Dame Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike (1882-1976). Actress and manager.
Contents
Biography
Studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Ben Greet's Academy. Married the actor Sir Lewis Casson.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
In 1928-1929, she toured South Africa in Jane Clegg, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Saint Joan, and as Mrs. Phelps in The Silver Cord. She directed a Jewish Guild production of The Sisters' Tragedy in 1929.
In 1935 she and her husband performed Shaw’s *** in South Africa under the auspices of African Consolidated Theatres.
In 1956, she toured South Africa, North and South Rhodesia, Kenya, Israel and Turkey with her husband. They were brought out to South Africa by Brian Brooke for a series of drama and poetry recitals, inter alia playing for a black audience at the Bantu Men's Social Centre. During these visits she became interested in and expressed support for the activities of the Johannesburg Repertory Society and the Bantu Dramatic Society.
Sources
Footlights, 1(4):17, 1929.
Tucker, 1997.
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