Nina Sevening
Nina Gladys Sevening (1885 – 1958) was an English stage actress and singer who played minor comedy roles in a long string of Edwardian musical comedies in London and on tour.
Background
Sevening was born in Westminster, London. Her parents were H. W. Sevening, a German-born commercial clerk, and his English wife Gertrude. She was educated in London and Paris.[2][3]
Career
Sevening first appeared on stage in December 1894 in The House That Jack Built at the Opera Comique. She later appeared in:
- My Innocent Boy at the Royalty Theatre 1898
- Florodora at the Lyric Theatre 1899[4]
- The Silver Slipper at the Lyric Theatre 1901[5]
- A Country Girl at Daly's Theatre 1902[1][6]
- The Cingalee at Daly's Theatre 1904[7]
- The Little Michus at Daly's Theatre 1905[8]
- The Merveilleuses at Daly's Theatre 1906[9]
- The Geisha at Daly's Theatre 1906[10]
- The Merry Widow at Daly's Theatre 1907[11]
- Susannah and Some Others at the Royalty Theatre 1908[12]
- Marjory Strode at The Playhouse 1908[13]
- Mid-Channel at St James's Theatre 1909[14]
- The Great Mrs. Alloway at the Globe Theatre 1909[15]
- Mid-Channel at the Empire Theatre (New York) 1910
- A Woman's Way, Comedy Theatre 1910
- Grace at the Duke of York's Theatre 1910[3]
- Passers By at Wyndham's Theatre 1911
- What Every Woman Knows at the Duke of York's Theatre 1911
- Mind the Paint Girl at the Duke of York's Theatre 1912
- The Perplexed Husband at the Empire Theatre (New York) 1912
- Peter Pan at the Duke of York Theatre 1913[16]
- King's Cup at the Adelphi Theater 1913[17]
- The Clever Ones at Wyndham's Theatre 1914
- Caroline at the New Theatre 1916
- Trelawny of the 'Wells' at the New Theatre 1917
In 1903, Sevening toured in Three Little Maids. In 1905 she was a replacement player in the role of Gwenny Holden in Lady Madcap.[18]
She married Victor Charles Hamilton Longstaffe (born 1885) and changed her last name after him.[1] She retired from the stage in 1917.
There is a memorial to their only son, David John Longstaffe, in Aldeburgh Parish Church in Suffolk, England. David died on 16 September 1945 in Athens, where he was a Captain in the King's Royal Rifle Corps.[19][20]
References
- Nina Longstaffe (née Sevening) as Miss Powerscourt in 'A Country Girl'. npg.org.uk
- Wearing, pp. 448, 676
- Gillan, Don. Nina Sevening (c.1885–1958). stagebeauty.net
- Andrew Lamb (2002). Leslie Stuart: Composer of Florodora. Psychology Press. pp. 86–. ISBN 978-0-415-93747-4.
- Wearing, p. 60
- Wearing, p. 87
- Wearing, p. 176
- Wearing, p. 230
- Wearing, p. 316
- Wearing, p. 303
- David Slattery-Christy (2008). Anything But Merry!: The life and times of Lily Elsie. Author House. pp. 254–. ISBN 978-1-4817-7542-7.
- Wearing, p. 391
- Wearing, p. 400
- Wearing, p. 487
- Wearing, p. 494
- Bruce K. Hanson (2011). Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904-2010, 2d ed. McFarland. pp. 339–. ISBN 978-0-7864-8619-9.
- Wearing, p. 500
- Wearing, p. 212
- Capt David John Longstaffe. findagrave.com
- David John Longstaffe grave monument. gravestonephotos.com
Bibliography
- J. P. Wearing (2013). The London Stage 1900-1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-9294-1.