Gladys Vanderzee

Gladys Vanderzee (1883-) was a British actress.

Biography
Born Gladys Rosalie Vanderzee in Marylebone.

She became an actress, working for Frank Nenson's company and specialising on Shakespearean roles. Among the productions were Everyman (1906) As You Like It (1907), Hamlet (1912), Queen Tara (1913),

She married actor and director Henry Herbert, with whom she had worked for many years, on 29 June 1907 in St Stephens Paddington, London.

In (913-14 Henry Herbert and the Stratford-upon-Avon Players toured the world, their repertoire for North America (1913-14) for example consisting of As You Like It, Hamlet, Henry V, Henry IV part 2, King John, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Richard II, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night.

The couple eventually settled in New York, Henry making an impressive career for himself on the American stage. According to the Wikipedia entry on him, Herbert is likely to have also worked in film, credited as Henry Hebert.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
She and her husband Henry Herbert arrived in the Cape in 1912 and gave a boost to classical theatre, playing in works such as She Stoops to Conquer, Macbeth, The Rivals, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In 1911, and again in 1913, Henry Herbert and the Stratford-upon-Avon Players also visited South Africa, and presented many of Shakespeare's plays in the main towns. Later, in 1921, they returned to Cape Town to do a full-length version of Hamlet, (starting at 6 pm and finishing at midnight). According to Stopforth, "those who saw it vowed that it did not drag for a minute" (1955: p.215).

Return to
Return to ESAT Personalities V

Return to South African Theatre Personalities

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page