born May 9, 1874, London, Eng.
died Nov. 25, 1937, London
British theatrical manager and founder of the Old Vic .
She assisted her aunt, Emma Cons, in the operation of the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern, and on Cons's death in 1912 she converted the hall into the Old Vic, which became famous for its Shakespearean productions. Between 1914 and 1923 the theatre staged all of William Shakespeare 's plays, a feat no other playhouse had attempted. In 1931 she took over the derelict Sadler's Wells Theatre and made it a centre of opera and ballet.