John Kerr ( - fl.1826)

John Kerr was a British author, translator, actor, playwright, and prompter. Early in his career, he wrote the book Ancient Legends or Simple and Romantic Tales. By 1818, he held the position of Prompter of the Regency Theatre, a theatre in Charlotte Street, London. Kerr’s involvement with this theatre continued despite its closure in 1820 and reopening later that year as the West London Theatre. Several of the plays that Kerr wrote premiered at the West London Theatre including one of his best known: Rip Van Winkle, a theatrical adaptation of the short story of the same name by Washington Irving. Kerr was very active in translating plays from French to English, most notably The Monster and Magician (Le monstre et le magician), the first French dramatic adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein to be staged. By 1830, Kerr had travelled to the United States and his plays began appearing in American theatres such as the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia.