Nina Sevening Explained

Nina Gladys Sevening (1885–1958) was an English stage actress and singer who played minor comedy roles in a long string of Edwardian musical comedies in London and on tour.

Background

Sevening was born in Westminster, London. Her parents were H. W. Sevening, a German-born commercial clerk, and his English wife Gertrude. She was educated in London and Paris.^{[1] [2]}

Career

Sevening first appeared on stage in December 1894 in The House That Jack Built at the Opera Comique. She later appeared in:

• My Innocent Boy at the Royalty Theatre 1898
• Florodora at the Lyric Theatre 1899^[3]
• The Silver Slipper at the Lyric Theatre 1901^[4]
• A Country Girl at Daly's Theatre 1902^[5]
• The Cingalee at Daly's Theatre 1904^[6]
• The Little Michus at Daly's Theatre 1905^[7]
• The Merveilleuses at Daly's Theatre 1906^[8]
• The Geisha at Daly's Theatre 1906^[9]
• The Merry Widow at Daly's Theatre 1907^[10]
• Susannah and Some Others at the Royalty Theatre 1908^[11]
• Marjory Strode at The Playhouse 1908^[12]
• Mid-Channel at St James's Theatre 1909^[13]
• The Great Mrs. Alloway at the Globe Theatre 1909^[14]
• Mid-Channel at the Empire Theatre (New York) 1910
• A Woman's Way, Comedy Theatre 1910
• Grace at the Duke of York's Theatre 1910^[2]
• Passers By at Wyndham's Theatre 1911
• What Every Woman Knows at the Duke of York's Theatre 1911
• Mind the Paint Girl at the Duke of York's Theatre 1912
• The Perplexed Husband at the Empire Theatre (New York) 1912
• Peter Pan at the Duke of York Theatre 1913^[15]
• King's Cup at the Adelphi Theater 1913^[16]
• The Clever Ones at Wyndham's Theatre 1914
• Caroline at the New Theatre 1916
• Trelawny of the 'Wells' at the New Theatre 1917

In 1903, Sevening toured in Three Little Maids. In 1905 she was a replacement player in the role of Gwenny Holden in Lady Madcap.^[17]

She married Victor Charles Hamilton Longstaffe (born 1885) and changed her last name after him.^[18] She retired from the stage in 1917.

There is a memorial to their only son, David John Longstaffe, in Aldeburgh Parish Church in Suffolk, England. David died on 16 September 1945 in Athens, where he was a Captain in the King's Royal Rifle Corps.^[19]

Bibliography

• Book: J. P. Wearing. The London Stage 1900-1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. 2013. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-9294-1.

Notes and References

1. Wearing, pp. 448, 676
2. Gillan, Don. Nina Sevening (c.1885–1958). stagebeauty.net
3. Book: Andrew Lamb. Leslie Stuart: Composer of Florodora. 2002. Psychology Press. 978-0-415-93747-4. 86–.
4. Wearing, p. 60
5. Wearing, p. 87
6. Wearing, p. 176
7. Wearing, p. 230
8. Wearing, p. 316
9. Wearing, p. 303
10. Book: David Slattery-Christy. Anything But Merry!: The life and times of Lily Elsie. 2008. Author House. 978-1-4817-7542-7. 254–.
11. Wearing, p. 391
12. Wearing, p. 400
13. Wearing, p. 487
14. Wearing, p. 494
15. Book: Bruce K. Hanson. Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904-2010, 2d ed.. 2011. McFarland. 978-0-7864-8619-9. 339–.
16. Wearing, p. 500
17. Wearing, p. 212
18. http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw158740/Nina-Longstaffe-ne-Sevening-as-Miss-Powerscourt-in-A-Country-Girl Nina Longstaffe (née Sevening) as Miss Powerscourt in 'A Country Girl'
19. http://www.gravestonephotos.com/public/gravedetails.php?fullname=Nina%20Longstaffe&grave=6&scrwidth=1600 David John Longstaffe grave monument