Madame Dagueville's Last Performances

Medea and Jason [1] Thursday 26 August 1784

Almost all of the theatre advertisements from the eighteenth century omit forenames. Consequently we can't be sure of the identity of the Madame Dagueville  who danced in the role of Medea. In this pantomime there would have been a transformation scene in which the characters of Greek mythology were transformed into the Harlequinade. Mother Shipton is said to have ultimately developed into the pantomime dame.

If the dancing master with his practice in Ipswich is d'Egville senior then he must have married at least twice. Mr Dagueville refers to himself as former principal dancer at the Opera House in some of his local advertising material. His wife died in childbirth on Monday 10 May 1779. We know that d'Egville senior continued to be active in London but this doesn't necessarily mean that the two men aren't one individual. Dagueville of Ipswich had a business partner who could have taken over his pupils when he was in town.

The Essex Chronicle 14 May 1779
The British Library Board

Its implausible that the Madame Dagueville who danced in the role of Medea is Catherine Berry (wife of James Harvey d'Egville) as they didn't marry until 1792. Neither can she have been either of Peter's known daughters. Madame Dagueville disappears from the advertisements in the latter half of the seventeen-nineties.

[1] Willaim Van Lennep, The London Stage, 1660-1800 Part 5, 1776-1800: A Calendar of Plays, Entertainment & Afterpieces Together with Casts, Box-Reciepts and Contemporary Comment (SIU Press, 1970)