- Janet Suzman
Janet Suzman (born
9 February 1939 ) is aSouth Africa n actress and director.Early life
Born in
Johannesburg to aJewish family, the niece of civil rights/anti-apartheid campaigner,Helen Suzman , she was educated atKingsmead College , Johannesburg, and at theUniversity of the Witwatersrand where she studied English and French. She moved toLondon in 1959.Career
After training for the stage at LAMDA, Suzman made her debut as Liz in "
Billy Liar " at the Tower Theatre,Ipswich in 1962. She then became a member of theRoyal Shakespeare Company in 1963 and started her career there as Joan of Arc in "The Wars of the Roses" (1962-64). The RSC gave her the opportunity to play many of theShakespearean heroines, including Rosaline in "Love's Labour's Lost ", Portia in "The Merchant of Venice ", Ophelia in "Hamlet ", Kate in "The Taming of the Shrew ", Beatrice in "Much Ado About Nothing ", Celia and Rosalind in "As You Like It ", Lavinia in "Titus Andronicus " and a notable Cleopatra in 1973. Although her stage appearances tended to run naturally towardsShakespeare and the classics, including Ibsen"'sHedda Gabler ", Chekhov's "The Three Sisters", Marlowe, Racine, Gorky, Brecht, she has also appeared in plays by Genet, Pinter,Ronald Harwood ,Nicholson , Albee and others.Films and TV
She appeared in many British television drama productions in the 1960s and early 1970s, including "
Saint Joan " (1968), "Three Sisters" (1969), "Macbeth " (1970), "Hedda Gabler " (1972), "Twelfth Night " (1973), Lord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy, as Lady Mountbatten (1985) andDennis Potter 's "The Singing Detective " (1986). Her first film role was in 1971, in "Nicholas and Alexandra ", and she was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actress , the BAFTA and theGolden Globe for her portrayal of the Empress Alexandra. This was followed by "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg " (1972) oppositeAlan Bates . She has made few films since, the best-known beingDon Siegel 's "The Black Windmill " (1974), "Nijinsky" (1980),Peter Greenaway 's "The Draughtsman's Contract " (1982), "A Dry White Season ", (1989) withMarlon Brando ,Federico Fellini 's "E la Nave Va " (1989), "Nuns on the Run " (1990), a rarecomedy performance.Later years
Back in her native South Africa, she has directed "
Othello ", which was also televised, and Brecht's "The Good Woman of Setzuan " (renamed "The Good Woman ofSharpeville ") both at theMarket Theatre , Johannesburg. She has also recently toured her modern adaptation of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard " - a South African response entitled "The Free State". She wrote, starred in and directed this piece with theBirmingham Repertory Theatre . Other productions with Suzman as director include "A Dream of People" at the RSC, "The Cruel Grasp" at the Edinburgh Festival, Feydeau's "No Flies on Mr Hunter" (Chelsea Centre, 1992); "Death of a Salesman " (Theatr Clywd, 1993); andPam Gems 's "The Snow Palace" (Tour and Tricycle Theatre, 1998).Recent activities
In 2002, she returned to the RSC to perform in a new version of "The Hollow Crown" with
Donald Sinden ,Ian Richardson andDerek Jacobi . In 2005, she appeared in the West End in a revival of Brian Clark's 1978 play "Whose Life Is It Anyway? " starringKim Cattrall . In 2006, she directed "Hamlet " and in 2007, she is scheduled to play Volumnia in "Coriolanus" inStratford-upon-Avon .Suzman is the author of "Acting With Shakespeare: Three Comedies", a book based on a series of acting master classes.
She holds Honorary D.Litt. degrees from the Universities of Warwick, Leicester, London (QMW), Southampton, Middlesex and Kingston.
Her marriage (1969) to director
Trevor Nunn , which ended in divorce (1986), was a famous theatrical alliance.ee also
*
List of South Africans
*List of Jews from Sub-Saharan Africa External links
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