Editing Spranger Barry

{{short description|Irish actor (1719–1777)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Spranger Barry
| image              = Spranger Barry, by Irish School of the 18th Century.jpg
| birth_date         = 23 November 1719
| birth_place        = [[Dublin]], [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1777|1|10|1719|11|23|df=y}}
| notable_works      = [[Crow Street Theatre]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Ann Street Barry|Ann Street]]|1768}}
| children           = [[Thomas Barry (actor)|Thomas]]
}}

[[File:Houghton TCS 43 - Spranger Barry and Maria Isabella Nossiter as Romeo and Juliet.jpg|thumb|right|Spranger Barry (left) as [[Romeo Montague|Romeo]] to [[Maria Nossiter]]'s [[Juliet Capulet|Juliet]] in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' in [[Covent Garden]] in 1759.]]

'''Spranger Barry''' (23 November 1719 &ndash; 10 January 1777) was an [[Ireland|Irish]] [[actor]].

==Life==
He was born in [[Skinner's Row]], [[Dublin]], the son of a [[silversmith]], to whose business he was brought up. He took over the business but was not successful.<ref name=sp>{{cite book|last=Boylan|first= Henry |year=1998|title=A Dictionary of Irish Biography, 3rd Edition|pages=14|location=Dublin|publisher= Gill and MacMillan|isbn= 0-7171-2945-4}}</ref>

His first appearance on the stage was at the [[Theatre Royal, Dublin|Theatre Royal]], Smock Alley, Dublin, on 5 February 1744, and his engagement at once increased its prosperity. His first [[London]] appearance was made in 1746 as [[Othello (character)|Othello]] at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]]. Here his talents were speedily recognized, and in ''[[Hamlet]]'' and ''[[Macbeth]]'' he alternated with [[David Garrick]], arousing the latter's jealousy by his success as [[Romeo]]. This resulted in his leaving Drury Lane for the [[Covent Garden Theatre]] in 1750, accompanied by [[Susannah Maria Arne|Mrs Cibber]], his Juliet. Both houses now at once put on ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' for a series of rival performances, and Barry's Romeo was preferred by the critics to Garrick's.<ref name="sp"/><ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Barry, Spranger|volume=3|page=445}}</ref>

In 1758, Barry opened and managed the [[Crow Street Theatre]] in Dublin (1758-66), and later a new [[Theatre Royal, Cork|Theatre Royal]] in [[Cork (city)|Cork]] (1761).<ref>{{cite book |last=De Breffny |first=Brian |author-link= |date=1983 |title=Ireland: A Cultural Encyclopedia |url= |location=London |publisher=Thames and Hudson |page=41 |isbn=}}</ref> He staged many successful productions but seems to have lived beyond his means.<ref name="sp"/> In 1767 he returned to London to play at the [[Haymarket Theatre]], then under the management of Foote. As his second wife, he married in 1768 the actress [[Ann Street Barry|Mrs Dancer]] (1734–1801), and he and Mrs Barry played under Garrick's management, Barry appearing in 1767, after ten years absence from the London stage, in ''[[Othello]]'', his greatest part. In 1774 they both moved to Covent Garden, where Barry remained until his death.<ref name="EB1911"/>

His son [[Thomas Barry (actor)|Thomas Barry]] became an actor at the Theatre in Cork in 1761. In 1766, he left Thomas in charge of the Theatre, but his management was heavily attacked in the press. The following year, Thomas appeared alongside his father at the Haymarket in London, before his sudden death brought an end to career.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} He is buried in Westminster Abbey.<ref name="EB1911"/>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite IrishBio|wstitle=Barry, Spranger}}
* [https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/spranger-ann-barry Westminster Abbey commemoration]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Spranger}}
[[Category:1719 births]]
[[Category:1777 deaths]]
[[Category:British male stage actors]]
[[Category:Irish male stage actors]]
[[Category:18th-century Irish male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Irish emigrants to Kingdom of Great Britain]]