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Esme Beringer

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Esme Beringer in At the Sword's Point, Palace Theatre 1901[1]
Esme Beringer 1901
Esme Beringer in a gown, from a 1903 publication.

Esme Beringer (5 September 1875 – 31 March 1972) was an English actress who was noted for her fencing skills.[2]

Early life

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Esme Beringer was born in London, the daughter of pianist Oscar Beringer and novelist and playwright Aimée Daniell Beringer.[3] Her younger sister Vera Beringer was best known as a child actress.[4] Her brother Guy Beringer was a journalist; he is credited with coining the word "brunch" in 1895.[5]

Career

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Esme Beringer first appeared on stage in 1888, as a boy character, Dick Tipton, in Little Lord Fauntleroy (she also substituted for the title character, usually played by her sister). By 1893 she was very active on the London stage. Beringer's athletic physique and extensive training with swords made her well-suited to breeches roles,[6] as when she played Romeo in 1896[7] (opposite her sister Vera as Juliet).[8][9] Other stage appearances by Beringer included The Prince and the Pauper (1890), Foreign Policy (1893, by Arthur Conan Doyle), Bud and Blossom (1893, by Gertrude Elizabeth Blood), Three Wayfarers (1893, by Thomas Hardy), Bess (1893), Hypatia (1893), The Gentleman Whip, The New Boy, Loyal, Hal the Highwayman, The Lady's Idol, The Strange Adventures of Miss Brown, The Benefit of the Doubt, The Late Mr. Castello, Gossip (1896), A Mother of Three, Woman's World, The Pilgrim's Progress, The Last of his Race, The Winter's Tale,[10] Saviolo (1899, by Egerton Castle), The Trifler (1905), The Anarchist (1908),[11] The Blue Stockings (1913),[12] and Lucky Jim (1916).[13][14][15] She also performed in vaudeville, in The Point of the Sword.[3]

Beringer was an enthusiastic fencer who studied historical swordplay with Alfred Hutton as well as his colleague Egerton Castle and was likely a member of the Bartitsu Club.[16] She participated in a number of historical fencing lectures and displays during the 1890s and early 1900s and also taught classes for the "Actresses' Foil Club" during World War I.[17] After the war, she starred in more Shakespearean roles, including "Constance" in King John (1925) opposite Henry Baynton.[18]

Esme Beringer's film appearances included All the World's a Stage (1917), The October Man (1947), Something in the City (1950), and Castle in the Air (1952). She also made some early television appearances, in Craven House (1950), and The Monster of Killoon (1952, by Geoffrey Kerr).

Personal life

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Esme Beringer died in 1972, aged 96 years.

References

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  1. ^ ""Romeo Beringer's Fresh Duel"". The Sketch. September 18, 1901. p. 345. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "The Swordswoman: Esme Beringer". The Bartitsu Society. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b Johnson Briscoe, "September 5: Esme Beringer" The Actor's Birthday Book (Moffat, Yard 1907): 200.
  4. ^ "Vera Beringer" The Era Annual (1897): 29.
  5. ^ Jesse Rhodes, "The Birth of Brunch: Where Did This Meal Come from Anyway?" Smithsonian Magazine (May 6, 2011).
  6. ^ "Dramatic Notes" Womanhood (October 1901): 433.
  7. ^ "A Lady Romeo" The Irish Playgoer and Amusement Record (December 14, 1899): 18.
  8. ^ "The Beringers as Romeo and Juliet" The Sketch (May 13, 1896): 104.
  9. ^ "Romeo Beringer's Fresh Duel" The Sketch (September 18, 1901): 345.
  10. ^ Dennis Bartholomeusz, "The Winter's Tale" in Performance in England and America, 1611-1976 (Cambridge University Press 1982): 156. ISBN 9780521245296
  11. ^ E. F. S., "The Stage from the Stalls" The Sketch (July 15, 1908): 12.
  12. ^ Untitled news item, The Observer (November 30, 1913): 11. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  13. ^ "Lucky Jim" The Observer (October 22, 1916): 7. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  14. ^ "Esme Beringer" The Era Annual (1897): 29-30.
  15. ^ "Portraits: Miss Esmé Beringer" Theatre (May 1, 1896): 282-283.
  16. ^ "The Swordswoman: Esme Beringer" Archived 2018-01-06 at the Wayback Machine The Bartitsu Society (February 28, 2013).
  17. ^ Tony Wolf, Ancient Swordplay: The Revival of Elizabethan Fencing in Victorian London (Freelance Academy Press 2013). ISBN 9780982591185
  18. ^ Advertisement, The Manchester Guardian (September 23, 1925): 1. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
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Media related to Esmé Beringer at Wikimedia Commons

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