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| − | '''Gwen ffrangçon-Davies''' (1891-1992) was a distinguished actress, singer, and theatrical entrepreneur. (Her name also written [[Gwen Ffrangçon-Davies]]). [TH, JH, SH]
| + | #REDIRECT [[Gwen Ffrangçon-Davies]] |
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| − | == Biography ==
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| − | Born in London on 25 January 1891, the only daughter of David ffrangcon-Davies, a Welsh operatic baritone.
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| − | She died in January 1992 in London at the age of 101.
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| − | === Training ===
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| − | She was trained by Mrs L.M. Hicks and Agnes Platt.
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| − | === Career ===
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| − | Gwen began as an operatic singer, then joined the Old Vic, for which her first stage appearance was in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She went on to Birmingham Rep as a dramatic actress, also working in the West End and at the Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon. In 1924, she played Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' and Queen Anne in ''Richard of Bordeaux'' in 1934, both with John Gielgud, ''[[Henry V]] '' (with Ivor Novello, 1934), ''Gas Light'' (1934) and ''Macbeth'' (1942).
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| − | She moved to South Africa in 1940 with [[Marda Vanne]] and became a director of the resuscitated [[Pretoria Repertory Theatre]]. ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' 1940/41.
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| − | In 1942 they formed the [[Gwen ffrangçon-Davies / Marda Vanne Company]] and toured the country to present fine classical and modern productions. (See [[Gwen ffrangçon-Davies / Marda Vanne Company]]).
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| − | She returned to Britain in 1946 to continue with a long and distinguished career on the British stage.
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| − | She retired from the stage in 1970, but continued to appear on radio and television. She was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1991, aged 100, six months before her death at age 101, and made her final acting appearance in a teleplay of the Sherlock Holmes story ''The Master Blackmailer'' opposite Jeremy Brett that same year. Her other films included ''The Witches'' (1966) and ''The Devil Rides Out'' (1968).
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| − | ==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
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| − | She played leads in and/or directed works such as ''[[Watch on the Rhine]]'' (1943 at the [[Standard Theatre]]), ''[[Flare Path]]'' (194*), ''[[What Every Woman Knows]]'' (194*), ''[[Blithe Spirit]]'' (1944), ''[[Milestones]]'' (194*), ''[[Merry Wives of Windsor]]'' (1945), ''[[The Wind of Heaven]]'' (1946), ''[[A Month in the Country]]'' (1946) her last production before she went back to England.
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| − | In 1943, she had pleaded unsuccessfully for the establishment of a national “Committee for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts”.
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| − | After her return to Britain she occasionally returned to work in South Africa, for instance ''[[Macbeth]]'' in Afrikaans, was directed by her in 1950 for the [[National Theatre]]. It was staged at [[His Majest's Theatre]] and starred [[André Huguenet]] and [[Anna Neethling-Pohl]]. Directed ''[[Much Ado about Nothing]]'' for the inauguration of the new [[Johannesburg Repertory Theatre|Reps Theatre]], designed by Manfred Hermer, in 1951. It starred [[Margaret Inglis]] and [[Jack Ralphs]]. Starred in ''[[Waters of the Moon]]'' by N.C. Hunter in 1953.
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| − | == Awards, etc ==
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| − | == Sources ==
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| − | Hartnoll Phyllis, ''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre'', ? ed., 19**;
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| − | [[ESAT Bibliography Tra-Tz|Tucker]], 1997.
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| − | Du Toit,P.J. 1988.
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| − | Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Ffrangcon-Davies)
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| − | ''[[Scenaria]]'' (120), January 1991.
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| − | == Return to ==
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| − | Return to [[ESAT Personalities F]]
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| − | Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities|South African Theatre Personalities]]
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| − | Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
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| − | Return to [[Main Page]]
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