Trilby (play)

Dorothea Baird in the title role of the London production of Trilby (1895)

Trilby is a stage play by Paul M. Potter based on the 1894 novel Trilby by George du Maurier. In the play, a young Irish woman, Trilby O'Ferrall, falls under the control of Svengali, who uses hypnosis to make her abandon her fiancé and become a singer.

The play debuted in Boston, Massachusetts in March 1895, where the role of Svengali was created by American actor Wilton Lackaye at the Park Theatre.[1] It was a success in England as directed, produced by and starring Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Svengali, with Dorothea Baird in the title role, opening at the Haymarket Theatre in October 1895.

  1. ^ "Trilby Makes Her Debut on the Stage". The Boston Globe. 12 March 1895. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.