Edmund Falconer

Edmund Falconer, born Edmund O'Rourke in Dublin around 1814, was an Irish actor, playwright, poet, songwriter, and theatre manager who also appeared on Broadway. He adopted the stage name Edmund Falconer in 1856, by which time he had spent the first half of his career performing in repertory theatre across Ireland and the English provinces. During those years as a working actor, he published his debut poetry collection, Man's Mission, in 1852.

His breakthrough as a performer came in 1854 at the Adelphi Theatre in Liverpool, where he appeared in two sharply contrasting roles on the same evening — Hamlet and the comedy Three Fingered Jack — earning reviews strong enough to end his reliance on provincial touring. Two years later, now performing under the Falconer name, he completed his first successful play, The Cagot, or Heart for Heart, which opened on 6 December 1856 at the Lyceum Theatre, London, under Charles Dillon's management. His next work, A Husband for an Hour, was produced at the Haymarket Theatre in June 1857.

Falconer's collaboration with composer Michael William Balfe proved particularly fruitful. Working alongside Augustus Glossop Harris, he wrote the librettos for the operas The Rose of Castille and Satanella, and composed the lyrics for Balfe's song Killarney, which remained a concert hall staple well into the twentieth century and was later recorded by John McCormack. In 1858 he also translated Victor Hugo's Ruy Blas for the Princess Theatre.

That same year, on 26 August 1858, Falconer and F. B. Chatterton assumed management of the Lyceum Theatre in London, opening with Falconer's own comedy Extremes. Additional works staged there under his management included Francesca in March 1859, and, following a resumed tenure beginning in 1861, Woman, Love Against The World and Peep o' Day, both produced that year. Peep o' Day, drawn from John Banim's novels John Doe and The Nowlans, ran through December 1862 and became the work most closely associated with Falconer's name. He also contributed two comedies, Family Wills and Does He Love Me?, to the Haymarket Theatre during this period, both featuring actress Amy Sedgwick.

As an actor, Falconer achieved notable London success in 1860 when he originated the role of Danny Mann in Dion Boucicault's The Colleen Bawn at the Adelphi Theatre, a melodrama that ran for 231 performances. He later dramatized Charles Lever's novel as Galway-go-bragh, taking the role of Mickey Free himself, and between 1863 and 1865 wrote and produced Bonnie Dundee, Nature's above Art, Night and Morning, and Love's Ordeal.

Having made £13,000 during his Lyceum management, Falconer used the funds in 1862 to acquire a joint lease on the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, with Frederick Balsir Chatterton. His attempt to build an audience for Shakespeare there — mounting productions of Macbeth, As You Like It, Henry IV, and Romeo and Juliet — drew small houses and resulted in severe financial losses. By February 1866 he was arrested for unpaid debts, and on 26 April 1866 he was declared bankrupt and imprisoned. His debts were estimated at approximately 7,000 guineas.

Following his release, Falconer staged a five-act drama, Oonagh, or, The Lovers of Lismona, at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, on 19 November 1866. The premiere became one of the most widely noted failures of the Victorian stage: beginning at 7:30 p.m., the performance continued past midnight, with most of the audience departing before the play concluded, and stagehands lowered the curtain shortly before 3 a.m. on 20 November while the action was still in progress. The production managed to continue, with substantial cuts, until 30 November.

Falconer subsequently traveled to the United States, where his play Peep o' Day had already established his reputation. He spent approximately three years there, acting on Broadway and writing three new dramas. His American Broadway credits include Charles O'Malley, which he both wrote and performed on 18 October 1869; The Firefly, an original play that opened 22 November 1869; Innisfallen, which opened 21 February 1870; and Heartsease, which opened 12 September 1870. An earlier production, Fire Fly, had run from 10 August to 5 September 1868, and The Rose of Castille received a Broadway revival during this period as well. Among his American admirers was Mark Twain, whose letters document his enthusiasm for Falconer's work. Falconer also married an American woman during this time, his third wife.

He returned to London in 1871, following the Haymarket Theatre's successful staging of A Wife Well Won in his absence. Later that year, a production of Eileen Oge at the Princess Theatre, which incorporated his song Killarney, also met with success. Falconer retired from both the stage and writing shortly thereafter. He died on 29 September 1879 at his home at 28 Keppel Street, Russell Square, London, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery. Despite having earned what the Manchester Guardian described as a considerable fortune from Peep o' Day, Falconer died without funds. Members of the Savage Club, his gentlemen's club, organized a subscription to cover his funeral costs and assist his widow.