page_title: Beatrice Irwin
section_title: Theatre
hierarchical_section_title: Beatrice Irwin / Biography / Theatre
caption_attribution_description: English: Selection of a photo including Beatrice Irwin in the Garrick Theatre in 1902 for "There's Many a Slip".
context_page_description: Beatrice Irwin was an actress, poet, designer and promoter of the Baháʼí Faith. Born Alice Beatrice Simpson, she took Beatrice Irwin as her stage name and later adopted it as her real name.
  After her family moved to Scotland and then to England, she attended Cheltenham Ladies' College where she graduated 1895 and took the Associate in Arts test in which she placed 5th for that year. She went on through a series of careers starting with being an actor in stage theatre which took her to Cape Colony, as it was known then, touring America, briefly in the then young country of Australia, and performed in Shanghai. Next she published a book of poetry and some poems were published in different venues. Neither careers were very successful but some of her work was considered pioneering particularly when she blended them with an intentional use of colored illumination. She met, admired, and was encouraged by, the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Having had some contact with theosophists before 1910 she then also encountered a Sufi leader, Inayat Khan, and then head of the Baháʼí Faith, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, a religion she increasingly identified with.
context_section_description: Irwin was returned to London by June 1899 in a theatre production. In October she was in the Irving-Terry theatre company from London coming to New York, during the presidency of William McKinley, (before his re-election and subsequent assassination,) performing with a set of plays. Bram Stoker was the company manager. Most of the company and material came over on the steamer Marquette shipping with sets for the suite of plays while a few came on the RMS Etruria. As the company productions moved to Washington, DC, there were brief positive statements of Irwin's acting. The company continued performances touring into May, 1900. While Irwin was touring America her sister and family moved to Hong Kong. By October in America the company had returned to London and Irwin was acting in another play, "Mrs Dane's Defence” in Wyndham's Theatre. Reviews were somewhat mixed: "Good acting one expects to find at Mr. Wyndham's theatre; and finds. Saving the impossible Scotch accent of Miss Beatrice Irwin, which is less characteristic of Miss Janet Colquhoun's reputed race than her general air of sense and steadiness,…" though her acting was again positively commented on as well. Irwin was also in another play "Still Waters Run Deep" in December. As the Victorian era ended with the death of Queen Victoria and the Edwardian era began, Irwin was in "Mrs. Dane's Defence" staged in London through May, 1901. Many of the Simpson family including Beatrice gathered for the winter of 1901 in London, The play was then staged in New York but Irwin did not perform. 
   In February, 1902, Irwin was in another London play "The New Clown” in London with positive comments of her acting, though by March she was not in the play. She also returned to "Mrs. Dane's Defence" for performances. In July Irwin was noted in a forthcoming work "There's Many a Slip" to be produced by Charles Frohman coming from London to New York to start touring. The play had been staged in London - at the Haymarket Theatre - and there was a picture published of the play including Irwin in the Garrick Theatre. Irwin arrived in America on the SS Philadelphia (as it was called then) in late August. The play continued to make news in September partly with notice of the debut of the Earl of Rosslyn as an actor with positive comment of Irwin's acting by Kate Carew and others. And there were other plays of the troupe.
  In mid-October came news of Irwin's engagement to James Francis Harry St Clair-Erskine, that Earl of Rosslyn. Early coverage of the betrothal noted Beatrice Irwin was her stage name and her father was the former Rev. William Simpson of Scotland. Rumors of another suitor who left the play at the time also circulated. 
   News of the betrothal was widespread, and a reception was held. Another play of the time was "His excellency the Governor”. The troupe continued their tour though by November the Earl had left, while praise for the play and positive comment of Irwin continued. There is occasional mention of her as Beatrice Simpson. In December the Earl took a trip on the Etruria from Liverpool back to New York at which time he was looking for another play to be in and said the betrothal was not firm. Meanwhile Beatrice's sister Elaine and her family moved to Shanghai during the year.
  In January 1903 Irwin and company returned to New York with the next play - "The Unforeseen” - as part of the Empire Theatre Company, which again Kate Carew liked but was not overly impressed by, though it got a standing ovation, while the company continued touring widely. But news comes in mid-February Irwin resigned from the company and joined a company established by her beau, sometimes it is even said husband, and the first play is "The Young Miss Pettifer”. The company made it into Canada and again Irwin was pictured in the newspaper. Some newspapers were still taking note of the stage name and family. However by mid-March she has declined the betrothal. She immediately left the company and sailed to England/Europe actually leaving just after mid-March, though he soon followed, while word of t
caption: Selection of a photo including Beatrice Irwin in the Garrick Theatre in 1902 for "There's Many a Slip".
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