Vokes family
The Vokes family was a British theatrical troupe of siblings and their actor brother who became prominent in London pantomime, music halls, and American theatre during the nineteenth century.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Vokes family was a nineteenth-century theatrical troupe associated with comic dance, pantomime, music-hall performance, and touring theatre in Britain and the United States. The group consisted principally of four siblings—Fred, Jessie, Rosina, and Victoria Vokes—and Walter Fawdon, an actor who adopted the stage name Fawdon Vokes. Their professional identity developed from a family background in theatre: their father, Frederick Strafford Thwaites Vokes, was a theatrical costumier and wigmaker with a shop in Covent Garden, while their mother, Sarah Jane Biddulph, came from a family connected with strolling players and actors. The performers made their first appearance together on Christmas night in 1861 in Edinburgh. They subsequently appeared in London at the Alhambra Theatre in 1862, initially under the name “The Five Little Vokes.” In the early phase of their career they were also known as the “Vokes Children,” before adopting the broader public identity of the “Vokes Family.” Their appeal rested on energetic ensemble movement, comic timing, agility, and tightly coordinated dancing. These qualities made them especially suitable for pantomimes and music-hall bills, where visual comedy and repeated routines could communicate across linguistic and social boundaries. The troupe became associated with major London venues and productions. Among its early engagements was an appearance at the Lyceum Theatre in W. S. Gilbert’s pantomime Harlequin Cock Robin and Jenny Wren. From 1868 through 1879, except for a period of overseas touring, the family regularly appeared in the annual pantomime at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane under manager F. B. Chatterton. Their most successful vehicle was The Belles of the Kitchen, first performed by the family at the Standard Theatre in London in 1869. The production helped establish the troupe’s reputation and became the vehicle for their first United States appearance. The Vokes family made its American debut in The Belles of the Kitchen at New York’s Union Square Theatre on 15 April 1872. A six-month tour followed, and the performers returned to the United States for further engagements, including a lengthy season at Niblo’s Garden in New York and a later appearance at the Fifth Avenue Theatre. Their international profile was not limited to the English-speaking world: they appeared in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet in August 1870, although the Franco-Prussian War forced them to leave the city quickly. The group’s later touring history was affected by changing membership. Rosina was absent from the American tour that began in 1881, and Fred was absent from later returns to Britain and the United States. The troupe made its final New York appearance at the Mount Morris Theatre in Harlem in January 1883. By the later 1870s and 1880s, the family’s established routines were increasingly viewed as old-fashioned by some theatre managers. Augustus Harris, who succeeded Chatterton at Drury Lane, considered the troupe insufficiently modern in its dancing and regarded its demands as excessive; the Vokeses, in turn, regarded Harris as authoritarian. These tensions contributed to the decline of their long-running Drury Lane association. The Vokes family was not a continuing commercial brand in the modern corporate sense. It was a performance identity built around kinship, recurring repertoire, touring engagements, and the collective recognition of the family name. Its historical importance lies in the way it combined family ensemble performance with transatlantic theatrical touring during a period when pantomime and variety entertainment were becoming increasingly international. Several members died relatively young: Fred and two of his sisters were buried in Brompton Cemetery in London. Through their mother’s family, the Vokeses were also related to American actress Rose Wood Morrison and, consequently, to Hollywood actresses Constance Bennett and Joan Bennett.
History
The Vokes family emerged from a theatrical household in Victorian Britain. Their father, Frederick Strafford Thwaites Vokes, worked as a theatrical costumier and wigmaker and operated a shop at 19 Henrietta Street in Covent Garden. Their mother, Sarah Jane Biddulph, was connected to a family of performers: her parents were the Welsh-born strolling player Will Wood and his actress wife. This background placed the children within the practical and social networks of nineteenth-century theatre before they established themselves as performers. The principal members were Fawdon Vokes, born Walter Fawdon in 1844; Fred Vokes, born in 1846; Jessie Vokes, born in 1848; Victoria Vokes, born in 1853; and Rosina Vokes, born in 1854. Walter Fawdon adopted the surname Vokes professionally, completing the troupe’s unified family presentation. The group first performed together in Edinburgh on Christmas night in 1861. They reached London the following year, appearing at the Alhambra Theatre as “The Five Little Vokes.” Early publicity also used “The Vokes Children,” while “The Vokes Family” became the name most associated with their mature career. Their performance style combined dancing, physical comedy, coordinated movement, and pantomime characterization. Such ensemble work suited the expanding music-hall and variety circuits, as well as the elaborate Christmas pantomimes staged by major London theatres. At the Lyceum Theatre they appeared in W. S. Gilbert’s Harlequin Cock Robin and Jenny Wren. From 1868 to 1879, apart from 1873 when they were abroad, they were regular participants in the annual pantomime at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Their manager there for much of this period was F. B. Chatterton. The production most closely associated with their success was The Belles of the Kitchen. The family first performed it at London’s Standard Theatre on 27 February 1869. The piece demonstrated the comic and choreographic formula that made them popular: a recognizable group identity, rapid movement, visual jokes, and a performance structure that could travel effectively between theatres and countries. The Vokes family’s first Paris engagement took place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in August 1870. The troupe was reportedly well received, but the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War made it imprudent to remain. They departed with little warning and returned to the British and international touring circuit. Their first American appearance was also in The Belles of the Kitchen, presented at New York’s Union Square Theatre on 15 April 1872. A six-month tour followed. After returning to Britain and performing Fun in a Fog in October 1872, the family went back to New York in April 1873 for an engagement at Niblo’s Garden. They remained in the United States for roughly a year and nine months. Another American season followed at New York’s Fifth Avenue Theatre, where they stayed for three months. These engagements established the Vokes name with audiences beyond Britain and made the troupe an example of the increasingly mobile theatrical companies of the period. The later tours were not always undertaken by the full original ensemble. In April 1881 the family returned to the United States without Rosina Vokes, appearing at Boston’s Globe Theatre. They returned to England in June 1882 and went back to the United States in the autumn of that year. Their final New York appearance came at the Mount Morris Theatre in Harlem in January 1883. They returned to Britain in June 1883, again without Fred Vokes. The family’s relationship with Drury Lane ended amid a wider generational and managerial shift in pantomime. Augustus Harris, who followed F. B. Chatterton as manager, considered the Vokeses’ dance routines old-fashioned because they had not been substantially updated. He also regarded them as demanding, while the performers viewed him as tyrannical. The disagreement illustrates the changing expectations of late Victorian theatre, when managers increasingly sought new spectacle, updated choreography, and stronger managerial control. The Vokes family’s collective career ended as its members’ individual circumstances changed and the group’s established style lost some of its novelty. Fred and two of his sisters were buried in Brompton Cemetery in London. Their family connections continued into later performance history. Through their mother’s brother, actor William F. Wood, the Vokeses were first cousins of American actress Rose Wood Morrison, who became the maternal grandmother of Hollywood actresses Constance Bennett and Joan Bennett. Joan Bennett’s 1970 memoir, The Bennett Playbill, discusses this family connection and the broader story of the Vokes performers.
- 1904
Death of Fawdon Vokes
[1]Fawdon Vokes, born Walter Fawdon, died in 1904.
- 1894
Deaths of Rosina and Victoria Vokes
[1]Rosina Vokes and Victoria Vokes died in 1894, marking part of the dispersal of the original family ensemble.
- 1883
Final New York appearance
[1]The troupe made its last New York appearance at the Mount Morris Theatre in Harlem in January.
- 1872
United States debut
[1]The family introduced The Belles of the Kitchen to American audiences at New York’s Union Square Theatre on 15 April.
- 1870
Paris debut
[1]The troupe performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet in August but left Paris after the Franco-Prussian War made continued residence unsafe.
- 1869
The Belles of the Kitchen becomes a signature vehicle
[1]The Vokes family appeared in The Belles of the Kitchen at the Standard Theatre in London on 27 February.
- 1868
Regular Drury Lane pantomime appearances begin
[1]The troupe became regular performers in the annual pantomime at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, a relationship that continued through 1879 except during an overseas touring year.
- 1862
London debut at the Alhambra Theatre
[1]The performers appeared in London as “The Five Little Vokes,” helping establish their early public identity.
- 1861
First joint performance in Edinburgh
[1]The family made its debut together on Christmas night in Edinburgh.
Products and positioning
A family-based Victorian theatrical ensemble known for comic dancing, physical agility, pantomime, and transatlantic touring.
Pantomime and comic theatrical production · 1869
The Belles of the Kitchen
The troupe’s best-known performance vehicle. First associated with the family in London in 1869, it used comic situations, ensemble movement, and dancing to showcase the performers’ coordinated stage style. It later carried the Vokes family to the United States, where it served as the program for their debut at New York’s Union Square Theatre in April 1872.
Pantomime
Harlequin Cock Robin and Jenny Wren
A pantomime by W. S. Gilbert in which the Vokes performers appeared at the Lyceum Theatre in London. The engagement illustrates their early integration into major metropolitan pantomime productions.
Comic theatrical production · 1872
Fun in a Fog
A production performed by the Vokes family in Britain in October 1872 between major American tours. It formed part of the troupe’s repertoire during the period when its public profile was expanding across the Atlantic.
Brand decisions
1879
Breakdown of the Drury Lane relationshipStrategyBackground
The Vokes family had been regular performers in the annual Drury Lane pantomime for much of the previous decade. After Augustus Harris replaced F. B. Chatterton as manager, the troupe’s established routines and contractual expectations came into conflict with Harris’s approach to modernizing the theatre.
Action taken
Harris treated the family’s dancing as old-fashioned and did not continue the previous working relationship. The Vokeses opposed his management style and regarded him as a tyrant.
Aftermath
The dispute reflected changing Victorian theatrical tastes and contributed to the end of the family’s long-running Drury Lane association.
Recent events
- 1883
The Vokes family makes its last New York appearance[1]
Other
The troupe appeared at the Mount Morris Theatre in Harlem in January 1883, marking its final New York engagement before returning to Britain later that year without Fred Vokes.
- 1881
Later American touring takes place without Rosina Vokes[1]
Other
The family returned to the United States in April 1881 and appeared at Boston’s Globe Theatre without Rosina Vokes.
- 1879
The troupe’s Drury Lane association declines under new management[1]
Leadership change · Other
After years of regular annual pantomime appearances at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, the family’s relationship with the theatre deteriorated when Augustus Harris viewed its routines as outdated and the troupe objected to his management style.
- 1873
The family begins a season at Niblo’s Garden[1]
Other
The Vokes family returned to New York in April 1873 for an engagement at Niblo’s Garden and remained in the United States for approximately twenty-one months.
- 1872
The Vokes family makes its United States debut[1]
Product launch · Other
The troupe presented The Belles of the Kitchen at New York’s Union Square Theatre on 15 April and then undertook a six-month American tour.
- 1870
The troupe performs in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War[1]
Other
The Vokes family made a successful debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet in August, but left Paris soon afterward because the war made continued residence unsafe.
- 1869
The Vokes family appears in The Belles of the Kitchen[1]
Product launch
The troupe appeared in The Belles of the Kitchen at London’s Standard Theatre, a production that later became their principal vehicle in the United States.
- 1862
The Vokes family makes its London debut at the Alhambra Theatre[1]
Other
After debuting in Edinburgh the previous Christmas, the performers appeared in London under the name “The Five Little Vokes,” helping establish their public theatrical identity.
Sources1 sources
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