Bingley ward

Born into a family of English immigrants: his grandfather moved to Rotterdam in 1722. Ward's father, William, was a successful vintner and had twelve children in marriage, Ward was the seventh child. Although his mother adhered to the Catholic faith, his father, who was Anglican, insisted on the baptism of children in his faith. Since childhood, his father was preparing Ward to work in the wine trade, under his influence, the latter studied English and French. Bingley worked with his father since 1770, then he was sent as an apprentice to his mother's brother, who also sold wine, but a few months later he decided to become an actor, which led, as expected, to a conflict with his family. In 1771, his father sold his shop and left Rotterdam, but Wade remained in the city.

Blingley began to act, as expected, between the ages of 14 and 18, in the spring of 1772, joining the Hague acting troupe, but then returning to Rotterdam. It is authentically known that on September 18, 1775, he stepped onto the stage as a member of the Martin Corver troupe. His contract with the Rotterdam Theater expired in March 1776, until which time he had played only a few roles. However, after successful performances in April 1776, Bingley suddenly became very popular with the audience, after which they signed a new contract, which was no longer interrupted. He made a rather successful career at the Rotterdam Theater and performed there (with interruptions) until 1784. In 1779, the earnings of Corver in Rotterdam fell, which is why he decided to return to The Hague. Bingley's relations with the new leadership of the theater became very tense, including because of his political views. In January 1781, the Rotterdam Theater was closed due to the beginning of the next Anglo-Dutch war, although such measures were not taken in all cities, therefore, since the beginning of 1782, Bingley and a number of other actors performed in Leiden, The Hague, Vlissingen and Middelburg. In the summer of 1782 he married. On September 1, 1783, after the signing of the truce, the theater in Rotterdam was reopened, and Bingley, due to the absence of other candidacies, headed the theater, but in August of the following year, due to poor management, the institution was declared bankrupt.

After bankruptcy, Bingley moved to Amsterdam, where he made his debut on the stage on October 2, 1784, where he had great success, signed a large sum contract with the local theater and in 1786 he arranged for the theater and his spouse. After the invasion of the Netherlands in January 1795, the French theater was closed for only two days, having opened already on January 21. Nevertheless, in the spring of that year, due to conflicts with the French censors, like his wife and several colleagues, he resigned and in April formed a troupe, which began performing in The Hague and his native Rotterdam. Initially, they performed mainly in Rotterdam, but then moved a significant part of their performances to The Hague and Leiden, and in the summer seasons they performed in other cities; since 1805, the Bingley troupe began to perform primarily in The Hague. In 1813, he headed the new theater in The Hague, but initially was in conflict with the authorities because of his anti-French sentiment, but after returning to power in November of the same year, the Prince of Orange received much support from the latter. Since 1815, the Bingley troupe received royal status and called itself "the royal theater of South Holland." The last time on stage Bingley played March 10, 1818.

Although he acted mostly as a tragedian, he was, according to descriptions, excellent in comedies. In the modern Netherlands Bingley is considered the largest theatrical figure of the country at the turn of the XVIII — XIX centuries.

• Bingley, Ward / / Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.