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The Collation

Portia in Absentia

Letter from Percy Anderson including the phrase
Letter from Percy Anderson including the phrase

Comments

Daly’s Portia was Irish American Ada Rehan, and the production was intended to showcase her. She was a fashion icon, and dressmakers would give her costumes free in return for recommendations.
Bouchier’s Poerria was Violet Vanburgh, and she first played the role a few years earlier in Margate, a small seaside town where she’d be expected to supply her own costumes. Getty images has a photo of her in the role in lawyer’s dress; Alomy and Everett Collection have several photos of Ada.

Angela Cockburn — May 1, 2018