Born at
Blackheath to James Wigan, a teacher of languages and Secretary of the Dramatic Authors' Society, the actor and playwright
Horace Wigan was his younger brother. Little is known of Wigan's early career, but it is believed he toured for a period as a singer. Using his middle name, he acted as Sidney or Sydney Wigan at the
Lyceum Theatre in 1834, and 1835 he appeared with
Louisa Cranstoun Nisbett at the
Queen's Theatre. He then appeared under the name of Sidney Wigan with
John Braham at the newly built
St James's Theatre, creating the role of John Johnson in
The Strange Gentleman by
Charles Dickens. With
Lucia Elizabeth Vestris he appeared from 1839 to 1844 at
Covent Garden, playing the original Sir Otto of Steinberg in
Love by
James Sheridan Knowles. At the
Royal Strand Theatre he impersonated
W. C. Macready as
Iago in a
parody of
Othello. Next, he acted at the Lyceum Theatre with husband and wife actors
Robert and
Mary Anne Keeley. In 1847 Wigan joined the company of
Benjamin Nottingham Webster at the
Haymarket Theatre, for whom he played Sir Benjamin Backbite in
Sheridan's
The School for Scandal. For Webster he created the roles of Osborne in
Westland Marston's
The Heart and the World and Hector Mauléon in
Webster's own play
The Roused Lion. When the
Gaiety Theatre opened in December 1868 Wigan appeared as Adolphe Chavillard in
On the Cards; also on that first bill were several companion pieces, including the successful
Robert the Devil, by
W. S. Gilbert, a
burlesque of the opera
Robert le Diable. In May 1870 Wigan appeared as Lord Foppington in
John Hollingshead's
The Man of Quality. His final performance was at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1874, after which he retired for the last time, apart from giving several private readings and an afternoon performance at the
Gaiety Theatre of
The House or the Home and
The Bengal Tiger. his wife, Leonora survived him. ==Notes==