Page:Cartoon portraits and biographical sketches of men of the day.djvu/137

, afterwards becoming a member of Mr. Copeland's company at the Amphitheatre; and next was associated with Mr. Saker at the Alexandra Theatre there.

Mr. Brough came to London in October 1867, and has played at the Queen's, St. James's, and Holborn theatres. In August 1872, Mr. Boucicault opened Covent Garden—at the close of the Opera season—with Mr. Brough as his stage manager.

At Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, and the chief provincial towns, Mr. Brough has often performed, and is a great favourite with his audiences. He has all the requisite qualities as an actor for the parts he plays; and to his great natural humour and fun he adds a conscientious and careful study of the characters he undertakes.

Tony Lumpkin, in 'She Stoops to Conquer,' he played for a long time, with the greatest success, at the St. James's Theatre; and he is the best Tony on the stage. Uncle Ben in 'Dearer than Life,' Spotty in 'The Lancashire Lass,' Sampson Burr in 'The Porter's Knot,' Mark Meddle in 'London Assurance,' Robin Wildbriar in 'Extremes,' are among the best of Mr. Brough's assumptions. He plays them with marked intelligence arid appreciation, and a display of genuine humorous power and versatility not too frequently met with on the stage.

Mr. Brough likewise enjoys considerable celebrity as an actor of burlesque parts, when he never fails to put his audiences in a good temper with themselves and with their entertainer.