Nina Sevening

Nina Sevening as Miss Powerscourt in A Country Girl, 1902[1]

Nina Gladys Sevening (1885–1958) was an English stage actress and singer who played minor comedy roles in a long string of Edwardian musical comedies in London and on tour.

Background

Sevening was born in Westminster, London. Her parents were H. W. Sevening, a German-born commercial clerk, and his English wife Gertrude. She was educated in London and Paris.[2][3]

Career

As Mary Anstell in The Silver Slipper

Sevening first appeared on stage in December 1894 in The House That Jack Built at the Opera Comique.[citation needed] She later appeared in:

  • My Innocent Boy at the Royalty Theatre 1898
  • Florodora at the Lyric Theatre 1899[4]
  • The Silver Slipper at the Lyric Theatre 1901[5]
  • A Country Girl at Daly's Theatre 1902[1][6]
  • The Cingalee at Daly's Theatre 1904[7]
  • The Little Michus at Daly's Theatre 1905[8]
  • The Merveilleuses at Daly's Theatre 1906[9]
  • The Geisha at Daly's Theatre 1906[10]
  • The Merry Widow at Daly's Theatre 1907[11]
  • Susannah and Some Others at the Royalty Theatre 1908[12]
  • Marjory Strode at The Playhouse 1908[13]
  • Mid-Channel at St James's Theatre 1909[14]
  • The Great Mrs. Alloway at the Globe Theatre 1909[15]
  • Mid-Channel at the Empire Theatre (New York) 1910
  • A Woman's Way, Comedy Theatre 1910
  • Grace at the Duke of York's Theatre 1910[3]
  • Passers By at Wyndham's Theatre 1911
  • What Every Woman Knows at the Duke of York's Theatre 1911
  • Mind the Paint Girl at the Duke of York's Theatre 1912
  • The Perplexed Husband at the Empire Theatre (New York) 1912
  • Peter Pan at the Duke of York Theatre 1913[16]
  • King's Cup at the Adelphi Theater 1913[17]
  • The Clever Ones at Wyndham's Theatre 1914
  • Caroline at the New Theatre 1916
  • Trelawny of the 'Wells' at the New Theatre 1917

In 1903, Sevening toured in Three Little Maids. In 1905 she was a replacement player in the role of Gwenny Holden in Lady Madcap.[18]

She married Victor Charles Hamilton Longstaffe (born 1885) and changed her last name after him.[1] She retired from the stage in 1917.

There is a memorial to their only son, David John Longstaffe, in Aldeburgh Parish Church in Suffolk, England. David died on 16 September 1945 in Athens, where he was a Captain in the King's Royal Rifle Corps.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c Nina Longstaffe (née Sevening) as Miss Powerscourt in 'A Country Girl'. npg.org.uk
  2. ^ Wearing, pp. 448, 676
  3. ^ a b Gillan, Don. Nina Sevening (c.1885–1958). stagebeauty.net
  4. ^ Andrew Lamb (2002). Leslie Stuart: Composer of Florodora. Psychology Press. pp. 86–. ISBN 978-0-415-93747-4.
  5. ^ Wearing, p. 60
  6. ^ Wearing, p. 87
  7. ^ Wearing, p. 176
  8. ^ Wearing, p. 230
  9. ^ Wearing, p. 316
  10. ^ Wearing, p. 303
  11. ^ David Slattery-Christy (2008). Anything But Merry!: The life and times of Lily Elsie. Author House. pp. 254–. ISBN 978-1-4817-7542-7.
  12. ^ Wearing, p. 391
  13. ^ Wearing, p. 400
  14. ^ Wearing, p. 487
  15. ^ Wearing, p. 494
  16. ^ Bruce K. Hanson (2011). Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904-2010, 2d ed. McFarland. pp. 339–. ISBN 978-0-7864-8619-9.
  17. ^ Wearing, p. 500
  18. ^ Wearing, p. 212
  19. ^ David John Longstaffe grave monument. gravestonephotos.com

Bibliography

  • J. P. Wearing (2013). The London Stage 1900-1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-9294-1.