common enough in England.
"Or the other hand. / wish that the
D.onla IN American audiences would wear
svontng dress more generally I love to
sae u,o,oen in low neck gowns and beauti-
o., ,,,hIte shoulders and men in evening
dress"