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Selma Vaz Dias, also known as Selma Cohen-Vaz Dias (23 November 1911 — 30 August 1977), was a British actress, writer, and painter. Dias was born in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
to Jacob Vaz Dias and Hana Hamburger. She had a brother, Salomon. She moved to the United Kingdom, where she spent most of her career. Her cinematic credits include performances in the films of major British directors, including
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's ''
The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel ''The Wheel Spins'' by Ethel L ...
'' (1938) and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's ''
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing ''One of Our Aircraft Is Missing'' (stylized onscreen as ''......one of our aircraft is missing'') is a 1942 British black-and-white war film, mainly set in the German-occupied Netherlands. It was the fourth collaboration between the British writ ...
'' (1942). She also appeared in Ernest Morris' ''
The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the n ...
'' (1960). Author
Jean Rhys Jean Rhys, ( ; born Ella Gwendolyn Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a British novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she mainly resided in England, where she was sent for her ...
credited Dias with reawakening her literary inclinations. Rhys had disappeared from public view and fallen into obscurity shortly after her novel '' Good Morning, Midnight'' was published, in 1939. When Dias adapted the novel for theatrical presentation in 1949, Rhys said that Dias had "lifted the numb hopeless feeling that stopped me writing for so long". In 1957, Dias's
radio adaptation Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
of ''Good Morning, Midnight'' was broadcast by 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. ...
...
. She played Solange in the two British premières (the first, given in French, the second, in English) of
Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
's ''
The Maids ''The Maids'' (french: Les Bonnes, links=no) is a 1947 play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed. The pla ...
'', both of which were directed by
Peter Zadek Peter Zadek (; 19 May 1926 – 30 July 2009) was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. Biography Peter Zadek was born on 19 May ...
, in 1952 and 1956 respectively. She also played the lead role, Irma (a brothel madam), in the world première of Genet's ''
The Balcony ''The Balcony'' (french: Le Balcon) is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It is set in an unnamed city that is experiencing a revolutionary uprising in the streets; most of the action takes place in an upmarket brothel that functions as a ...
'', which opened on 22 April
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
, in a production directed by Zadek at the Arts Theatre Club, a "private theatre club" that enabled the production to circumvent the
Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...
's ban on public performances of the play.Styan, J. L. (1981) ''Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd.'' Vol. 2 of ''Modern Drama in Theory and Practice.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. (p. 149) .; White, Edmund. 1993. ''Genet.'' Corrected edition. London: Picador, 1994. (p. xxiv; 481). . Dias died in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on 30 August 1977. She was survived by her husband, the journalist Hans Werner Egli, with whom she had a son and daughter.


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* 1911 births 1977 deaths Actresses from Amsterdam 20th-century British writers 20th-century British actresses Dutch emigrants to the United Kingdom {{UK-writer-stub