Georgina Hale

Georgina Hale (born 4 August 1943) is a British film, television and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the films of director Ken Russell; including The Devils (1971), The Boy Friend (1971), and Mahler (1974), for which she received a BAFTA Film Award. An accomplished stage actress, she received an Olivier Award nomination for her leading performance in Steaming (1981). She has appeared in a number of television plays and, in 2010, The Guardian listed her as one of ten great character actors in British television.[3] She remains active in film, television and theatre.

Georgina Hale
Hale and actor Murray Melvin at the Young Vic Theatre, October 2007
Born	Georgina Hole (1943-08-04) 4 August 1943 Ilford, Essex, England
Education	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1963–present
Spouse(s)	John Forgeham (1964 – c. 1969)[lower-alpha 1]

Life and early career

Hale was born in Ilford, Essex to publicans Elsie (née Fordham) and George Robert Hole. She later said she had:

...a really bad education. I couldn't write, spell, or read, so it was a real problem, because that sort of thing wasn't acknowledged then. There was a real shame in it, and you were the dunce of the class, always getting whacked around the head. We were on the move a lot as well, so going to so many schools, always being the new girl, it was so frightening and so nerve-wracking as a kid, and it really affected me.[4]

As a teenager, she worked as an apprentice hairdresser and studied Stanislavski's method approach to acting at a fledgling studio, the Chelsea Actors' Workshop, in London,[5] before being accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she graduated in 1965.[6]

Acting career

Stage

An accomplished stage actress, Hale made her professional debut at Stratford as a walk-on. She subsequently appeared in rep at Canterbury, Windsor and Ipswich; then at the Playhouse, Liverpool in 1967, where her parts included the title role in Gigi, and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. At the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead in October 1975 she played Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, followed by an acclaimed portrayal of Nina, opposite Alan Bates, in Chekhov's The Seagull at the Playhouse, Derby in July 1976, making her West End debut in the production when it transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in August 1976.[7] Other roles included: Marie Caroline David in The Tribades (Hampstead Theatre Club, May 1978); Melanie in Boo Hoo (Open Space Theatre, July 1978); and Bobbi Michele in Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Royal Exchange, Manchester, April 1979 – transferring to the Criterion Theatre in November 1979).

In 1981, Hale played the leading role of Josie in Nell Dunn's play, Steaming, at the Comedy Theatre in London and received a 1981 Olivier Award nomination for her performance.[8] In 1982, she appeared with Annette Crosbie and Richard O'Callaghan in a production of Noël Coward's Star Quality at the Theatre Royal, Bath. In April 1983 she starred opposite Glenda Jackson and Gary Oldman in Summit Conference at the Lyric Theatre, London, playing Benito Mussolini's mistress Clara Petacci. Later that same year she starred alongside Colin Blakely, Jane Carr and Paul Eddington in the play Lovers Dancing, directed by Donald McWhinnie, at the Noël Coward Theatre. She followed this with roles in two productions at The Old Vic: Aricia in Phédre (1984), again opposite Glenda Jackson, and Crystal Allen in The Women (1985), alongside Susannah York and Diana Quick.

In 1991, Hale starred opposite Glenda Jackson in Mourning Becomes Electra, by Eugene O'Neill, at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. In 1993 she appeared in a production of Alan Ayckbourne's Absurd Person Singular at the Theatre Royal, Bath. In 1994 she appeared opposite Rupert Everett in a production of Tennessee Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. In 1997, she appeared opposite Alan Bates in Life Support, by Simon Gray, at the Aldwych Theatre in London. Critic Sheridan Morley wrote in The New York Times that Hale, as the bed-bound Gwen, was "supremely touching even in almost total paralysis".[9]

Other notable stage appearances include The Guardsman at the Noël Coward Theatre (2000), where critic Sheridan Morley noted that Hale added "superbly timed comic support",[10] Semi-Monde at the Lyric Theatre (2001), Britannicus and as Madame Ranevsky in The Cherry Orchard at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre (both 2002), and Chéri and Take A Chance On Me at the New End Theatre (both 2003).

Hale's most recent stage role was that of Nell in a production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame at the Gate Theatre, Dublin and then the Barbican Centre, London, as part of the Beckett Centenary Festival in May 2006. The production also featured Peter Dinklage, Kenneth Cranham and Tom Hickey.

Film

Hale made her film debut in the historical drama Eagle in a Cage (1971) as Betsy Balcombe, opposite Kenneth Haigh as Napoléon Bonaparte. In his review for The New York Times, film critic Roger Greenspun noted that, at age 24, Hale displayed "a kind of mature intensity that argues for at least 30 years' experience on the stage".[11]

Hale's most significant film role is arguably that of Alma Mahler in Ken Russell's Mahler (1974), opposite Robert Powell as Gustav Mahler. Her performance was called "excellent" by both Time Out and Radio Times, and earned her the 1975 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles.[12][13][14] In his review for Film Comment magazine, critic Stephen Farber wrote:

Georgina Hale gives an electric performance as Alma. She is touchingly vulnerable in all the flashback sequences, while in the scenes on the train she presents a completely different side of Alma’s character-a supremely bitter, savagely sarcastic shrew. Alma’s imperious, ice-cold facade is the mask she has chiseled to conceal her frustration and disappointment over the stifling of her creative potential. The tension is palpable: we can feel the anger and pain seething beneath her sardonic exterior.[15]

Hale also made appearances in a number of Russell's other films, with roles in The Devils (1971), The Boy Friend (1971), Lisztomania (1975), Valentino (1977), and Treasure Island (1995). Russell later referred to Hale as "an actress of such sensitivity that she can make the hair rise on your arms".[16]

Hale played a supporting role in the romantic drama The World is Full of Married Men (1979), based on the novel of the same name by Jackie Collins. In their review, Variety noted that Hale was "effective as a laconic wife who’s come to terms with the sexcess scene".[17]

Hale had a small role in the Walt Disney film The Watcher in the Woods (1980), starring Bette Davis. Hale took the role of the younger version of Davis’ character largely because of her admiration for Davis.[18]

Her other film appearances include supporting roles in Butley (1974), Sweeney 2 (1978), McVicar (1980), Castaway (1986), Preaching to the Perverted (1997), Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont (2005), and Cockneys vs Zombies (2011).

Television

Hale's television career spans six decades. Her first major television appearances were supporting roles in plays filmed for The Wednesday Play, ITV Playhouse and ITV Play of the Week. Recurring roles in primetime series followed, first opposite Adam Faith in the LWT series, Budgie (1971–72) and then as Lili Dietrich in the ATV miniseries The Strauss Family (1972).

In 1973, she starred in A.D.A.M., as a physically disabled woman who develops an unusual relationship with the sentient computer system which controls her home. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the stand-alone drama was broadcast as part of the ITV Sunday Night Drama anthology strand. In 1975, Hale appeared alongside Alan Bates in two television plays written by Simon Gray, broadcast as part of the ITV series, Play for Today. These were Plaintiffs and Defendants and Two Sundays. In 1978, Hale appeared with Michael Gambon in the BBC Play of the Month adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. In 1980, Hale portrayed Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK, in an episode of the ITV drama series, Ladykillers.

In 1990, Hale succeeded Elizabeth Estensen in the eponymous role of T-Bag, the villainous, tea drinking sorceress in a succession of children's adventure series produced by Thames Television. Hale played the role in four series and two Christmas specials broadcast between 1990–92.

In December 1992, Hale appeared in two television plays produced by Simon Curtis, broadcast as part of the BBC anthology series, Performance. These were Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author, opposite Brian Cox and John Hurt, and Terence Rattigan's After the Dance, opposite Gemma Jones and Ben Chaplin.

In 1994, Hale appeared in the sitcom pilot The Honeymoon's Over, written by Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson, which was broadcast as part of the Comic Asides anthology strand on BBC Two.

In 2007, Hale made a guest appearance in the ITV crime drama The Commander. Television critic Nancy Banks-Smith noted in The Guardian that Hale "was able to do wonders with a mere sliver of a scene".[19]

Other notable television appearances include guest starring roles in Upstairs, Downstairs (1975), Minder (1980), Hammer House of Horror (1980), the Doctor Who serial The Happiness Patrol (1988), One Foot in the Grave (1990), Murder Most Horrid (1994), The Bill (2002), Emmerdale (2006), Hollyoaks (2010–2011) and Holby City (2016).

Work

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	The Devils	Phillippe Trincant
	The Boy Friend	Fay
1972	Eagle in a Cage	Betsy Balcombe
1973	The Love Ban	Joyce
1974	Mahler	Alma Mahler	BAFTA Film Award for Newcomer to Leading Film Roles
	Butley	Carol Heasman
1975	Lisztomania		Uncredited Appearance
1976	Voyage of the Damned	Lotte Schulman
1977	Valentino		Uncredited Appearance
1978	Sweeney 2	Switchboard Girl
1979	The World Is Full of Married Men	Lori Grossman
1980	The Watcher in the Woods	Young Mrs Aylwood
	McVicar	Kate
1981	The French Lieutenant's Woman	Actress at Wrap Party
	Waiting Room	The Woman	Short Film
1986	Castaway	Sister Saint Margaret
1988	Dogplant	Professor	Short Film
1991	A Future in Fish	Mother	Short Film
1994	Beyond Bedlam	Sister Romulus
1995	Jackson: My Life... Your Fault	Josephine
1997	Preaching to the Perverted	Miss Wilderspin
2002	AKA	Elizabeth of Lithuania
2003	Photo Finish	Therapist
2005	Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont	Shirley Burton
2011	Cockneys vs Zombies	Doreen
2015	Angel	Iris

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Way off Beat	Jill	The Wednesday Play
1967	Cross My Heart and Hope She'll Die	Ruth	Drama '67
	Strike Pay	Maud Wharmby	ITV Play of the Week: Stories of D.H. Lawrence
1968	The Judge	Pat Dean	ITV Playhouse
	Camille 68	Nanine	ITV Playhouse
1969	The Back of Beyond	Enid Clarke	W. Somerset Maugham (BBC series)
	Men of Iron	Mary Ann	Plays of Today (BBC)
1970	Special Branch	Lisa	Episode: Love from Doris
1971-1972	Budgie	Jean	Episodes: Out, Brains, Dreaming of Thee, and And the Lord Taketh Away
1972	The Strauss Family	Lili Dietrich	Mini-Series
1973	A.D.A.M.	Jean Empson	ITV Sunday Night Theatre
	Only Make Believe	Sandra George	Play for Today (BBC)
1974	Electra	Chrysothemis	Play of the Month (BBC)
	Notorious Woman	Solange Dudevant-Sand
	Occupations	Polya
	Affairs of the Heart	Lola Skinner	Episode: Adela
1975	Plaintiffs and Defendants	Joanna	Play for Today (BBC)
	Two Sundays	Hilary	Play for Today (BBC)
	Children of the Sun	Fran	Play for Today (BBC)
	Upstairs, Downstairs	Violet Marshall	Episode: An Old Flame
	Affairs of the Heart	Daisy Miller	Episode: Daisy
1976	The Author of Beltraffio	Beatrice Ambient
	East Lynne	Afy Halljohn
1977	The Late Wife	Andrea	ITV Sunday Night Drama
1978	The Seagull	Masha	Play of the Month (BBC)
1980	Minder	Renee	Episode: The Beer Hunter
	Lady Killers	Ruth Ellis	Episode: Lucky, Lucky Thirteen
	Hammer House of Horror	Stella	Episode: The Mark of Satan
1981	Eden End	Lilian Kirby	Celebrity Playhouse (ITV)
1987	Boon	Alison	Episode: A Fistful of Pesetas
1988	Doctor Who	Daisy K	The Happiness Patrol, Episodes 1, 2 & 3
	Gems	Lynne	36 episodes, Series 3
1989	Murder by Moonlight	Allison Quinney	TV Film
1990	T-Bag and the Pearls of Wisdom	Tabatha Bag
	One Foot In The Grave	April Bluett	Episode: Love And Death
	T-Bag's Christmas Ding Dong	Tabatha Bag
1991	T-Bag and the Rings of Olympus	Tabatha Bag
	Magic	Andrea Watson
	T-Bag's Christmas Turkey	Tabatha Bag
1992	The Count of Solar	Countess Solar	Screen Two (BBC)
	T-Bag and the Sunstones of Montezuma	Tabatha Bag
	After the Dance	Moya Lexington	Performance (BBC)
	Take off with T-Bag	Tabatha Bag
	Six Characters in Search of an Author	Leading Actress	Performance (BBC)
1994	Murder Most Horrid	Lady Jamieson	Episode: A Severe Case of Death
	The Bill	Julie Stone	Episodes: Living Legend and Inquest
	The Honeymoon's Over	Norma	Sitcom Pilot for BBC Two
1995	Treasure Island	Mrs. Hawkins	TV Film
	Crown Prosecutor	Maureen Sherman	1 episode
1998	A Rather English Marriage	Sabrina's Maid	TV Film
2000	Casualty	Janet Henbury	Episode: Choked
2002	Trial and Retribution	Tammy Delaney	1 episode
	The Bill	Marilyn Costello	Episodes: Code of Conduct, Seeing Red, and Little White Lies
2006	Emmerdale	Beryl Chugspoke	4 episodes
2007	The Commander	Vivienne Littlewood	Episode: The Devil You Know
2010–2011	Hollyoaks	Blanche Longford	Recurring Role, 7 episodes
2012	Crime Stories	Sally Woods	1 episode
2016	Holby City	Serephina Moore	Episode: On the Ropes

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue
1975	Pygmalion	Eliza Doolittle	Thorndike Theatre, Leatherhead
1976	The Seagull	Nina	Duke of York's Theatre
1978	The Tribades	Marie Caroline David	Hampstead Theatre
	Boo Hoo	Melanie	Open Space Theatre
1979	Last of the Red Hot Lovers	Bobbi Michele	Royal Exchange, Manchester and Criterion Theatre
1981	Steaming	Josie	Comedy Theatre
1982	Summit Conference	Clara Petacci	Lyric Theatre
	Star Quality		Theatre Royal, Bath
1983	Lovers Dancing	Cheryl	Noel Coward Theatre
1984	Phèdre	Aricia	The Old Vic
1985	The Women	Crystal Allen	The Old Vic
	Copperhead	Lucille	Bush Theatre
1991	Mourning Becomes Electra	Lavinia	Glasgow Citizens Theatre
1993	Absurd Person Singular	Marion	Theatre Royal, Bath
1994	The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore		Glasgow Citizens Theatre
1997	Life Support	Gwen	Aldwych Theatre
2000	The Guardsman	Mother	Noël Coward Theatre
2001	Semi-Monde	Suzanne Fellini	Lyric Theatre
2002	Britannicus	Albina	Glasgow Citizens Theatre
	The Cherry Orchard	Madame Ranevsky	Glasgow Citizens Theatre
2003	Chéri	Mademoiselle Poussier	New End Theatre
	Take A Chance On Me	Lorraine	New End Theatre
2006	Endgame	Nell	Gate Theatre and Barbican Centre

Notes

1. England and Wales Marriage Registration Index lists Hale and Forgeham's marriage as being registered in 1964.[1] An obituary for Foregham published by The Guardian notes his subsequent remarriage in 1970.[2]

References

1. "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (8 October 2014), Georgina A Hole and null, 1964; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1964, quarter 1, vol. 5C, p. 1841, Hampstead, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
2. Hayward, Anthony (13 March 2017). "John Forgeham obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
3. Younger, Kevin (3 August 2010). "Looks Familiar: 10 great British character actors". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
4. Cooper, Neil (5 March 2002). "Opposites Attract". Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
5. – recollections in biography, 2009, Mim Scala
6. "Student and Graduate Profiles". Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
7. Who's Who in the Theatre, 17th edition (1981)
8. "1981 Olivier Award Nominees". Olivierawards.com. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
9. "Return of Butley in 'Life Support'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
10. "LONDON THEATER: An 'Itch' for Nostalgia, Just for the Starstruck". The New York Times. 18 October 2000. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
11. Greenspun, Roger (10 January 1972). "'Eagle in a Cage': Exile of Napoleon Is Subject of Romance". nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
12. "Mahler". timeout.com. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
13. "Mahler". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
14. "1975 Bafta Winners". bafta.org. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
15. Farber, Stephen (November 1975). "Russellmania!". Film Comment. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
16. "The Actresses Who Have Bewitched Me - Ken Russell". London: thetimes.co.uk. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
17. Variety Staff. "The World Is Full of Married Men | Variety". variety.com. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
18. Hough, John (2002). The Watcher in the Woods (DVD). Anchor Bay Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures.
19. "The Weekend's TV". theguardian.com. London. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.

Further reading

• Who's Who in the Theatre, 17th edition, Gale (1981) ISBN 0-8103-0234-9

External links

• Georgina Hale on IMDb
• Georgina Hale portrait by photographer Rachel Lum
• Georgina Hale Interview

Awards and achievements
BAFTA Award
Preceded by Peter Egan for The Hireling	Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for Mahler 1974	Succeeded by Valerie Perrine for Lenny