Established in 1994 at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill, the Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts is the Guild's most significant contribution to the performing arts, a celebration that has occurred in such venues as the British Embassy in Washiington, Lincoln Center in New York, and Middle Temple Hall in London. But in many ways the culmination of our tributes to the life and legacy of Sir John occurred on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, in what has been revered for centuries as the most sacred edifice in the United Kingdom.
A WESTMINSTER ABBEY CEREMONY IN HONOR OF SIR JOHN GIELGUD
One of the globe's most iconic settiings,
WESTMINSTER ABBEY is renowned, among other things, for POETS'
CORNER, where Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and other authors
are honored along with such legendary dramatic artists as
Henry Irving, the first actor to be knighted, and
Laurence Olivier, a legend in whose name each season's award-worthy
achievements are now recognized by the Society
of London Theatre.
The focus of our proceedings was a beautiful new floor
monument, carved by WAYNE
HART, to commemorate the life and legacy of
SIR JOHN GIELGUD. By design the occasion linked two resonant birthdays,
Shakespeare's 458th (the playwright was baptized on April 26, 1564) and
Gielgud's 118th (the actor was born on April 14, 1904).
To give viewers a foretaste of the Abbey festivities, actress and singer Shana
Farr of The Players
and Guild president John
Andrews hosted an online conversation in February that permitted Mr.
Hart to outline his approach to this special commission and allow viewers
to observe his first incisions in the marble slab that would soon be placed
in Poets' Corner. To revisit that poignant moment, click
here.
For background on a ceremony that would prove to be deeply moving, you'll
enjoy an April 11th article in The
Stage, where Sir Stanley Wells of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
discusses Sir John's
life and career and alludes to an October 2019 conversation at the Gielgud
Theatre between John Andrews of the Guild and Paul Edmondson of the Trust that helped prepare the way for the festivities that occurred two and a half years later at the Abbey.
Participants in the program included
DAME JANET SUZMAN, who serves as a member of the
Sir John Gielgud Charitable Trust, vocalist SHANA
FARR, and four Gielgud Award recipients: producer and filmmater
SIR RICHARD EYRE, playwright
SIR DAVID HARE, and performers
DAME JUDI DENCH and SIR
IAN MCKELLEN.
To view the Abbey's "Order of Service," click here. And click on the blue links that follow for photographs of (a)
the printed booklet, (b)
The Very Reverend DR. DAVID HOYLE, Dean of Westminster, as he opens
the proceedings, (c) DAME JANET SUZMAN
as she reads Psalm 19:1-6, (d) SIR
RICHARD EYRE as he pays tribute to Sir John, (e) SIR
IAN MCKELLEN as he recites a Shakespearean passage from "The Book of
Sir Thomas More," (f) SIR DAVID HARE as
he extols the ease with which Sir John made the transition from classical
roles at the beginning of his career to more contemporary ones as he matured,
(g) DAME JUDI DENCH as she recites Sonnet
29, (h) SHANA FARR as she introduces her
rendering of "Jerusalem," and (i)
DAME JUDI as she unveils the memorial stone.
Not surprisingly, there was significant media coverage. For a sampling of
stories on television's BBC One and in London newspapers such as the Daily
Mail, the Evening Standard, the Telegraph, and the
Times, click here.
And for additional highlights, including video links to key moments in the
service, see the articles in the Irvine
Times, in Yahoo
News, in Lynn
News, and in the
Bishop's Stortford Independent.
Attendees included Guardian critic Michael
Billington, who shared his reactions to the event on Twitter
and said that the evening "struck just the right note: a mix of admiration
for Gielgud and delight in his humour." Also on hand for the occasion were
such notables as actor and director
Keith Baxter, writer
Giles Brandreth, arts consultant
Stephen Browning and his wife Julia, theatre critic
Michael Coveney, Gielgud biographer
Jonathan Croall, BBC radio host
Billy Differ, who also serves as Director of Operations for Delfont
Mackintosh Theatres, actress
Kate Gielgud, producers Piers
and Suzanne Gielgud, producer Thelma
Holt, actors Sir Derek Jacobi and
Richard Clifford, actress
Kathryn Meisle, film producer
David Parfitt, former Old Vic executive director Vivien
Wallace, actors
Timothy West and
Prunella Scales, and Shakespeare Birthplace Trust leaders
Sir Stanley Wells, Honorary President, and
Paul Edmondson, Head of Research.
Among other things, the occasion provided vivid reminders that Sir John
will always be revered for his extraordinary career as an actor, director,
and producer. These achievements were extolled with particular eloquence
in the tributes by SIR
RICHARD EYRE and SIR
DAVID HARE.
But it's equally important to remember that Sir John will also be cherished
for his witty repartee, and for his gifts as an eloquent memoirist, a shrewd
critic, and an indispensable theatre historian. Among his most lasting contributions
to our cultural lives will be the charming books and articles he wrote,
among them several that he produced, along with a memorable interview that
was televised from his stately home in Wotton Underwood, with journalist,
arts presenter, and biographer John
Miller. Unfortunately, John and his wife Aileen were unable to join us at the Abbey, and he died a few months later. Click here for the lovely obituary that apppeared shortly thereafter in The Guardian.
In 1985 Sir John provided an incisive overview about "Tradition,
Style, and the Shakespearean Actor Today" to William
Shakespeare: His World, His Work, His Influence, a 3-volume reference
set that was published by Scribners.
A few years later he wrote illuminating forewords to Everyman Shakespeare
editions of Julius Caesar and
The Tempest. And in 1994
he graciously agreed to permit the Shakespeare Guild to establish a new
Award in his name.
For all they did to ensure the success of this Poets' Corner commemoration, which was completely underwritten by the Guild, we're
deeply indebted to The
Very Reverend Dr. David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, to architect Ptolemy
Dean, 19th Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, to Ian
Bartlett, Clerk of the Works at the Abbey, to The
Reverend Robert Latham, Sacrist at the Abbey, and to Eleanor
Lovegrove, the Abbey's Press and Communications Officer.
The Guild is also grateful for the indispensable support of Catherine Allen,
Eric Andrews, Sue Bellars, Letitia Chambers, Jan Denton, Jeffrey Hardy,
Lisa Andrews Hobart, and Gerry Ohrstrom.
THE GUILD'S 2019 GIELGUD AWARD TO SIR CAMERON MACKINTOSH
Our most recent Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts,
presented on Monday, October 28, 2019, paid tribute to the extraordinary
achievements of Sir Cameron Mackintosh.
Once again our Award
festivities took place in conjunction with the UK
Theatre Awards Luncheon. And once again our Award selection
was featured in publications such as Broadway
World and The
Stage. As it happened, however, this celebration occurred, not
as usual in London's venerable Guildhall on Sunday, October 27, but at the
beautiful Gielgud
Theatre the following afternoon. As you'll see if you peruse our brief
overview about the gathering,
it proved to be a memorable occasion, paying tribute not only to this year's
distinguished Award recipient but to Clive
Francis, the actor and visual artist whose caricatures are among the
highlights of a venue that is now a shrine to the Gielgud legacy.
Fifteen years previously, on April 19, 2004, the Guild had joined the RSC
and RADA in that resonant setting for a remarkable Gielgud
Centenary Gala. This gathering vividly recalled that occasion.
But it also commemorated two anniversaries that dated back a quarter of
a century: (a) the establishment of a new
award in Sir John's name, which was announced on April 24, 1994, at
the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, and (b) the renaming of a
venue
on Shaftesbury Avenue that had been known as the Globe prior to November
2, 1994, when it became the Gielgud Theatre in recognition of Sir John's
exemplary accomplishments, not least among them fifteen major productions
in that prestigious setting.
Bestowing our 2019 trophy was Sir
Richard Eyre, who was busy directing a revival of Mary Poppins
at London's Prince
Edward Theatre. In addition to his many achievements in the profession
for which he is best known, Sir Richard is a distinguished producer, filmmaker,
and author, and it was he who received our 2018
Gielgud Award at last October's UK Theatre Awards luncheon. Sir Richard's riveting television
production of King Lear, with Sir Anthony Hopkins in the title role, had debuted
a few weeks earlier on Amazon Prime Video. Meanwhile his evocative feature
film, The Children Act, co-starring Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci
and featuring Fionn Whitehead in a screenplay by novelist Ian McEwan, was
gripping moviegoers around the globe. And if those credits were not enough,
Sir Richard was also directing
Laura Linney in My Name Is Lucy Barton, a "beautifully nuanced
solo performance" (to quote Michael Billington of The Guardian)
that would open on Broadway in early 2020.
THE GUILD'S 2018 GIELGUD PRESENTATION TO SIR RICHARD EYRE
Our 2018 award had been presented by Sir
Ian McKellen, the Guild's inaugural Gielgud laureate, who was
himself appearing in a West End staging of King Lear that had been
shared cinematically with audiences throughout the world. When he'd received
his own trophy, during a ceremony
at the Folger Shakespeare Library on May 20, 1996, Sir Ian had graced the
occasion not only with praise for Sir John, but with a powerful recitation
from The Booke of Sir Thomas Moore, relating the words that Shakespeare
had composed for the script's title
character to remarks that Justice Anthony Kennedy had uttered earlier
that day when he delivered a pivotal Supreme Court ruling that "no state
may 'deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws.'"
As he bestowed the 2018 Gielgud trophy, Sir Ian recalled how much
Sir John did, not only to exemplify meticulous standards in his own presentations
of Shakespeare and other playwrights, but to encourage and support the efforts
of other performers, among them those who were just beginning their careers.
Sir Ian extolled Richard Eyre for the same qualities, and he emphasized
how much everyone who cherishes the dramatic arts has benefited from his
many contributions to our cultural lives.
In response, Sir Richard praised McKellen as "a wonderful actor and a very
good friend, and the natural artistic son of John Gielgud." And he amplified
Sir Ian's remarks about Sir John, observing that Gielgud's focus on building
strong repertory ensembles prepared the way for such extraordinary institutions
as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. With this in
mind he noted, in an aside that was fervently applauded by an appreciative
UK Theatre audience, that he was "constantly bewildered by the fact that
local authorities and government can't see what an extraordinary, unique
asset" such treasures are, not only in London but throughout the United
Kingdom.
Among the media accounts of the festivities were stories in BBC
News,
Irish
News, and York
Press. Click here
for some visual highlights of what turned out to be a deeply moving occasion.
And click here for background on the Award.
THE GUILD'S 2017 GIELGUD PRESENTATION TO SIR DAVID HARE
Looking back to 2017, we're still relishing a ceremony that occurred on
October 15 of that year, when the Guild paid tribute to playwright David Hare. Sir David was the first dramatist to receive an award
in Sir John's name, and attendees were deeply moved by the eloquent remarks he delivered as he accepted that year's beautiful
Clive Francis trophy.
The ceremony culminated a UK Theatre Awards luncheon in one of London's most legendary institutions,
an edifice Shakespeare refers to in Richard III. And as expected,
it received extensive media coverage, with illustrated stories in such news
sources as Broadway World, What's On Stage, The Stage, and Theatre News.
Among the things that made the presentation special was that it reinforced
an event that Sir David had graced with his presence a few months earlier
on April 27, 2017, when he joined a previous Gielgud recipient.
Dame Judi Dench, in a gathering at which an English
Heritage plaque was placed on the Cowley Street residence that had been
Sir John's home from 1945 to 1976. The man behind this memorial to Sir John's
legacy was John Miller, a distinguished biographer and arts presenter who
serves on the Guild's Advisory Council; he presided over a festive occasion
that included eloquent remarks not only by Sir David and Dame Judi, but
by actor Michael Pennington. Click here to watch the unveiling in a Facebook video that has been kindly
made available by Christian Bace of English Heritage.
BACKGROUND ON THE AWARD
Our first Gielgud presentation at the Guildhall took place on Sunday,
October 19, 2014, when we presented a posthumous award to
Sir Donald Sinden as part of a UK
Theatre Awards ceremony at which Sir Donald's son, producer Marc Sinden,
accepted the trophy from its
designer, actor and visual artist Clive Francis.
Our 2015 festivities occurred on Sunday, October 18, this time with Sir
Patrick Stewart presenting the trophy to Dame
Eileen Atkins, an extroardinarily versatile artist with distinguished
credits as a scriptwriter to match her many gifts as an acclaimed performer.
For details about a gathering that proved deeply moving, click here
and see the stories in "What's
On Stage" and in BBC News.
Dame Eileen was back at the Guildhall a year later, on Sunday, October 9,
2016, to present that year's UK Theatre Award for Outstanding Contribution
to British Theatre to Sir Ian McKellen,
who had received the inaugural Gielgud Award in 1996 at the Folger
Shakespeare Library in Washington. Both honorees were delighted to welcome
Vanessa Redgrave to
a select company that also included her late sister Lynn, who'd been recognized
with a Gielgud trophy in 2003 at the National Arts Club in New
York. Vanessa was accompanied by three members of her family:
her son, film producer Carlo Nero, his wife, actress Jennifer Wiltsie, and
their charming daughter Lilli (all of whom are shown here, standing with
Guild president John Andrews in the Crypt for a photograph by David M. Benett).
Bestowing the 2016 trophy was director Rupert
Goold, who had just directed Ms. Redgrave in a stellar Almeida Theatre
production of Richard III that had been shared with a global audience
by means of HD technology.
The Gielgud Award dates back to an April 1994 reception at the
Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill, a gathering that featured remarks
by Robert MacNeil,
Tony Randall,
and Susan
Stamberg. On that occasion the Shakespeare Guild established
an honor that would preserve the heritage of Sir
John Gielgud and pay tribute to actors, directors, producers, and writers
who are perpetuating his legacy and that of the poet whose work he did so
much to convey to succeeding generations.
The Guild returned to the Folger in 1996
to bestow its inaugural Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic
Arts on Sir Ian
McKellen, who made the occasion memorable by reciting the title character's
stirring defense of "strangers" in the manuscript for a multi-author play
about Sir Thomas More.
Sir Ian related this speech, which is widely credited to Shakespeare, ro
a Supreme Court decision that was announced that day, and he has returned
to it frequently in recent times. Our Gielgud festivities remained
at the Folger for two years more, for salutes to Sir
Derek Jacobi in 1997 and to Zoe
Caldwell in 1998.
Ms. Caldwell, a dear friend and a frequent guest in our SOS
series, died on February
16, and we dedicated our spring 2020 programming to her memory. As Washington
Post critic Peter Marks noted in a March tribute to playwright Terrence
McNally, she mesmerized us with the charisma she brought not only to classic
roles such as Euripides' Medea and Shakespeare's Cleopatra but to McNally's
Maria Callas, the diva she portrayed so brilliantly in Master
Class.
In 1999 the Guild held its first Gielgud
event in New York, honoring Dame Judi Dench
at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre. In 2000
the Guild crossed the Atlantic for a toast to Kenneth
Branagh in London’s historic Middle Temple Hall.
Four years later the Guild returned to the U.K., joining the Royal Shakespeare
Company and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for a Gielgud
Centenary Gala in 2004 at the
West End theatre that had been renamed for Sir
John a decade earlier.
Other Gielgud festivities have placed the spotlight on Kevin Kline (in 2002 at
Lincoln Center in Manhattan),
Lynn Redgrave (in 2003
at the National Arts Club in New York), Christopher
Plummer (in 2006
at the NAC), Michael Kahn (in 2007
as part of a special year-long "Shakespeare in Washington" celebration
hosted by Ambassador Sir David Manning
at the British Embassy
in Washington), Patrick Stewart
(in 2008
at the NAC in New York), and F.
Murray Abraham (in 2010 at the NAC).
Click here
for more information about the history of an award that is now regarded
as one of the most coveted accolades in the profession it was designed to
celebrate.
