NT25 Platforms: Joan Plowright
T0
Joan Plowright talks about her life in the Olivier Theatre: a venue named after, and owing much to, her husband, and in a theatre where she has played many leading roles. This appearance coincides with the publication of her memoirs And That's Not All, an enthralling and honest account of this north country girl who came to London and was a rising star when she met and conducted an illicit romance with Laurence Olivier, who was then married to Vivien Leigh. Plowright was married to Laurence Olivier for 20 years and they had 3 children. They were a theatrical partnership that helped launch what became the National Theatre. The story of the ups and downs of the National's early years is told in one of the frankest accounts ever. Plowright talks intimately for the first time about life with Olivier. With a host of good stories of a life devoted to acting, of fellow actors and directors from Orson Welles to David Niven, Maggie Smith to Richard Burton, Vanessa Redgrave to Kenneth Tynan, she also recalls a career that has continued to flourish in the years since Olivier's death. Joan Plowright trained at the Laban Centre and the Old Vic. Early London appearances include Orson Welles' production of Moby Dick and Arnold Wesker's Roots and John Osborne's The Entertainer. She played in the opening seasons of the Chichester Festival Theatre and joined the National Theatre company, where she played many leading roles and won Evening Standard Best Actress Award as Shaw's St Joan. In the cinema she has won Golden Globe Awards for Stalin and Enchanted April. Her other films include Tea With Mussolini, 101 Dalmations, Equus and Surviving Picasso.
Archive :: talk:S279797305, venue:V373
Production details