Kitty Clive
Kitty Clive (1711–1785), born Catherine Raftor, was an English actress and singer renowned for comic roles on the eighteenth-century London stage.
Colley Cibber: An English actor, playwright, and theatre manager who became poet laureate in 1730. Cibber employed Clive at Drury Lane, where she developed her stage career.
The Beggar's Opera: John Gay’s 1728 ballad opera, which satirized Italian opera and the criminal underworld. Clive’s early success as Nell in this work helped establish her as a comic performer.
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane: A historic London theatre that has housed a major playhouse since the seventeenth century. Clive became a principal performer there and spent much of her career in its company.
Actress: A woman who performs roles in theatre, film, television, or other dramatic media. Clive’s career exemplifies the growing prominence of professional women on the English stage.
David Garrick: An English actor and theatre manager who transformed London stage performance in the eighteenth century. Garrick and Clive were leading performers at Drury Lane and appeared together in comedy.
The Fine Lady's Airs: A 1751 comic interlude by Kitty Clive, mocking fashionable affectation and social pretension. Clive wrote and performed this piece to display her skill at mimicking fashionable women.
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden: A London theatre opened in 1732 that became a leading rival to Drury Lane. Competition between Covent Garden and Drury Lane shaped the companies and opportunities available to Clive.
Celebrity: Public recognition and attention attached to a person known beyond their immediate community. Clive’s fame generated press attention, satire, and a public identity beyond individual roles.
Henry Fielding: An English novelist and dramatist whose plays often satirized politics and society. Fielding wrote comic roles for Clive, including parts in his theatrical burlesques.
The Wonder! A Woman Keeps a Secret: A 1714 comedy by Susanna Centlivre, built around mistaken identity and concealed secrets. Clive’s role as Violante became one of her celebrated comic performances.