Clement Scott

Clement Scott 6 October (1841–1904) was a theatre critic and travel writer of the late 19th century.

Related Topics:
6 October - 1841 - 1904

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Clement William Scott was the very influential London-based theatre critic for the Daily Telegraph in the final decades of the 1800s. In the course of the history of the theatre he has perhaps played a minor part, but his style of criticism - ascerbic, flowery, but perhaps most importantly carried out on the first night of productions, carries through to today.

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Born the son of the vicar of Hoxton in north London, he converted to Roman Catholicism before his 21st birthday. Educated at Marlborough school, he became a civil servant, working in the War Office. His interest in writing and the theatre led him to brief dalliance with the failed Victoria Review and he then took up a post writing for the Sunday Times. It appears that his love for the French theatre led to some disagreement, and he left the Sunday Times to begin his near thirty years as a theatre critic with the Telegraph. He also contributed regularly to Theatre magazine and wrote poetry, particularly for the magazine Punch.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholicism - Sunday Times - Punch

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He retained his job at the War Office until 1879, but then committed himself fully to earning his living by writing. He contributed travel items from around the British Isles, continuing in his florid style. Scott would never write one sentence when three would do.

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He became embroiled in legal claims through his outspoken criticism of various actors and actresses. Both the law courts and the letter columns of the national papers were familiar with the reaction to his views. He very much favoured the grand and spectacular type of London theatrical production which had developed now that new types of theatre building, lighting and technology allowed more and more adventurous staging. As time went on, he became very reactionary against the new drama of Ibsen and Shaw, claiming that domestic intrigue and wordy philosophising were not what he expected when he went to the theatre.

Related Topics:
Ibsen - Shaw

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He had played an important part in encouraging a more attentive attitude in the theatre. In his early days it was not uncommon for audiences to be very boisterous and noisy, frequently booing during productions. He also insisted on first night reviews; it had not been uncommon for reviewers to wait a few days before writing about a production. Scott insisted that the paying audience on the first night should expect to see a fully fledged production, and not one where the leading characters only knew half their lines! He supported actor-managers of his time by providing them with translations of popular French plays, and wrote some plays himself, though none of lasting merit.

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First married to Isobel du Maurier, he had four children. Isobel died in 1890 and he remarried to Margarite Brandon, herself a journalist. They were married in San Francisco, whilst on a journey around the world.

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It was in 1883 that the Daily Telegraph printed an article which he had written about a visit to the north Norfolk coast. No doubt the Great Eastern Railway had provided a ticket so that he could travel and write about the area, but he did become enamoured with the district and gave it the name Poppyland. His writing about north Norfolk was responsible for many of the London theatre set visiting, some of them investing in homes in the area. It is in Cromer, Overstrand and Sidestrand that he is perhaps best remembered.

Related Topics:
Great Eastern Railway - Cromer - Overstrand - Sidestrand

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Scott worked for a couple of years at the end of the century for the New York Herald, returning to London before his death in 1904. He had reacted strongly again the development of the style of theatre that was to become the basis of what we are familiar with today; his time had passed. His papers are to be found in the library of Rochester University, New York State; film maker John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Mrs Brown, Captain Correli's Mandolin) made his first feature film for the BBC around the story of Clement Scott's visit to Poppyland. Scott would have been greatly pleased, if not somewhat pompous and overbearing, that his life would feature in such a film.

Related Topics:
New York Herald - London - Rochester University - John Madden

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