Artist Profile Anne Clarke
Anne Clarke (c. 1806–1847) was an English-born actress, singer, musician and theatre manager who became an important figure in the development of professional theatre in colonial Australia. Born in England, she arrived in Hobart, Van Diemen’s Land, in 1834 and built a career across Hobart, Launceston, Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong.
Clarke was both a performer and an entrepreneur. She became manager of the Theatre Royal in Hobart in 1840 and ran her own theatrical company, making her one of the earliest and most significant women to occupy a managerial position in Australian theatre.
Her surviving career records also document performances in male theatrical roles, including Don Giovanni and Tom Tug. Contemporary theatrical language generally described these as character roles, impersonations or theatrical performances.
Timeline of Male Performances
1834–1840 — Early Australian theatre
After arriving in Hobart, Clarke performed in professional theatre with companies working across Tasmania and later Sydney. Historical accounts describe her as undertaking “breeches” roles, although the surviving evidence does not identify every character or provide a complete chronology of these performances.
1837 — Don Giovanni, Sydney
Clarke performed Don Giovanni in Giovanni in London at the Theatre Royal in Sydney.
This is one of the earliest clearly documented examples of Clarke performing a male theatrical character in Australia. Don Giovanni was a male comic and operatic character, and Clarke’s performance was presented within the musical and theatrical conventions of the period.
Performance type: Musical theatre / comic burletta
Character: Don Giovanni
Form: Female performer portraying a male character
1838 — Don Giovanni, Sydney
Clarke again performed Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni in London at the Victoria Theatre.
The role was sufficiently established in her repertoire to be specifically promoted as part of her theatrical performances. Her portrayal demonstrates that male character work was not limited to a single appearance.
Performance type: Musical theatre / comic burletta
Character: Don Giovanni
Form: Male theatrical character
1838 — Male page character
Clarke also appeared as Blonde, Page to Richard in a theatrical production in Sydney.
The role was a male page character rather than a female character in disguise. It therefore provides another example of Clarke undertaking a male theatrical part.
Performance type: Theatre / musical drama
Character: Blonde, Page to Richard
Form: Male character
1840–1847 — Theatre Royal, Hobart
Clarke became manager of the Theatre Royal in Hobart in 1840. During this period she continued to perform while also managing productions, musicians and actors.
Her repertoire included drama, comedy, opera and musical theatre. Historical accounts associate her career with breeches roles, although individual performances cannot always be securely identified from surviving records.
1847 — Tom Tug, Melbourne
One of Clarke’s clearest later male roles was Tom Tug in The Waterman in Melbourne.
Tom Tug is a male character in the ballad opera. Clarke’s performance demonstrates her continued participation in male theatrical roles shortly before she retired from the stage.
Performance type: Ballad opera / musical theatre
Character: Tom Tug
Form: Female performer portraying a male character
1847 — Don Giovanni, Melbourne
Clarke also returned to Don Giovanni in Melbourne during the final period of her professional career.
The role was presented as a comic theatrical impersonation of the male protagonist and formed part of Clarke’s established repertoire.
Performance type: Operatic comedy / burletta
Character: Don Giovanni
Form: Male theatrical character / impersonation
1847 — Retirement
Clarke gave her final theatrical performances in Melbourne in 1847 and subsequently retired from professional stage work.
Career at a Glance
Birthplace: England
Born: c. 1806
Australian arrival: 1834, Hobart
Profession: Actress, singer, musician and theatre manager
Principal locations: Hobart, Launceston, Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong
Theatre management: Theatre Royal, Hobart, 1840–1847
Retired from the stage: 1847
Male Performance
Clarke’s surviving career demonstrates several forms of nineteenth-century staged masculinity:
- Don Giovanni — male theatrical character and comic musical role
- Tom Tug — male character in The Waterman
- Blonde, Page to Richard — male page character
- Breeches roles — reported as part of her broader theatrical repertoire
These performances should be understood within the theatrical conventions of the nineteenth century. Her career demonstrates how a professional woman could move between female roles, male characters, musical roles, comic roles and other theatrical forms.
Anne Clarke’s significance extends beyond these individual performances. As an actress, singer and theatre manager, she helped establish professional theatrical culture in colonial Tasmania and created opportunities for other performers, particularly women, during the formative period of Australian professional theatre.
Reference and sources:
Alexander, A. (2006). Anne Clarke. In The Companion to Tasmanian History. Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, University of Tasmania.
Anae, N. (2005). A selected and crowned band of women: Tasmanian actress/celebrities of the nineteenth century and “home-grown” identity [Doctoral thesis, University of Tasmania].
Austral harmony. Anne Remens Clarke. University of Sydney.
Webby, E. (1995). Anne Clarke. In P. Parsons (Ed.), Companion to theatre in Australia. Currency Press.
Original Newspaper Sources articles
- Port Phillip Gazette and Settler’s Journal — 18 October 1847
“Things Theatrical” — review of Anne Clarke’s performance as Frank in Rob Roy MacGregor. - Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser — 20 October 1847
Review of Anne Clarke’s benefit performance, including Der Freischütz. - Port Phillip Gazette and Settler’s Journal — 23 October 1847
Further review of Anne Clarke’s benefit performance, including Guy Mannering and Der Freischüt
