Browsing the British Newspaper Archive, a few more newspaper references have appeared about him in the recently digitized South Yorkshire Times and Mexborough and Swinton Times. The following article, dated 1 October 1926, as well as including a rare photograph, has some new biographical information:
The article reads:
“Mr Rex Ryan whose ‘Tryning’ is one of the interesting
performances of the Venner Repertory company’s excellent production of 'If
Winter Comes,' at the Mexborough Hippodrome this week, has had an interesting
career. He began with Shakespearean work
at 16 years of age, and gained part of his training with Florence Glossop
Harris. He went through the stock
company school, and ran his own companies for several years. Then he specialised in the work of Oscar
Wilde, of which he is very fond, and was particularly happy in the part of Lord
Illingworth in ‘A Woman of No Importance.’ He joined Mr. Venner three months
ago, and made his first acquaintance with Mexborough during the present stay of
the company. Mr Ryan knows Ireland very
well – loves it – and admires greatly the work of the Dublin school, which grew
up round the historic effort of Miss Horniman and the Abbey Theatre. But he is most interested in the work of
Basil Macdonald Hastings, whom he regards as the Ibsen of England. Mr Ryan is a native of Liverpool.”
Another article, dated 21 October 1927, mentions a series of "crime plays", including "The Black Triangle", which I've written about before:
And another of 23 September 1927, which includes some interesting information about a series of performances, including "Maria Marten", the infamous murder in the red barn:
