Gillian Barge (born Gillian Betty Bargh, 27 May 1940 – 19 November 2003) was an English stage, television and film actress. She was born in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. She started acting at the age of 17, training at the Birmingham Theatre School. Barge's stage roles included ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...

'' (as Varya), ''

Measure For Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' (Isabella) and ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' (Paulina). In 2001, she was nominated for a

Laurence Olivier Theatre Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in '' Passion Play'' at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Micha ...

. Gillian was also a member of the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

. In addition to her theatre work, Barge has numerous television appearances to her credit. These include guest appearances on episodes of ''

Pie in the Sky Pie in the sky, an idiom meaning an impossible or unlikely idea or plan as well as an empty wish or promise. Pie in the sky may refer to: * ''Pie in the Sky'' (TV series), a UK television series about a police officer turned restaurateur * ''Pie ...

'' (1996), ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

'' (1994), ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' (2002), ''

One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour shows) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first fi ...

''(1990), '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (1980), ''

Van der Valk ''Van der Valk'' is a British television crime drama series produced for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The first series ran from 1972 to 1992; followed by a remake in 2020. Created by Nicolas Freeling and based on his novels about a dete ...

'' (1977), ''Softly, Softly'' (1972) and also in the

BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...

production of

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 an ...

starring as

Goneril Goneril is a character in William Shakespeare's tragic play ''King Lear'' (1605). She is the eldest of King Lear's three daughters. Along with her sister Regan, Goneril is considered a villain, obsessed with power and overthrowing her elderly fa ...

in 1982. Her film credits include '' The National Health'' (1973). She portrayed

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly ...

in the TV movie, '' A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia'' (1990). Her second husband was the actor

Clive Merrison Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a British actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 ...

. In 2003, at age 63, she died of cancer.

Selected film and television roles

Film credits include: *'' The National Health'' (1973) - Dr. Bird *''Seal Island'' (1976) - Warden's Wife *''Singleton's Pluck'' (1984) - Gwen *''

Mesmer Franz Anton Mesmer (; ; 23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorised the existence of a natural energy transference occurring between all animated and inanimate objects; this he called "anim ...

'' (1994) - Frau Mesmer *''The Discovery of Heaven'' (2001) - Onno's mother *'' Charlotte Gray'' (2001) - Madame Galliot *''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...

'' (2003) - Cabinet Minister *''Money Kills'' (2012) - Helga (final film role) Television credits include: *''

'' (1982) - Goneril *'' A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia'' (1990) (TV) -

*''

'' (1990) 'The Eternal Quadrangle as 'Mrs Doreen Mauleverer' *''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

The Mysterious Affair at Styles ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United ...

'' (1990) - Emily Inglethorp *'' Miss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors'' (1991) - Mildred Strete *''

A Dance to the Music of Time ''A Dance to the Music of Time'' is a 12-volume ''roman-fleuve'' by English writer Anthony Powell, published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim. The story is an often comic examination of movements and manners, power and passivity in Eng ...

'' (1997) - Mrs Erdleigh *'' The Uninvited'' (1997) - Mary Madigan *''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ...

: Winter Angel'' (1999) - Cheryl *''

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were broa ...

The Lake of Darkness ''The Lake of Darkness'' is a novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1980. It won the Arts Council National Book Award for Genre Fiction in 1981. The title comes from a quotation from Shakespeare's King Lear ''King Lear ...

'' (1999) (TV) - Mrs Urban *''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most ...

'' (1999 episode: ''The First Stone'') - Grace Longfield *''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...

'' (2000) - Princess Shcherbatskaya *'' The Jury'' (2002) - Eva Prohaska / Juror No.9 *''

'' (2002 episode: ''A Worm in the Bud'') - Hannah Harrington

References

External links and references

*
Obituary
by Peter Gill {{DEFAULTSORT:Barge, Gillian 1940 births 2003 deaths Actresses from Sussex Deaths from cancer in England English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses People from Hastings