Arthur Cecil
There Cecil started a successful association with the German Reed Entertainments, appearing in numerous comedies, farces, operettas and burlesques, such as Beggar My Neighbour: A Blind Man's Bouffe and Charity Begins at Home in 1872.
[2] In 1867, he appeared in the role of Bouncer in an amateur production of the one-act comic opera, Cox and Box by F. C. Burnand and Arthur Sullivan.
[3] Coincidentally, on Easter Monday 1869, Cecil made his professional debut at the Gallery of Illustration in a bill that included Cox and Box, this time as Mr.
[2] With that company, he appeared in numerous comedies, farces, operettas and burlesques, such as Beggar My Neighbour: A Blind Man's Bouffe adapted by Burnand from Les deux aveugles by Jacques Offenbach (1870)[6] and Charity Begins at Home (1872) by Alfred Cellier and B. C.
[7] After No Cards, he appeared in other Gilbert works at the Gallery, including Ages Ago (1869), Our Island Home (1870), A Sensation Novel (1871) and Happy Arcadia (1872).
[8] Cecil joined the company at the Globe Theatre later in 1874, playing in such works as Gilbert's Committed for Trial, as Jonathan Wagstaff and Wig and Gown by James Albery, as Mr Justice Jones.
[9] The next year, he was back at the Gaiety in The Merry Wives of Windsor as Dr. Caius; and at the Opera Comique, in As You Like It, as Touchstone, in The School for Scandal as Sir Peter Teazle, and in She Stoops to Conquer, as Tony Lumpkin.
[2] There, he played in a number of farces by A. W. Pinero, including The Rector, as Connor Hennessy; The Magistrate (1885), as Mr. Posket;[11] The Schoolmistress (1886), as Vere Queckett; Dandy Dick (1887), as Blore, the butler;[14] and in the title role of The Cabinet Minister (1890)[15] He also appeared there in G. W. Godfrey's The Millionaire, as Mr. Guyon, and created the role of Miles Henniker in Sydney Grundy's Mamma (1888).
He continued acting in plays and musical pieces, mostly at the Court Theatre, and sometimes at the Comedy, Globe, Avenue and other houses, often reprising one of his successful roles.
[18] Throughout his career, Cecil wrote comedy sketches such as "Bright Idea" (1881) with composer Arthur Law,[19] and songs, some of which became popular or were interpolated into musical theatre pieces, such as Little Jack Sheppard (1885).
