Joan Plowright Biography (1929-)

Full name, Joan Anne (some sources cite Ann) Plowright; born October 28, 1929, in Scunthorpe, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, England; daughter of William Ernest (a journalist and newspaper editor) and Daisy Margaret (maiden name, Burton) Plowright; brother of David Plowright (a television executive and producer); married Roger Gage (an actor), September, 1953 (divorced, 1960); married Laurence Kerr Olivier (an actor and director), March 17, 1961 (died July 11, 1989); children: (second marriage) Richard Kerr (a director and producer), Tamsin Agnes Margaret (an actress), Julie Kate (an actress). Addresses: Agent: Harriet Robinson, International Creative Management, 76 Oxford St., London W1N 0AX, England; United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212-2427.

Gender: Female
Occupation: Actress
Birth Details: October 28, 1929; Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England

Famous Works

CREDITS
Stage Appearances
(Stage debut) Hope, If Four Walls Told, Croydon Repertory Theatre,Croydon, England, 1948
Allison, The Merry Gentlemen, Bristol Old Vic Repertory Theatre, Bristol, England, 1954
(London debut) Donna Clara, The Duenna, Westminster Theatre, 1954
Pip, Moby Dick, Duke of York's Theatre, London, 1955
Mary Warren, The Crucible, English Stage Company, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1956
Baptista, Don Juan, English Stage Company, Royal Court Theatre, 1956
Receptionist, The Death of Satan, English Stage Company, Royal Court Theatre, 1956
Miss Tray, Cards of Identity, English Stage Company, Royal Court Theatre, 1956
Mrs. Shin, The Good Woman of Setzuan, English Stage Company, RoyalCourt Theatre, 1956
Margery Pinchwife, The Country Wife, English Stage Company, RoyalCourt Theatre, 1956 then Adelphi Theatre, London, 1957
Elizabeth Compton, The Making of Moo, Royal Court Theatre, 1957
Jean Rice, The Entertainer, Palace Theatre, London, 1957 then (Broadway debut) Royale Theatre, 1958
Old woman, The Chairs, and pupil, The Lesson (double-bill),Royal Court Theatre, 1957 then (New York debut) Phoenix Theatre, 1958
Title role, Major Barbara, Royal Court Theatre, 1958
Arlette, Hook, Line and Sinker, Piccadilly Theatre, London, 1958
Beatie Bryant, Roots, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, England, then Royal Court Theatre, later Duke of York's Theatre, all 1959
Daisy, Rhinoceros, Royal Court Theatre, 1960
Josephine, A Taste of Honey, Lyceum Theatre, New York City, 1960-1961
Another Constatia, The Chances, Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester, England, 1962
Sonya, Uncle Vanya, Chichester Festival Theatre, then National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, London, both 1962 and 1963
Title role, Saint Joan, Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Chichester Festival Theatre, then National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1963
Maggie Hobson, Hobson's Choice, National Theatre Company, Old VicTheatre, London, 1964
Hilda Wangel, The Master Builder, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1964
Beatrice, Much Ado about Nothing, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1967-1968
Masha, The Three Sisters, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1967-1968
Dorine, Tartuffe, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1967-1968
Teresa, The Advertisement, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, then Royal Theatre, London, 1968
Rosaline, Love's Labour's Lost, National Theatre Company, Old VicTheatre, 1968
Voice of Lilith, Back to Methuselah, Part II, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1969
Portia, The Merchant of Venice, New Theatre, London, 1970
Mistress Anne Frankford, A Woman Killed with Kindness, New Theatre, 1971
Silla, The Rules of the Game, New Theatre, 1971
Jennifer Dubedat, The Doctor's Dilemma, Chichester Festival Theatre, 1972
Katharina, The Taming of the Shrew, Chichester Festival Theatre, 1972
Rebecca West, Rosmersholm, Greenwich Theatre, London, 1973
Rosa, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Old Vic Theatre, 1973 then Queen'sTheatre, London, 1974-1975
Stella Kirby, Eden's End, Old Vic Theatre, then National Theatre,1974
Irena Arkadina, The Seagull, Lyric Theatre Company, 1975
Alma, The Bed before Yesterday, Lyric Theatre Company, 1975
Filumena Marturano, Filumena, Lyric Theatre Company, 1977 then St.James Theatre, New York City, 1980
Mam, Enjoy, Vaudeville Theatre, London, 1980
Martha, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, National Theatre, 1981
Cavell, National Theatre, 1982
Madame Ranevskaya, The Cherry Orchard, Theatre Royal, Haymarket Theatre, London, 1983
Lady Wishfort, The Way of the World, Chichester Festival Theatre,then Theatre Royal, Haymarket Theatre, 1984
Mrs. Warren, Mrs. Warren's Profession, National Theatre Company, Lyttelton Theatre, London, 1985
La Poncia, The House of Bernarda Alba, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith,England, 1986 then Globe Theatre, London, 1987
Uncle Vanya, 1988
Mrs. Conway, Time and the Conways, Theatr Clwyd, Wales, then Old Vic Theatre, 1990
Dennis the Menace, Chicago, IL, 1992
If We Are Women, 1995
Stage Appearances; Major Tours

Orson's Shadow, U.S. cities, 2000
Toured South African cities with Old Vic Company, 1952.
Stage Work
Codirector, An Evasion of Women, National Theatre, 1969
Codirector and producer, The Travails of Sancho Panza, National Theatre, 1969
Director, Rites, National Theatre, 1969
Director (with Sean Mathias), A Prayer for Wings, Edinburgh Festival, c. 1985, then Bush Theatre, London, 1985
Major Tours
Director, Married Love, English cities, 1988
Film Appearances
Moby Dick, Warner Bros., 1956
Agnes Cole, Time without Pity, Astor, 1957
Jean Rice, The Entertainer, Continental, 1960
Much Ado about Nothing, 1969
Masha, The Three Sisters, Brandon, 1970 released in the United States by American Film Theatre, 1974
Dora Strang, Equus, Warner Bros., 1977
Norma Bates, Brimstone and Treacle, Namara, 1982
Phyllis Grimshaw, Britannia Hospital, Universal, 1982
Mrs. McConnahay, Revolution, Warner Bros., 1985
First Cissie Colpitts, Drowning by Numbers, Film Four/Elsevier Vendex, 1988
Aunt Nellie, The Dressmaker, Film Four/British Screen, 1988
Nadja, I Love You to Death, TriStar, 1990
Eva Krichinsky, Avalon, TriStar, 1990
Mrs. Fisher, Enchanted April, Miramax, 1992
Teacher, The Last Action Hero, Columbia, 1993
Martha Wilson, Dennis the Menace (also known as Dennis), Warner Bros., 1993
Grandma, A Pin for the Butterfly, Skreba Films, 1994
Mrs. Doyle Counihan, Widows' Peak, Fine Line, 1994
The Grass Harp, 1995
Mrs. Linzer, A Pyromaniac's Love Story (also known as Burning Love), Buena Vista, 1995
Marge Morrissey, Hotel Sorrento (also known as Sorrento Beach), Trimark Pictures/Castle Hill, 1995
Harriet Hibbons, The Scarlet Letter, Buena Vista, 1995
Mrs. Fairfax, Jane Eyre, Miramax, 1996
Mrs. Crawford, Mr. Wrong, Buena Vista, 1996
Francoise's grandmother, Surviving Picasso, Warner Bros., 1996
Nanny, 101 Dalmations, Buena Vista, 1996
Mrs. Bober, The Assistant, Lions Gate Films, 1997
Bea Johnson, Dance with Me, Columbia, 1998
Mary Wallace, Tea with Mussolini (also known as Un te con Mussolini), G2 Films, 1999
Mrs. Bartholomew, Tom's Midnight Garden, BS24/Hyperion Productions/Isle of Man Film Commission, 1999
Voice of Baylene, Dinosaur, Buena Vista, 2000
Lady Foxley, Global Heresy, GFT Entertainment, 2001
Television Appearances
Specials
The School for Scandal, BBC, 1959 then syndicated, 1966
Viola, Sebastian, Twelfth Night, BBC, 1967
Sofya, "Uncle Vanya," NET Playhouse, National Educational Television, 1967
Portia, The Merchant of Venice, BBC, 1973 then ABC, 1974
Laurence Olivier: A Life, 1982 then PBS, 1986
Edith, "A Dedicated Man," Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1985
Mam Stott, "And a Nightingale Sang," Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1989
One Man in His Time: A Tribute to Laurence Olivier, Arts and Entertainment, 1990
La Poncia, The House of Bernarda Alba, PBS, 1991
Movies
Edith Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank, NBC, 1980
Olga Alliluyeva, Stalin, HBO, 1992
Mrs. Monro, Clothes in the Wardrobe (also known as The Summer House), BBC, 1992
Dorothy, A Place for Annie, ABC, 1994
Mrs. Yeobright, The Return of the Native, CBS, 1994
Jeanne Vertefeuille, Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within, Showtime, 1998
Phoebe, Frankie & Hazel, Showtime, 2000
Series
Marie Pinoni, Encore! Encore!, NBC, 1998
Episodic
Odd Man In, BBC, 1958
Secret Agent, BBC, 1959
Miniseries
Mrs. Taylor, Wagner, 1983
Other
Adriana, A Comedy of Errors, 1954
Saturday, Sunday, Monday, 1977
Lady Pitts, Daphne Laureola (also known as Laurence Olivier Presents: Daphne Laureola), 1978
Meg, The Birthday Party, 1986
Lady Bracknell, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1986
Mrs. Appletree, On Promised Land, 1994
Rosemary, This Could Be the Last Time, BBC, 1998
Back to the Secret Garden, 1999
Reader, Christmas Glory 2000, ITV (England), 2000
Aunt Angie, Bailey's Mistake, ABC, 2001

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

International Dictionary of Theatre, Volume 3: Actors, Directors, and Designers, St. James Press, 1996

Periodicals

Ladies Home Journal, May, 1980, p. 21
Radio Times, September 19, 1998, pp. 18-22

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