Sheila Mary Burrell (9 May 1922 – 19 July 2011) was a British actress. A cousin of
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
, she was born in
Blackheath Blackheath may refer to:
Places England
*Blackheath, London, England
** Blackheath railway station
**Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England
*Blackheath, Surrey, England
** Hundred of Blackh ...
, London, the daughter of a salesman. She attended St John's,
Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...
and the
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to:
*Webber, Kansas, a US city
*Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA
*Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA
*Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA
*Webber (surname)
Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...
, London. Her first marriage to actor
Laurence Payne
Laurence Stanley Payne (5 June 1919 – 23 February 2009) was an English actor and novelist.
Early life
Payne was born in London. His father died when he was three years old, and he and his elder brother and sister were brought up by their ...
was dissolved and she then married David Sim, a portrait and theatre photographer. She is primarily remembered in the United States for her performance as Lady Rochford in three episodes of the television series Six Wives of Henry VIII.
Theatre career
Burrell made her first appearance on the stage in 1942, playing Patsy in ''The Patsy'', entertaining the troops, and made her first appearance in London at the
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...
on 20 April 1944, as Rose in '' The Rest Is Silence''.
Subsequent theatre credits include:
*Chanticleer, June 1944, Sonja in ''Happily Ever After?''
*
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, 1944, Katherine in ''
The Taming of the Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...
''
*
Arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
, October 1944, Judy in '' The Bread-Winner''
*Arts, February 1944, Rosetta in ''
Leonce and Lena
''Leonce and Lena'' (german: Leonce und Lena) is a play by German dramatist Georg Büchner (1813–1837) which is considered a comedy, but is actually a satire veiled in humor. It was written in the spring of 1836 for a competition 'for the best ...
''
*Chanticleer, March 1945, Maia Rubeck in ''
When We Dead Awaken
''When We Dead Awaken'' ( no, Når vi døde vågner) is the last Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. Published in December 1899, Ibsen wrote the play between February and November of that year. The first performance wa ...
''
*Arts, April 1945, Celestine in ''An Italian Straw Hat''
*Arts, October 1947, Mrs Rosenberg in ''Smith''
*
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
, 1947, Bathsheba in ''Monathan''
*Croydon and Embassy, during 1948, Louka in ''
Arms and the Man
''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin:
''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing").
The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Aven ...
'', Gilda in ''
Design for Living
''Design for Living'' is a comedy play written by Noël Coward in 1932. It concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Cowa ...
'' and Judy in ''
The Shining Hour
''The Shining Hour'' is a 1938 American romantic drama film directed by Frank Borzage, based on the 1934 play
''The Shining Hour'' by Keith Winter, and starring Joan Crawford and Margaret Sullavan. The supporting cast of the MGM film features ...
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.
, March and Ambassadors' April 1949, Barbara Allen in '' Dark of the Moon''
*
Embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
, July 1949, Elizabeth in ''Fit for Heroes''
*Touring, February 1950, as Anne Boleyn in ''The White Falcon''
*
Duchess
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...
, April 1950, Clara in ''The Man With the Umbrella''
*
Watergate
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
, November 1950, Margot in ''The Typewriter''
*
Q Theatre
The Q Theatre was a British theatre located near Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios.
The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, wa ...
, February 1951, Letticia in ''The Watchman''
*New Boltons, April 1951, She in ''Happy and Glorious''
* Bristol Old Vic Company, 1951–52 season, Juliette in '' The Traveller Without Luggage'', Curley's wife in ''
Of Mice and Men
''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...
'', Perpetua in ''
Venus Observed
''Venus Observed'' is a play in blank verse by the English dramatist and poet Christopher Fry. The play concerns a Duke who decides to remarry for a third time. He gets his son Edgar to pick the bride. The Duke likes Perpetua but Edgar wants her ...
'' and Rosaline in ''
Love's Labour's Lost
''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and ...
''
*
Vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
, May 1952, Linda Cooper in ''Sweet Madness''
*Embassy, March 1953, Rosina in ''The Herald Angels''
*
Strand
Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
*Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
*Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* Strand Street, ...
(for Repertory Players), May 1954, Elizabeth Glossop in ''Lola''
*Q Theatre, September 1954, Aimée in ''Finishing School''
*Bristol Old Vic, February 1956, Goneril in ''
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 ...
''
*Arts, April 1959, Sedra in ''Dark Halo''
* Connaught (Worthing), October 1960, Joanne in ''The Warm Peninsula''
*Theatre Royal, Bristol, May 1963, Honor Klein in ''
A Severed Head
''A Severed Head'' is a satirical, sometimes farcical 1961 novel by Iris Murdoch. It was Murdoch's fifth published novel.
Primary themes include marriage, adultery, and incest within a group of civilised and educated people. Set in and around ...
'', transferring to the Criterion, London, July 1963, in the same production
* Royale, October 1964, first appearance in New York, Honor Klein in ''A Severed Head''
* Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford, February 1968, Shatov in ''Call Me Jackie''
*
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
, Stratford, 1970 season, Margaret in ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying ...
''
*RSC Aldwych, December 1970, Lucetta in ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona''
* Watford Palace, May 1971, Nora Colerne in ''The Superannuated Man''
*
Royal Court
A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
, August 1971, Mrs James in ''West of Suez'', transferring to the
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site".
Design and construction
It was des ...
* National Theatre at the Old Vic, March 1972, Duchess of Gloucester in ''
Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...
''; then May 1972, Lady Sneerwell in ''
The School for Scandal
''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777.
Plot
Act I
Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sna ...
'', November 1972, First Witch in ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''
*Actors' Company, August 1974, Agave in ''
The Bacchae
''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...
'', Madame Pernelle in ''
Tartuffe
''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...
'' and Madame Giry in ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...
''
*Actors' Company, June 1975, Monica in ''The Last Romantic''
*
Round House
Roundhouse may refer to:
Architecture and buildings Types
* Roundhouse (dwelling), a kind of house with circular walls, prehistoric and modern, all over the world
** Atlantic roundhouse, an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and weste ...
, August 1978, Dame Purecraft in ''
Bartholomew Fair
The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted to Rahere by Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew; and from 1133 to 1855 it took place each year on 24 August within the precin ...
''
*
Soho Poly
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
, April 1979, Evelyn in ''Personal Effects''
*Theatre Upstairs, August 1982, Enid in ''Salonika''
* Lyric Studio, June 1983, ''
Exit the King
''Exit the King'' (french: Le Roi se meurt) is an absurdist drama by Eugène Ionesco that premiered in 1962. It is the third in Ionesco's "Berenger Cycle", preceded by '' The Killer'' (1958) and ''Rhinocéros'' (1959), and followed by ''A Stro ...
Strange Interlude
''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...
''
*
Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
* Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
, January 1985, ''Great Expectations''
*Soho Poly, May 1986, ''Fail/Safe''
*
Gate
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
, April 1987, ''Dog Lady''/''The Cuban Swimmer''
*
Mermaid
In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
(
Shared Experience Shared Experience is a British theatre company. Its current joint
), February 1988, ''Nana''
*Old Vic, April 1990, ''Marya''
*
Orange Tree
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, October 1991, ''
Little Eyolf
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
, February 2002, ''
Phaedra
Phaedra may refer to:
Mythology
* Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus
Arts and entertainment
* ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting
Film
* ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...
''
*Royal Court, November 2002, ''The Lying Kind''
*Orange Tree, March 2003, ''
The House of Bernarda Alba
''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include ...
''
She listed her favourite stage roles as Barbara in '' Dark of the Moon'', Honor Klein in ''
A Severed Head
''A Severed Head'' is a satirical, sometimes farcical 1961 novel by Iris Murdoch. It was Murdoch's fifth published novel.
Primary themes include marriage, adultery, and incest within a group of civilised and educated people. Set in and around ...
The Rossiter Case
''The Rossiter Case'' is a 1951 British crime film directed by Francis Searle and starring Helen Shingler, Clement McCallin, Sheila Burrell and Stanley Baker in a small role. A man has an affair with his disabled wife's sister - and when the si ...
'' (1951) – Honor
* ''
Cloudburst
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, which is capable of creating flood conditions. Cloudbursts can quickly dump large amounts of water, e.g. 25 mm of prec ...
'' (1951) – Lorna Dawson
* '' Black Orchid'' (1953) – Annette
* '' Women Without Men'' (1956) – Babs
* ''Blonde Bait'' (1956) – Bates (uncredited)
* ''The Dawn Killer'' (1959) – Mrs. Hoddy
* ''
Paranoiac
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...
'' (1963) – Aunt Harriet
* ''
Hell Is Empty
''Hell is Empty'' is a 1967 British crime film. It began filming in 1965 under the direction of Bernard Knowles. Filming was suspended and later resumed by John Ainsworth after Martine Carol's death. It also starred Anthony Steel, Shirley Anne ...
'' (1967) – Judge
* ''
The Desperados
''The Desperados'' is a 1969 American Western film directed by Henry Levin and starring Vince Edwards and Jack Palance.
Plot
A ruthless preacher, Parson Josiah Galt, leads a band of Southern marauders during the Civil War that includes his s ...
'' (1969) – Emily Galt
* '' Laughter in the Dark'' (1969) – Miss Porly
* Six Wives of Henry VIII, TV series (1970) - Lady Rochford
* ''American Roulette'' (1988) – Raul's Neighbour
* ''
Afraid of the Dark
''Afraid of the Dark'' is a 1991 French-British drama film directed by Mark Peploe
Mark Peploe (born 3 March 1943) is an English screenwriter and film director. He was the brother of Clare Peploe, and the brother-in-law of director Bernardo ...
'' (1991) – Meg
* ''
Cold Comfort Farm
''Cold Comfort Farm'' is a comic novel by English author Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb.
Plot summary
Following ...
'' (1995) – Ada Doom
* ''
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
'' (1996) – Lady Eshton
* ''The Woodlanders'' (1997) – Grandma Oliver
* ''
Heartbeat
A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart.
Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to:
Computing
*Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system
*Heartbeat, clus ...
'' (2004) – Nellie Pratt
* ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
'' (2005, 2007) –
Phyllis King
Phyllis April King is a British poet. She appears and reads her material on Ivor Cutler's albums ''Dandruff'', ''Velvet Donkey'' and ''Jammy Smears''. King designed some of the Ivor Cutler album covers, and has published poetry and children's b ...