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Gillian Brown | |
|---|---|
 Gillian Brown during rehearsals of The Knotty | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse(s) |
Geoffrey Larder
(m. 1968; div. 1976)Brian Parrish
(m. 1980; div. 1994) |
Gillian Brown is a British actress, singer, writer, composer and director, who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). In 1963, when she graduated,[1] Brown was awarded the RADA Special Silver Medal.
Early life
edit
Brown, although born in Manchester, spent most of her childhood in Colchester. After several unsuccessful attempts to entertain the other children at the Saturday Morning Pictures, Brown discovered Colchester Repertory Theatre, now the Mercury Theatre, and knew she'd come home. She saw Marie Ney and the late Bruce Montague in Ibsen's Ghosts, followed by a production of Sandy Wilson's musical, The Boy Friend. Brown then joined Colchester Junior Repertory Club and was taught and mentored by Mrs Dorothy Hallett, to whom she owes a great deal.
In 1961, Brown began her RADA training, in the same year as the late Geoffrey Hutchings, Richard Digby Day, Anthony Hopkins, Susan Fleetwood, Eric Allan, Udi Schneewind, Victor Henry and Alaknanda Samarth. Her final productions included playing Mitzi in Milo Sperber's production of Franz Kafka's, The Castle, opposite the late Geoffrey Hutchings, who played K (June 1963) and Sonya in John Fernald's production of Uncle Vanya,[2] with Eric Allan as Astrov and Susan Fleetwood as Yeliena (July 1963).
Theatre
editBrown is well known for having been a member of the Victoria Theatre company in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, for six years, commencing in January 1966: the Artistic Director was Peter Cheeseman and the resident playwright was Peter Terson. During this time, she worked as an actor, singer, composer and director. Brown played the title role in Anna of the Five Towns - adapted from Arnold Bennett's novel by Joyce Cheeseman - on stage at the Victoria Theatre, Hartshill (1969)[3] and on BBC Radio,[4] directed by Anthony Cornish (1970).
During her time at the Victoria Theatre in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, Brown was a member of the permanent company. She worked with, among many others, Susan Tracy, Alan David, Shane Connaughton, Jane Wood, Robert Powell, James Hayes, David Hill, Bob Hoskins, Geoffrey Larder, Susan Glanville, the late Ken Campbell, Anjula Harman, Christopher Bond, Jacqueline Morgan and Charles McKeown.
In 1967, Brown played Beatie Bryant in Arnold Wesker's play, Roots, at the Victoria Theatre. Jane Wood played Mrs Bryant, Beatie's mother, and Susan Glanville played Jenny Beales, Beatie's sister.
Brown directed two plays at the Victoria Theatre: the first, in 1969, was Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs by David Halliwell and the second, in 1970, was Eh? by Henry Livings.
In her role as Norma Elliott, Brown partnered George Costigan[5] in Alpha Beta by Ted Whitehead, at the Man in the Moon Theatre in Chelsea (1987). This was the first London revival of the play since the Royal Court production, starring Rachel Roberts and Albert Finney (1972).
Theatre award nominations
edit
Brown was nominated for a Time Out Award for Best Actress for her role as Martha Darby in April De Angelis's play, Ironmistress (1989). This production, which also featured Louise Waddington as Little Cog, opened at the Hill Street Theatre, in Edinburgh,[6] after which it transferred to the Man in the Moon Theatre, in Chelsea, London.
In 1992, Brown received a London Fringe Award nomination for Best Actress for her role as Teresa Brown in House by Colin Hurley at the New Grove Theatre. Colin Hurley won the London Fringe Award for Best First Play for House. This production was directed by Martin Clunes[7] for his Big Arts company with Neil Morrissey.
Music
editBrown composed the music for The Ballad of the Artificial Mash,[8] a musical play by Peter Terson. This agricultural satire, with lyrics by Terson, opened at the Victoria Theatre, Hartshill, on 5th September, 1967. The following year, the television producer, Leonard White, chose the show to be the 400th and final Armchair Theatre production. It was transmitted twice: on 25th July 1968 on ATV Television and on 27th July 1968 on ABC Television.[9] Brown was Musical Director for the television production and taught the songs to the actors in that production. The cast included Stanley Holloway OBE, Alfred Lynch, The Paper Dolls, Mark Dignam, Valerie French and Derek Francis (who played Major Fatstock Gadget). Additionally, Brown played a small part in the television production (The Average Newspaper Reader's Wife). See Leonard White's memoir: Armchair Theatre, The Lost Years.[10]
Brown wrote music and lyrics for the two theatre documentaries she was involved in, at the Victoria Theatre, as well as acting and singing in these productions. In The Knotty, a documentary which opened in July 1966,[11] about North Staffordshire's famous railway, Brown was commissioned by Peter Cheeseman to write a song to close the first half of the show. "What about?" she asked. "About railways - but not about railways," Cheeseman replied. The song Brown wrote is called Railway Lines.
The second theatre documentary Brown was involved in, Six Into One, opened in July 1968, at the Victoria Theatre.[12] This is a documentary concerning the federation of Stoke-on-Trent: the amalgamation of six towns into a single county borough. City status was granted to Stoke-on-Trent in 1925. Brown and Guillaume Oyônô Mbia, who played the talking drum, wrote and performed the narrative songs for the show.
In 1972, Brown appeared as Catherine Tekakwitha in Conversations, a musical revue based on the songs, books and poems of Leonard Cohen, at Hampstead Theatre Club. The show was produced by Greengage Productions, directed by Roger Christian and featured Sean Hewitt, Claire Marshall, John Plume and Brown.
Television roles
edit
Brown's first professional television appearance was in 1965, in The Newcomers,[13] directed by David Giles, on BBC Television. She played Ivy from the Pig Marketing Board. As a recent convert to vegetarianism, Brown found this to be a particularly challenging role.
Brown's numerous television roles include Casanova with Frank Finlay,[14] Colditz - Lord, Didn't It Rain with Christopher Neame, Robert Wagner, directed by Michael Ferguson,[15] Grange Hill,[16] The Mayor of Casterbridge with Alan Bates[17] and Ohica in Doctor Who - The Brain of Morbius[18] with Tom Baker, Philip Madoc - all BBC Television.
Selected theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | King John | Blanche | Northampton Repertory Theatre | with Kenneth Gilbert |
| 1964 | Come Blow Your Horn | Connie | Northampton Repertory Theatre | with Kenneth Gilbert, Nigel Lambert |
| 1964 | An Ideal Husbnad | Mabel Chiltern | Citizens Theatre, Glasgow | directed by Iain Cuthbertson
with Stephen MacDonald |
| 1964 | Dick Macwhitty | Catriona the cat | Citizens Theatre, Glasgow | directed by Iain Cuthbertson
with John Grieve |
| 1965 | The Merchant of Venice | Nerissa | Citizens Theatre, Glasgow | directed by Iain Cuthbertson
including short tour |
| 1965 | The Parliament of Women | The Girl (including two solo songs) | New Theatre, Cardiff | directed by Minos Volonakis
music by Yannis Markopoulos with Bernard Lloyd, Sheila Hancock |
| 1966 | Sing an Arful Story | Various acting and singing roles | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | written by Peter Terson
directed by Peter Cheeseman |
| 1966 | Ticket-of-Leave Man | Sam Willoughby | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | |
| 1966 | The Pot of Gold | Staphyla | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | with Ken Campbell |
| 1966 | The Knotty | Various, including commissioned original song Railway Lines: words and music by Gillian Brown | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | directed by Peter Cheeseman |
| 1966 | Fallen Angels | Julia | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | with Anjula Harman, Ellis Dale |
| 1966 | Uncle Vanya | Yeliena | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | |
| 1966 | Wuthering Heights | Cathy (lead) | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | directed by Peter Cheeseman |
| 1967 | Roots | Beatie Bryant (lead) | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | with Jane Wood, Susan Glanville, James Hayes, Terence Davies |
| 1967 | She Stoops to Conquer | Mrs Lumpkin | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | with Robert Powell, Ken Campbell |
| 1967 | The Ballad of the Artificial Mash | Singer/Narrator + wrote all music | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | directed by Peter Cheeseman
Repeated in 1968 on ATV Television as 400th Armchair Theatre production, produced by Leonard White and starring Stanley Holloway |
| 1968 | The Promise | Lika | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | with Shane Connaughton, Geoffrey Larder
directed by Ken Campbell |
| 1968 | Romeo and Juliet | Lady Capulet | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | with Susan Glanville |
| 1969 | Anna of the Five Towns | Anna (lead) | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | directed by Peter Cheeseman
with Geoffrey Larder, Anjula Harman, Brian Young, Susan Tracy |
| 1970 | The Daughter-in-law | Minnie | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | directed by Peter Cheeseman |
| 1970 | The Affair at Bennett's Hill | Sylvia | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | directed by Peter Cheeseman
with Jacqueline Morgan |
| 1970 | The 1861 Whitby Lifeboat Disaster | Mrs. Tattersfield (lead) | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | including Come Together season
at Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 1970 | The Recruiting Officer | Sylvia | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | |
| 1970 | Sweeney Todd | Johanna | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | Johanna's song written by Charles McKeown and Gillian Brown
with Susan Tracy, Stanley Dawson |
| 1971 | Major Barbara | Barbara | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | with Alan David |
| 1971 | Anarchist | Madame Z | Royal Court Theatre | directed by Chris Parr |
| 1972 | Conversations | Catherine Tekakwitha + various | Greengage Productions | Songs, books + poems of Leonard Cohen |
| 1972 | Quetzalcoatl | La Lloronna (the Narrator) and played various flutes | The Roundhouse | with Geoffrey Larder, Oliver Cotton |
| 1972 | The Trial | The Laundress (including solo song) | Oval Theatre | directed by Steven Berkoff
with Paola Dionisotti |
| 1979 | You Never Can Tell[19] | Maid | Knightsbridge Productions | directed by David Giles
with Cheryl Campbell, Peter Egan, Sian Phillips, Lynsey Baxter |
| 1986 | Eastwood | Katharine Brindsley (lead) | Man in the Moon Theatre | directed by Nick Ward
Eastwood won a Time Out award |
| 1987 | Alpha Beta | Norma Elliott (lead) | Timeless Productions
Man in the Moon Theatre |
with George Costigan |
| 1989 | Ironmistress | Martha Darby (lead)
(Time Out, Best Actress nomination) |
Blood & Honey Productions | directed by Thomas de Mallet Burgess
with Louise Waddington as Little Cog |
| 1991 | The Transmigration of Timothy Archer | Angel Archer (lead) | Epping Forest College | directed by Geoff Ryman
with Edward de Souza, Colin Hurley |
| 1992 | House | Teresa Brown
(London Fringe Award, Best Actress nomination) |
New Grove Theatre | directed by Martin Clunes
produced by Big Arts with Neil Morrissey |
| 2001 | Love Letters | Melissa | Andrew Sketchley Theatre | directed by Richard Jacques |
| 2008 | The Knotty | Various, including commissioned original song Railway Lines: words and music by Gillian Brown | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | Gala Performance only |
| 2010 | Major Barbara | Barbara | Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent | Excerpt only
with Alan David |
Not an exhaustive list
Selected television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | The Newcomers | Ivy | with Alan Lake
directed by David Giles |
| 1967 | Armchair Theatre - The Heroism of Thomas Chadwick | Mrs. Colclough | directed by Mike Vardy |
| 1968 | Armchair Theatre - The Ballad of the Artificial Mash | The Average Newspaper Reader's Wife | Brown was Musical Director
directed by Dennis Vance |
| 1971 | Casanova | The Nun | four episodes
with Frank Finlay directed by Mark Cullingham |
| 1972 | Colditz - Lord, Didn't It Rain | Sophie | with Robert Wagner, Christopher Neame
directed by Michael Ferguson |
| 1973 | Owen, M.D. - You Don't Get Me | Receptionist | with Nigel Stock, Patrick Troughton |
| 1975 | Z-Cars - Intervention | Edna Dove | with Miles Anderson, James Donnelly, James Ellis |
| 1976 | Doctor Who - The Brain of Morbius | Ohica | with Philip Madoc, Tom Baker |
| 1976 | Angels - Signals | Mrs. Clarke | with Nigel Havers, Sharon Maughan |
| 1977 | The Mayor of Casterbridge | The Maid | with Alan Bates, Anna Massey |
| 1978 | The Stranger's Gift (Our Little Town Series) | Fisherman's wife | with Martin C. Thurley
featuring a thespian chicken |
| 1979 | Grange Hill | Librarian | with Sean Arnold |
| 1979 | Jackanory Playhouse - The Cave of Solomon | Queen of the Serpents | directed by John Prowse |
| 1986 | The Madness Museum | Mary Willcocks | with Simon Callow
written by Ken Campbell |
Not an exhaustive list
References
edit- ^ "Gillian Brown RADA Alumni Profile". RADA. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ "Actors in the Making". Theatre World. Iliffe Books Ltd.: 24 March 1964.
- ^ Kathie McInnes. "Grant will help open up treasure trove of theatre life in North Staffordshire". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ "Saturday-Night Theatre, Sat 21st Feb 1970". BBC Genome. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "George Costigan CV" (PDF). CDA London. p. 2. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ "Festival Theatre, Contemporary" (101). The List Ltd. 18 August 1989: 23. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Martin Clunes CV". Independent Talent Group Limited. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ "Peter Terson - Playwright Database". Doollee. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ Lez Cooke. A sense of place : regional British television drama, 1956-82. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719086786.
- ^ White, Leonard (2003). Armchair Theatre: The Lost Years. Kelly Publications. ISBN 9781903053188.
- ^ Elvgren, Gillete A. (1974). "Documentary Theatre at Stoke-on-Trent". Educational Theatre Journal. 26 (1): 86–98. doi:10.2307/3206583. JSTOR 3206583.
- ^ Elvgren, Gillete A. (1974). "Documentary Theatre at Stoke-on-Trent". Educational Theatre Journal. 26 (1): 90. doi:10.2307/3206583. JSTOR 3206583.
- ^ "The Newcomers, 10th Dec 1965". BBC Genome. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Casanova, Episode 6: Golden Apples". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Colditz: Lord, Didn't It Rain". BBC Genome. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Grange Hill, 18th Dec 1979". BBC Genome. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Gillian Brown BFI Profile". BFI. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "The Brain of Morbius Cast & Crew Summary". Doctor Who Guide. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "You Never Can Tell Cast List". Theatricalia. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
External links
edit- Gillian Brown at IMDb
- Gilly Brown at Theatricalia
Category:1944 births
Category:Living people
Category:English actresses
Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art