Barbara Jefford
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Barbara Jefford | |
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Born | Mary Barbara Jefford 26 July 1930 |
Died | 12 September 2020 | (aged 90)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1949–2013 |
Spouses |
Mary Barbara Jefford,
Early life
Mary Barbara Jefford was born in
Theatre
Stratford
After spending just one year working in repertory theatre she was given the part of Isabella in 1950 in Peter Brook's production of Measure for Measure at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, (later the base of the Royal Shakespeare Company) in Stratford-upon-Avon, playing opposite John Gielgud (Angelo) and Harry Andrews (Vincentio).
Over the next four years she played many more major Shakespearean roles: Anne Boleyn in Henry VIII in 1950; Calpurnia in Julius Caesar opposite Anthony Quayle and Michael Langham in 1950; Hero, opposite John Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft in 1950; Lady Percy in Henry IV, opposite John Kidd, Anthony Quayle and Michael Redgrave in 1951; Isabel opposite Richard Burton in Henry V, in 1951; Desdemona to Anthony Quayle's Othello in 1952; Rosalind in As You Like It (New Zealand Tour, 1953); Lady Percy in Henry IV, Part 1 ( New Zealand Tour and International Tour, 1953); Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1954; Kate to Keith Michell's Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew in 1954; and Helen in Troilus and Cressida in 1954.
The Old Vic
After leaving Stratford she co-starred with Michael Redgrave in
She also played Gwendoline in The Importance of Being Earnest, Beatrice in
Other productions
Jefford entered a period of acting with
Other West End productions included
She repeated many Shakespearean roles in her long career, appearing in 54 productions of all but four of his plays. The last of these was Michael Grandage's Richard III with Kenneth Branagh in 2002, at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield in which she played Queen Margaret, opposite Derek Jacobi for the second time.
In July 2007, she played Mrs Higgins (the mother of Henry Higgins) in
Film and television
In 1959, she appeared as Ophelia in a TV production of Hamlet. For the
Jefford appeared in several television dramas in the
Radio
Selected radio roles included:
- Isabella in Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure", BBC Home Service 23 April 1950.[3]
- Thomas Otway's "Venice Preserved", BBC Third Programme 10 August 1960; with Donald Wolfit.[4]
- Goneril in Shakespeare's "King Lear", BBC Third Programme 29 September 1967; with John Gielgud and Howard Marion-Crawford.[5]
- Maja Rubek in "When We Dead Awaken" by Henrik Ibsen, BBC Third Programme 3 August 1969; with Ralph Richardson, Irene Worth and Gordon Jackson .[6]
- Tamora in Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus", BBC Radio 3 28 October 1973.[7]
- Sibylla in "The Holy Sinner", by Peter Redgrove, based on the novel by Thomas Mann, BBC Radio 3, 18 November 1975.[8]
- Duchess of Gloucester in episodes 5 & 6 of "Vivat Rex", BBC Radio 3 1977.[9][10]
- Cleopatra in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra", BBC Radio 4 2 May 1981.[11]
- Millie Crocker-Harris in "The Browning Version" by Terence Rattigan, BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play 26 June 1981; with Nigel Stock.[12]
- Miss Lavish in "A Room with a View" by E M Forster, BBC Radio 4, 1995
- Eleanor of Aquitaine in "The Lion in Winter" by James Goldman, BBC Radio 4 27 December 1981.[13]
- Paulina in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale", BBC Radio 3 21 January 1982.[14]
- Elspeth Graham in "The Killing of Mr Toad", by David Gooderson,[15] BBC Radio 4, 30 December 1984.[16]
- Lucia in "Queen Lucia" & "Lucia in London", adapted by Aubrey Woods from E F Benson's Lucia books, BBC Radio 4 1984 & 1985.[16]
- Queen Elizabeth I in Friedrich von Schiller "Mary Stuart", BBC Radio 4 30 November 1987; with Hannah Gordon.
- Maria Lvovna Dzerzinskaya in "The Stalin Sonata" by David Zane Mairowitz, BBC Radio 4 1 August 1989; Giles Cooper Award Winner.
- "A Winter Meeting" by Elaine Feinstein, BBC Radio 4 14 January 1995.[17]
- "On This Shaven Green" by Don Taylor, BBC Radio 4 16 September 2003. With John Wood, Edward Petherbridge.[18]
Honours
In 1965, Jefford was awarded the Officer of Order of the British Empire for her service to the theatre, becoming the youngest civilian recipient of the award to that date.[19]
Awards
In 1977 she was also awarded the Jubilee Festival Medal.
Death
Jefford died on 12 September 2020, at the age of 90.[20]
References
- ^ "Barbara Jefford Biography (1930–)". www.filmreference.com.
- ^ "Student & graduate profiles — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av67097 BUFVC Search – Measure for Measure
- ^ http://www.bbcradioint.com/ContentFiles/SW_Drama_Catalogue.pdf Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine BBC Drama; checked 31 December 2013
- ^ http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av71367 BUFVC Search – The Tragedy of King Lear
- ^ http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/r3-when-we-dead-awaken-1969.html Diversity – When We Dead Awaken
- ^ http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av67655 BUFVC Search – Titus Andronicus
- ^ http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/others75.html Diversity – 1975 Radio Plays
- ^ http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av67869 BUFVC Search – King of Snow
- ^ http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av67867 BUFVC Search – Treason
- ^ http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av36607 BUFVC Search – Antony and Cleopatra
- ^ http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/lost5.html Diversity – Afternoon Theatre – Lost Radio Plays
- ^ http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/lost5.html Diversity – http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/lost5.html
- ^ http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av67915 BUFVC Search – The Winter's Tale
- ^ "Radio plays (BBC radio 4), and play scripts – David Gooderson, London". david-gooderson.co.uk.
- ^ a b "radio plays drama,bbc,BBC Afternoon Plays, 1984 – 2002, DIVERSITY website". www.suttonelms.org.uk.
- ^ http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/lost2.html Diversity – More Lost Radio Plays
- ^ "Don Taylor radio plays – DIVERSITY". www.suttonelms.org.uk.
- ^ "Barbara Jefford obituary". The Guardian. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ "Classical actress Barbara Jefford dies aged 90". BBC News. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
External links
- The National Theatre Barbara Jefford in Conversation, 2003
- Barbara Jefford at IMDb