Cicely Frances Berry (17 May 1926 – 15 October 2018) was a British theatre director and vocal coach. Berry trained under Elsie Fogerty at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London. She was the voice director for the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1969 to 2014, and worked as a voice and text coach as an instructor at London's

. She conducted workshops all over the globe, including

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Her work also extended to prisons, using Shakespeare as a vessel to find confidence in speaking and response to imagery. One of her earliest teachers was Barbara Bunch. In addition to her voice and text work in the theatre, she also did work in film, including serving as "dialogue coach" on ''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' ( it, L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted ...

'' (1987); "dialogue coach" on ''

Stealing Beauty ''Stealing Beauty'' (french: Beauté volée; it, Io ballo da sola) is a 1996 drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Liv Tyler, Joseph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons, Sinéad Cusack, and Rachel Weisz. Written by Bertolucci and Susan Mi ...

'' (1996); and as "voice specialist" on

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...

's 1999 film, ''

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

''.

Books

* ''Voice and the Actor'' (1973) * ''Your Voice and How to Use It'' * ''The Actor and the Text'' * ''Text in Action'' * ''Word Play: A Textual Handbook for Directors and Actors''

Directing

* ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' for the National Theatre Education Unit * ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

'' for The Other Place and The Royal Shakespeare Company

Honours

* 1985 - Received OBE * 1992 - Nominated for special award by Arts Council for her ‘response to the challenges posed by a technologically diverse and increasingly multi-cultural environment.’ * 1997 – Doctor Honoris, National Academy of Film and Theatre Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria * 1999 – Honorary Doctorate of Literature from Birmingham University * 2000 – The Sam Wanamaker Prize for pioneering work in theatre * 2001 – Honorary Doctorate of Literature from the Open University * 2009 - Berry was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Barnett, Laura,
Cicely Berry, Voice Coach to the Stars
'. Guardian * Berry, Cicely, documentary. ''Where Words Prevail''. Dir. Steven Budlong and Salvatore Rasa. Sorjourner Media, L.L.C., 2005. * Berry, Cicely, Kristin Linklater, and Patsy Rodenburg. "Shakespeare, Feminism, and Voice: Responses to Sarah Werner." New Theatre Quarterly XIII.49 (1997): 48-52. * Berry, Cicely. ''Voice and the Actor''. New York: Hungry Minds, Inc., 1973. * https://www.imdb.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Cicely 1926 births 2018 deaths British voice coaches British theatre directors British voice directors Academics of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Women theatre directors