Mrs. Boutel

Who is Mrs. Boutel?

Mrs. Boutel, was an actress.

She joined, soon after its formation, the company at the Theatre Royal, subsequently known as Drury Lane, and was accordingly one of the first women to appear on the stage. Her earliest recorded appearance took place presumably in 1663 or 1664, as Estifania in 'Rule a Wife and Have a Wife.' She remained on the stage until 1696, 'creating,' among other characters, Melantha in ' Marriage a la Mode,' Mrs. Pinchwife in Wycherley's 'Country Wife,' Fidelia in 'The Plain Dealer,' Statira in Lee's 'Rival Queens,' Cleopatra in Dryden's 'All for Love,' and Mrs. Termagant in Shadwell's 'Squire of Alsatia.' Cibber somewhat curiously omits from his 'Apology' all mention of her name.

In the 'History of the Stage' which bears the name of Betterton, Mrs. Boutel is described as a 'very considerable actress,' low of stature, with very agreeable features, a good complexion, a childish look, and a voice which, though weak, was very mellow. 'She generally acted,' says the same authority, 'the young innocent lady whom all the heroes are mad in love with,' and was a great favourite with the town. A well-known story concerning her is that, having in the character of Statira obtained from the property-man a veil to which Mrs. Barry, the representative of Roxana, thought herself entitled, much heat of passion was engendered between the two actresses, and Mrs. Barry dealt so forcible a blow with a dagger as to pierce through Mrs. Boutel's stays, and inflict a wound a quarter of an inch in length. Davies, in his 'Dramatic Miscellanies,' vol. ii. p. 404, speaks of Mrs. Boutel as 'celebrated for the gentler parts in tragedy such as Aspatia in the "Maid's Tragedy." ' After the union of the companies, 1682, her recorded appearances are few. The last took place in 1696, as Thomyris in 'Cyrus the Great.' She appears to have lived in comfort for some years subsequently.