An “Unmanly and Insidious Attack”: Child Actress Jean Davenport and the Performance of Masculinity in 1840s Jamaica and Newfoundland

Abstract

This essay examines how and in what way the movement of child performers along global theatrical circuits in the mid-nineteenth century served British imperial interests and aroused debate about colonial identity. It analyzes two politically charged controversies that surrounded child actress Jean Davenport: the first erupted in the island colony of Jamaica in September 1840, the second in the island colony of Newfoundland in August 1841. In both locations, colonial theatres and newspapers became the staging ground for heated debates about the actress’s proclaimed virtuosity, notably her portrayal of male characters and her supposed resemblance to Edmund Kean. These debates quickly extended beyond a consideration of Davenport’s acting abilities, however, to include discussions about the responsibilities of theatre audiences and critics, definitions of gentlemanly behaviour, and the relationship between colonial-settlers and strangers from the metropole. Central to the analysis of the controversy surrounding Jean Davenport’s appearances in Jamaica and Newfoundland, then, is a consideration of how theatrical representations of masculinity—in this case, male characters played by a young girl—provoked discussion of, and gave rise to, other performances of masculinity in two very different colonial settings.