Horniman challenged traditional female stereotypes. She was a committed smoker and, as such, perhaps it was her idea to purchase this gift for her manager Roberts-Marshall.
Annie Horniman and Manchester’s Gaiety Theatre
In 1908 Horniman opened the doors of the Gaiety, Britain’s first repertory theatre. Managing all aspects of the theatre’s activities, Horniman gave a platform to emerging local playwrights and created a space where local audiences could relate plays to their own lives.
Horniman chose Manchester as the place to fulfil her ambition. Famous for her involvement with Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, it was here that she continued to change the landscape of theatre. Her lasting contribution to theatre was recognised by The University of Manchester with an honorary MA and, in 1933, she was awarded the Companion of Honour.
The company programmes were illustrated with the ‘Gaiety ship’, representing a voyage of self-enlightenment. They also bear mysterious symbols referencing Horniman’s own obsession with occult spirituality.
Horniman’s extraordinary contribution to modern theatre has long been recognised in Manchester and beyond. This poster is from a festival celebrating Horniman which took place at the Greenwich Theatre, London, in 1978.
‘It is an added pleasure to me that you are a woman.’ One pioneer admiring another, Pankhurst praises Horniman’s work in dramatic art and congratulates her on her hard-won drinks licence for the Gaiety.
Horniman’s extraordinary contribution to modern theatre has long been recognised in Manchester and beyond. This poster is from a festival celebrating Horniman which took place at the Greenwich Theatre, London, in 1978.
Birth control pioneer Marie Stopes also had ambitions as a playwright. She corresponded with Horniman, seeking her approval. Unfortunately for Stopes, Horniman had a ‘low opinion’ of her creative attempts.
Proud of her achievements, Horniman sent a postcard of the refurbished Gaiety just before the Christmas production of Alice in Wonderland opened. Horniman playfully signed herself, ‘acquaintance of the Cheshire Cat and Alice’.
In this video, Curator Anne Anderton reveals how English theatre patron and manager Annie Horniman used dress to express herself and defy expectations.