Jill Fraser,

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(15 April 1946 – 10 February 2006) was a British theatre owner and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. The daughter of the actor Alec Fraser, who played the Vagabond King in New York, and the West End actress Guinevere Fraser, she co-owned (with her husband James Sargant), and was artistic director of, the

Watermill Theatre The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted watermill on the River Lambourn. As a producing house, the theatre has produced works that have subsequently moved on to the West E ...

from 1981 until her death. The Watermill Theatre is located in the hamlet of Bagnor near Newbury in Berkshire. Under her direction it became a major regional theatre, attracted

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

to be its president (until his death in 1995), furthered the careers of new acting talents (including

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

and David Suchet), and provided an outreach programme to take drama to communities without theatres. "The Watermill, steered by its enterprising artistic director Jill Fraser, is one of the few theatres in the country that seems to make a conscious effort to promote new musicals, as opposed to revivals, transfers from Broadway and compilation shows... Celebrations for the theatre's 30th birthday included excerpts from its world premiere productions of The Ugly Duckling, Warts And All, and The Great Big Radio Show!""Scores to Settle", editorial in The Stage, May 29, 1997 Although she and her husband had put the theatre up for sale with the intention of securing its longer term future (the preferred option being the Watermill Theatre Trust, set up to continue Fraser's vision), she died from cancer, aged 59, before this was due to be completed in summer 2006. However, the security of its long-term future is in no doubt.

References

External links

Obituary in The Times

The Telegraph memorial article

Watermill Theatre web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Jill 1946 births 2006 deaths English theatre directors Members of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from cancer in England People educated at South Hampstead High School People from Speen, Berkshire