| Theatre Profiles - Sir John Gielgud |
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John Gielgud was born on 14 April 1904. Coming from a famous theatrical family, his acting career started early and he had already become a leading man in London's West End by the mid-1920s. His first major success in Shakespeare came during the 1929-30 season at the Old Vic, after which Hamlet transferred to the Queen's Theatre. He continued to play Hamlet until 1946 among a dazzling variety of other roles. He directed and occasionally designed many of his own productions. After the Second World War his career seemed to stall until he was invited to perform in Stratford for the 1950 season. This opportunity set him off on a completely new course. He was encouraged by the iconoclastic young director Peter Brook to abandon the romantic, highly emotional effects for which he was famous in favour of a much sparer, harsher style in which he was still able to use his superb voice and acting techniques. This new style was most apparent in Measure for Measure. Following the success of the 1950 season Gielgud's career took off in new directions: he found himself in demand in modern plays written by a new generation of authors including Harold Pinter, Alan Bennett and David Storey. And he began a successful career in film, which brought him to a completely new audience, from two versions of Julius Caesar, one with Marlon Brando*, the other with Charlton Heston*, to Providence, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Richard Burton's Hamlet*, Arthur, (for which he won an Oscar), Prospero's Books* and Elizabeth among many others. He also took minor but important roles in the BBC Shakespeare series playing the Chorus in Romeo and Juliet* and John of Gaunt in Richard II*. He was knighted in 1953. He carried on working almost up to his death, aged 96, on 21 May 2000.
He was one of the greatest actors, and probably the most important man of the theatre, in the UK in the twentieth century. Further information can be found in the following books: Gyles Brandreth, John Gielgud, a Celebration (London: Pavilion Books, 1984)*Jonathan Croall, Gielgud, a Theatrical Life (London: Methuen, 2000)* John Gielgud in collaboration with John Miller and John Powell, An Actor and his Time (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1979)* John Gielgud with John Miller, Shakespeare – hit or miss? (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1991)* Rosamund Gilder, John Gielgud's Hamlet. A Record of Performance (London: Methuen, 1937)* Robert Tanitch, Gielgud (London: Harrap, 1980* Though there are no full-length film recordings of his theatrical work, his films, TV work and sound recordings are still available. His one-man Shakespeare anthology, Ages of Man*, in which he reprised sections of many of his famous roles, was recorded in 1959. * = available for consultation in the Shakespeare Centre Library Sylvia Morris, Shakespeare Centre Library & Archive |
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