May Fortescue company. She toured with her company for many years, frequently performing the plays of W. S. Gilbert. A tour of the United States from 1886 to 1887 included the New York premiere of Gilbert's play "Gretchen", with Fortescue in the title role (although "The New York Times" found her performance wanting). During these touring years, she revived at least eight other works by Gilbert, playing such roles as Jenny Northcott in "Sweethearts", Galatea in "Pygmalion and Galatea", Selene in "The Wicked World" and Clarice in "Comedy and Tragedy". Fortescue's troupe premiered Gilbert's 1897 drama, "The Fortune Hunter", in which she
Acis and Galatea (Handel) work's text. The libretto also borrowed freely from John Dryden's English translation of Ovid published in 1717, "The Story of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea". "Acis and Galatea" was first performed in the summer of 1718 at Cannons with local tradition holding that the work was performed outside on the terraces overlooking the garden. This is the period in which the gardens at Cannons were being extensively 'improved' with water features that included an impressive "jet d'eau", and so the choice of "Acis and Galatea" at this time, given that the conclusion requires a fountain, seems particularly apt. It is not