Lindy Davies (born 29 August 1946) is an Australian actress, director, actor trainer and performance consultant.[1] She played Ruth Ballinger in the Australian soap opera Prisoner in 1985, and won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1986 film Malcolm. She went on to be the head of drama at the Victorian College of the Arts for over 11 years until 2007,[2] and worked as a performance consultant on films including Afterglow (1997) and Away From Her (2006) with Julie Christie.
Lindy Davies | |
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| Born | 29 August 1946 Melbourne Victoria, Australia |
| Occupations |
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| Website | www.lindydavies.com |
Career
editBorn in Melbourne, Victoria, Davies has been an influence on many actors, including Cate Blanchett,[3] Harriet Walter,[4][5] and Julie Christie.[6] She directed Blanchett in Electra at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992, and worked with Christie as a consultant on the Dennis Potter TV series Karaoke (1996) and the films Hamlet (1996), Afterglow (1997), Away From Her (2006) and Glorious 39 (2009).
Davies, who has said that "Intuition" is the defining principle of her process.[7][8] has also conducted master classes for actors, writers and directors at the Canadian Film Centre from 2010 - 2016.[9]
As director
edit- National Theatre of Slovenia: Scenes From an Execution
- National Theatre of Slovenia: The Changeling[10]
- Moscow Maly Theatre, Old Times.
- Wyndham's Theatre West End, Old Times (with Julie Christie, Leigh Lawson and Harriet Walter).[5][11]
- Theatr Clwyd, Old Times (with Julie Christie and Leigh Lawson)[11]
- Chichester Festival Theatre, Hedda Gabler (with Harriet Walter Nicholas Le Prevost and Phyllida Law)[12]
- Chichester Festival Theatre, Suzannah Andler (with Julie Christie)
- Sydney Theatre Company, Three Days of Rain, A Month in the Country (Opera House), Old Times
- Bell Shakespeare Company:, As You Like It (Opera House);
- Belvoir St Company B, Scenes from an Execution (nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Director)
- State Theatre Company of South Australia, Room to Move
- Playbox, Fool for Love
- Victorian College of the Arts, The Rover, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Women Beware Women (Middleton/Barker), The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters, Lysistrata.
- National Institute of Dramatic Art, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Electra; Miss Sarah Sampson.
- Pram Factory: Calling For Help
- La Mama: Calling For Help
- Open Stage: Marat Sade; Ride Across Lake Constance; The Birthday Party
Performance Consultant
editLindy Davies has developed an approach to performance: a process; which is an intuitive imaginative connection to language, space and transformation.
She has worked as a Performance Advisor/Consultant on many films including:
- Sarah Polley's Away from Her with Julie Christie.
- Lindy also worked with Julie Christie on Neverland and Troy.
- Alan Rudolph's Afterglow with Julie Christie.
- Sally Potter's The Tango Lesson.
- Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet with Julie Christie.
- Dennis Potter's Karaoke with Julie Christie.
- Michael Whyte's The Railway Stationman with Julie Christie.
- Pat O'Connor's Fools of Fortune with Julie Christie.
- Australia: includes Looking For Alibrandi, Radiance, The Leaving of Liverpool, Talk, MDA.
- Indivision Lab 2009 AFC Consultant alongside Christine Vachon, Susanne Bier and Claudia Karvan.
- Screen Australia 2011 Flash Black Performance Workshop for Indigenous Directors.
Actor Training
edit- From November 1995 to January 2007, Lindy Davies was the Head of the School of Drama at the former Victorian College of Arts in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[9]
- Lindy Davies created an integrated curriculum for the training of Actors, Directors, Writers, Theatre-Makers, Designers and Technical Practitioners at the School of Drama of the former Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne.
- From 1979 to 1982 she held the position of Head of Acting at the Victorian College of Arts.
- From 1970 to 1978 she was a lecturer in drama at Melbourne State College.
Actress
edit- Malcolm, (AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress)
- Belvoir St Company B, Scenes from an Execution (Galactea), (nominated for a Critic's Circle Award for Best Actress)
- N.I.D.A. Company, Vassa, (Vassa) (nominated for a Critic's Circle Award for Best Actress)
- State Theatre Company of South Australia, The Seagull (Arkadina) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Martha), Wild Honey (Anna Petrovna).
- Hunter Valley Theatre Company, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Martha), Condor Award for Best Actress.
- New Work: Lyndal Jones: Prediction Piece; Nan Hassall: Biennale Piece; Jenny Kemp: The White Hotel.
- Playbox, Upside Down at the Bottom of the World, (Frida), World is Made of Glass (Magda), Buried Child (Haley).
- Rex Cramphorn's Actor's Development Stream, Antony and Cleopatra,(Cleopatra) Britannicus (Agrippina), Hamlet (Gertrude) Not Suitable for Adults (Kate).
- La Mama, Mishka and Nomagava.(Mishka); Thoughts on Meeting A Friend; Halewyn; Tombstone.
- The Pram Factory, Marvellous Melbourne; Marvellous Melbourne II; Chicago Chicago; Don's Party.
- La Mama Experimental Theatre Company: Calm Down Mother; Comings and Goings; Birth of Space; I Don't Know Who to Feel Sorry For; Dimboola, Halewyn.
Awards
edit- Malcolm, (AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress)
- Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award - A special citation for her contribution to performing arts in Australia.
- Recipient of the Monash University Distinguished Alumni Award for inspirational leadership and significant contribution to the theory and practice of drama.[13]
References
edit- ^ "The 1998 Rex Cramphorn Memorial Lecture: Become the Change". Australasian Drama Studies (34). April 1999.
- ^ "Lindy Davies interview". Debbie Kruger. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett - Biography". Cate Blanchett. 11 May 2011.
- ^ Walter, Harriet (1999). Other People's Shoes: Thoughts on Acting. Viking. ISBN 9780670883530.
- ^ a b Billington, Michael (2007). Harold Pinter. Faber and Faber. p. 371. ISBN 978-0571234769.
- ^ Christie, Julie (11 September 2006). Away from her (DVD Commentary). Canada: Lionsgate Films (US).
Julie Christie refers to Davies as her acting guru
- ^
- Ginters, Laura (April 2007). "Lindy Davies: a path to a process, Part 1". Australasian Drama Studies (50).
- Ginters, Laura (April 2008). "Lindy Davies: A Path to a Process, Part 2". Australasian Drama Studies (52).
- ^ Strube, Helen (1996). The autonomous actor : a case study of Lindy Davies (Thesis). Queensland University of Technology.
- ^ a b "Lindy Davies". cfccreates.com. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "Lindy Davies directs "The Changeling" in Drama - Slovenian National Theatre". Vimeo. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- ^ a b McFadyean, Melanie (23 July 1995). "Julie Darling". Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022 – via independent.co.uk.
- ^ Gross, John (17 August 1996). "Hedda to Hedda". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016 – via telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Distinguished Alumni Awards". Monash University.[permanent dead link]
External links
edit- Lindy Davies' website
- Lindy Davies at IMDb
- The Old Times (1995) Wyndham"s Theatre, London Photo Gallery
- Staff profile at Victorian College of Arts