By Christine Swan
Elena Estelle was born Elena Ann Crudgington in Bethnal Green in 1854. After studying dance at Mrs Conquest’s English School 0f Dancing at the Royal Grecian Theatre, she had a successful career dancing in duets throughout the 1870s, firstly with Milly Howes and later, with Carrie Pacton. However, from 1880, Elena performed solo as Nellie Estelle. She was described as a: “star dancer”, “floating wonder” and a “London favourite”. Perhaps it was the sales patter but I didn’t find any questionable or negative reviews, Nellie was a success and added comedy to her ever-diversifying catalogue of skills.
Thomas Bold Bridge was twelve years Elena’s senior but both had worked the circuit of Music Halls for a number of years when they met. Thomas performed as T. B. Brydge and had similarly worked in partnership during the 1870s. Thomas had been married twice but, his first wife, Elizabeth, had died in childbirth in 1867, and his second, Matilda, who performed as a tightrope walker, Lizzie Provan, was to die of Typhoid in March 1882.
Elena was devoted to her gruelling career, travelling the country and sometimes performing at different venues in one evening. On 23rd December 1882, Elena was performing under the name of Nellie Estelle in Graydon’s Christmas Card at the Middlesex Music Hall at the Mogul Tavern in Drury Lane. Also on the bill were Rice and Brydge, Thomas’ latest act name. Earlier in the year, he had announced that they would perform as “England and America” but possibly he felt that using their names was more memorable. I wonder what was the content of his and Elena’s first conversation? Was it love at first sight? Their first episode of working together extended over the Christmas period but by the end of the month Elena began a stint at the Palace of Varieties in Poplar.
Less than three months later, Elena and Thomas were married in St Peter’s Church, Bethnal Green on 10th March, Elena’s birthday. Both gave their address as her parents’ home, 30 Baxendale Street. However, the newlyweds didn’t have time for a honeymoon, Rice and Brydge were due to perform in Birmingham at the Museum Music Hall in Digbeth while Elena took an extended break and did not perform again until April. I have no way of knowing whether she accompanied her new husband to Birmingham but both would have had engagements to fulfil which had probably been negotiated by their agents before the pair even met. However, it wasn’t long before they found a solution that would allow them to be together, they needed to develop a double act.
Marriage of Elena Ann Crudgington to Thomas Bold Brydge on 10th March 1883 at St Peter’s church, Bethnal Green
Rear of St Peter’s church, Bethnal Green
St Peter’s church Bethnal Green By Dr Neil Clifton, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14431837
T. B. Brydge and Nellie Estelle performed together at the Scotia and Folly Music Halls in Glasgow on 18th May 1883 for a “favourable first appearance”. They performed a new sketch called “Danger!” which had: “startling mechanical stage effects”. The new couple were starting to make an impression. They were inseparable and continued to perform together. Elena wrote to the editor of The Era newspaper to politely remind them that when they reported her as performing at Day’s Music Hall in Birmingham, she was performing with her husband, T. B. Brydge. I loved this display of public support and endorsement. Reviews were positive. They were applauded as: “new and original entertainment gold”, “As a couple with threefold qualities, in dancing, as duettists and in sensational sketches.” In March 1884, they stated that they had the patronage of Prince and Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar. Incredibly, in 1887, they advertised a performance under the patronage of the Queen. How did the girl from Bethnal Green, the daughter of a returned convict, gain the patronage of royalty? But, then again, that is the beauty of theatre. You can develop and live the character that you want to be. When you tire of one, you can reinvent yourself as a new character. The past is that which you create and have control over.
Queen Victoria By Alexander Bassano – Original text: Scanned from the book ;The National Portrait Gallery History of the Kings and Queens of England; by David Williamson, ISBN 1855142287, p. 153.See here for 1901 publication. National Portrait Gallery: NPG x95802, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6640482
Intriguingly, the couple’s advertisement in The Era in December 1884 also bore this quote: “Immodest words and scenes admit of no defence, for want of common decency is want of common sense”. They had slightly misquoted the 17th century poet W. D. Roscommon. I do not believe that this couple did anything without reason. By 1885, “Their success was undeniable” but in another advertisement, they included the following: “Warning to Miss G………e W…….d, if the slander is repeated, legal action will be taken.” In a cut-throat and populous industry, the brand must be protected.
The two were a strong and enduring partnership even when the reviews did not treat them equally: “The highlight is not Mr Bridge’s playing but Miss Estelle’s song and dance,” was one example that I found.
They gave of their time to support good causes, taking part in various benefits. In 1887, the couple performed in an event to raise funds for the widows and orphans of the Great Western Railway at Reading Town Hall. Unfortunately, attendance was disappointing which reduced the money raised. In the same year, they performed at the Radcliffe Infirmary annual fete at Nuneham Park in Oxford where Mr and Mrs Bridge were described as: “gems of versatility”. Perhaps the pinnacle of Elena’s charitable performances was the annual Forester’s Fete in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in 1889 in aid of the widows and orphans of the court, in front of an audience including Randolph Churchill MP and the Duke of Marlborough. Performing as Nellie Estelle, in a dress in which the Union Jack was prominent, she performed in front of over two thousand people. No mention was made of her husband but I find it hard to imagine that he wasn’t in attendance although he was appearing in Leeds shortly after, so perhaps not.
Beautiful Blenheim Palace By Dreilly95 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112210609
Elena and Thomas performed with many of the big names of the day including Dan Leno, Lily Langtry and Marie Lloyd. The highlight of the winter season was pantomime which became a mainstay for Elena. In 1888, she performed at the Britannia, Hoxton in the magic Dragon of the Demon Dell. The bill was impressive and included not only Marie Lloyd, newly returned from maternity leave, but Sarah Lane, the Queen of Hoxton, Will Oliver and several of the Lupino brothers, and Nellie Estelle (Elena) as Zephyrine and Kate Floretta as Aerielle. Nellie also performed as Columbine in the transformation scene. This was the first bill where Nellie and Kate were described as the “premieres danseuses” and received several glowing reviews: “It is seldom that there are two such graceful and fairylike dancers in one pantomime. They make the ballets quite a leading feature of the show.” This must have been a massive boost for Elena to receive such as accolade. By now, she had over a decade of performing experience and continued to dance, coach and choreograph in pantomime during the rest of her career.
Thomas also continued to perform but focused on sketches. The Brydge Sketch Combination included Nellie Estelle but she also often had a separate billing on the same programme. The couple didn’t always perform together and Elena, performing as Nellie, was often performing alone. The sketch group performed such delights as: “Matrimonial Bliss”, “Sauce for the Goose”, “£50 reward” and “Jemima’s Dilemma”. This was a mutually successful venture for both Thomas and Elena and a testament to their partnership.
In 1900, the Music Hall and Theatre Review published an article decrying the state of “Out of Date Dancing” claiming that there were two categories of unemployed dancers – the academic and the incompetent, and that the former’s day was over. In this viciously written piece, it decried the “awful rigours” and “wretched pay” and that “Sometimes one felt that a gleam of intelligence behind that set smile would have been worth the utter, complete, great amount of sorrow.” The article saw John Tiller’s method as dispensing with the need for formal apprenticeships and the rigours that these entailed “The academic dancer is a worn-out woman before she enters into the full enjoyment of her rights and privileges” . In response, Elena penned a furious and well considered response. She explained that to become a competent ballet dancer, extended training was required but that premieres danseuses could earn an attractive salary. Elena explained that skill was required and that this needed to be developed over time and, ideally, from childhood, just as she had. Longevity came from careful instruction and training. Elena was a career dancer, responding to a journalist’s opinion. I am so proud of her. She stood her ground, defended her art and spoke from a position of experience. From her humble beginnings, with her ex-convict, hard-drinking, violent father, Elena worked hard to earn her position. Nothing was given to her on a silver platter and she wanted to see others given the same opportunity. A year later, the same newspaper ran an article on Elena’s career together with the beautiful photograph of her. “Nellie Estelle is a capital dancer” – she certainly was. As her career progressed, she diversified and added additional aspects to her repertoire. There is no doubt that the decades of dance would have impacted on her but performance was in her blood. Elena certainly wasn’t ready to hang up her pointe shoes just yet.
Elena Estelle – premiere danseuse Newspaper image © The British Library Board. All rights reserved. With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).
Awful Rigours and Wretched Pay 