Zoë Wanamaker
Zoë Wanamaker CBE, Patron - Mull Theatre, 5th January, 2004
The renowned actress Zoë Wanamaker, who recently agreed to become
a patron of Mull Theatre, has issued a statement in support of the company's
aims to build a new theatre on the island.
Ms Wanamaker, who is currently filming a new series of My Family for the
BBC, is a highly respected actress on screen and stage, having spent some
25 years at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.
The statement reads:
I am delighted to be Patron of Mull Theatre at this crucial time. The company has a deserved reputation for producing high quality theatre in a rural location and touring it throughout Scotland. Its work has graced many fine stages, not to mention village halls. Nevertheless, Mull Theatre has struggled financially and practically for many years, operating out of a converted cow-byre on shoestring funding. Now things are really changing for the better (for instance the company has the substantial backing of the Scottish Arts Council) and this project is an example of that. Building a new theatre on the island will bring tremendous opportunities to the whole community especially to young people, and this is so important.
Zoë Wanamaker was born in New York, but moved to England when she was three. Her father, the pioneering American actor/director Sam Wanamaker, strove for many years to rebuild Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on London’s South Bank. Although Sam Wanamaker died before the new Globe was finished, his daughter stood in for him when the playhouse opened in June 1997. In a performance before the Queen, she recited the famous prologue to Shakespeare's Henry V. The Globe is now a renowned and unique international resource and performance venue.
Mull Theatre is a professional theatre company based on the Isle of Mull, funded by the Scottish Arts Council to commission, produce, tour and promote. It is regarded as one of the foremost touring companies in the country. The company has operated for many years from the tiny and now rather dilapidated Little Theatre in Dervaig. Now it is looking to move on and proposes to create a new theatre on Mull. Following a recent feasibility study the company has applied to the Scottish Arts Council for Lottery funding to enable it to create a new theatre sited on the waterfront in Tobermory. This will have an auditorium capable of holding up to 150 people, a rehearsal room, meeting rooms and offices, plus state of the art media presentation equipment for a year-round cinema programme. Mull Theatre hopes to create a family friendly facility offering more opportunities to the local community to become involved in the work of the company and to develop new skills.
Zoë Wanamaker’s starring role in the Sophocles play Electra
won her the 1998 Olivier Award as Best Actress. It was her second Olivier
in that category, the first coming in 1979 for her role as May Daniels in
the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of the Hart/Kaufman play Once
in a Lifetime. She also earned a 1984 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for
her performance in Mother Courage, a 1986 Drama Desk Award for her performance
in Loot, a 1992 Broadcasting Press Guild Award for her performance in Countess
Alice, and a 2002 Olivier nomination for her performance in Boston Marriage.
In addition, she has earned a Golden Globe nomination, two Tony nominations,
three BAFTA nominations, and a Royal Television Society Award. Her screen
work includes Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Madam Hooch); My
Family; Love Hurts; Gormenghast.
