Sarah Ward (1726 - 1771), was a Scottish stage actress and theatre manager. She was the first woman to have been active as a theatre manager in Edinburgh.Elizabeth Ewan, Sue Innes & Sian Reynolds: The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women: From the Earliest Times to 2004 She should not be confused with Sarah Ward (c.1756 - 1838), an English actress also active during the eighteenth century.
Ward was born to the English actor Thomas Achurch. She began her acting career in York and married actor and playwright Henry Ward. The couple was active in Thomas Este's company at the Taylor Hall in Edinburgh in 1745. After Este's death, the company split in two, the group of players led by Sarah Ward moving to the Canongate Concert Hall in 1747.Tierney-Hynes, Rebecca, "Stages, Performers, Audiences in the Long Eighteenth Century", in Stevenson, Randall, & Walker, Greg (eds.) (2025), The Oxford Handbook of Scottish Theatre, Oxford University Press, p. 94,
In 1748, Ward debuted in London, and then toured England and Scotland in various companies, often returning to Edinburgh. Between 1755 and 1758, she was active in Edinburgh theatre with her lover West Digges, and was a celebrated artist in Scotland: her most popular role was reportedly that of Lady Randolph in John Home's Douglas.Brown, Ian, "Public and Private Performance: 1650 - 1800", in Brown, Ian (ed.), The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Drama, Edinburgh University Press, p. 35, In 1758, she left Scotland, and after one season in Dublin, she was active at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.
Selected roles Valeria in The Roman Father by William Whitehead (1750) Lady Autumn in The Sister by Charlotte Lennox (1769)
References
Elizabeth Ewan, Sue Innes & Sian Reynolds: The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women: From the Earliest Times to 2004