Ann Emery (12 March 1930 – 28 September 2016) was a British actress. She was the half-sister of actor and comedian
Dick Emery
Richard Gilbert Emery (19 February 19152 January 1983) was an English comedian and actor. His broadcasting career began on radio in the 1950s, and his self-titled television series ran from 1963 to 1981.
Life and career
Richard Gilbert Emery was ...
.
Educated at Mrs Smith's School for Young Ladies and the
Cone Ripman School, she excelled in
tap dancing
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...
, which led to her first stage role as a Babe in ''
Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents en ...
'' at the King's Theatre, Hammersmith. During her career she performed in various theatre roles, including
Sir Trevor Nunn's production of ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
'' (
Royal National Theatre and the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...
).
She originated the role of Grandma in ''
Billy Elliot the Musical
''Billy Elliot: The Musical'' is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy, a ...
''
which she played from 2005–10. Reviewing the musical in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Michael Billington noted, "... when Ann Emery, as Billy's gran, sings of her sour memories of her husband, we get on the other side of the stage a collective demonstration of the slow movements of the inebriated working-class male. It is the kind of effect that can only be achieved in a musical."
Following her appearance in ''
Betty Blue Eyes
''Betty Blue Eyes'' is a 2011 stage musical comedy based on the 1984 film ''A Private Function'', and features music by George Stiles, with lyrics by Anthony Drewe. The book was written for the stage by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, adapted from ...
'', Emery returned to the role of Grandma which she played until 8 November 2014, when she retired, aged 84.
Emery is possibly best known for playing Ethel Meaker in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''.
''.
In 1992, she had appeared in the national tour of the Kander and Ebb musical ''70 Girls 70'' with
, in which she appeared attempting to dance to one of the group's songs as they rehearsed in the opening scene.
She played "Mother Dear" in Sir
. ''Betty Blue Eyes'' ran at the
from April to September 2011.
two years to the day after the performance of ''Billy Elliot'' that was live-streamed to cinemas, and subsequently put on DVD as ''Billy Live''.
bfi.org.uk; accessed 1 November 2016.
*