Celia Bannerman (born 3 June 1944) is an English actress and director.

Career

Celia Bannerman was born at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and trained at the London Drama Centre. In 2023 she played Phebe in " As You Like It" at the RSC. She started her professional career with

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

as Dolly in Bernard Shaw's '' You Never Can Tell'' and Lucy in Sheridan's ''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...

'' followed by Cecily in "The Importance of Being Earnest" at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London. She played Lady Anne in "Richard III", Katherine in "Perkin Warbeck" and Mrs Galy Gay in "Man is Man" at the RSC. She played a number of major television roles early on in her acting career notably

Elizabeth Bennet Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel '' Pride and Prejudice'' by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circ ...

in ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'' (1967), Cecily in ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' and Lady Diana Newbury in '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. She starred in the films '' The Tamarind Seed'' (1974), '' Biddy'' (1983) for which she received an award from Moscow Film Festival, ''

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in Serial (literature), serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea pris ...

'' (1987) and '' The Land Girls'' (1998). Bannerman was Associate Director at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

directing ''The Price'', ''Translations'', ''Quartermaine's Terms'', ''The White Devil'', ''Good Fun'' and ''La Ronde''. At Stratford East she directed, ''Sleeping Beauty'' and ''The Proposal.'' She was the Staff Director at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

on ''The Passion'', ''Larkrise'', ''Fruits of Enlightenment'' and ''Strife''. She also devised and directed a programme of erotic poetry called ''Making Love'', and was the first woman to direct a play at the National Theatre, ''Lies in Plastic Smiles'' devised by the company and written by Gawn Grainger. In the West End she directed ''September Tide'' at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the

Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London, established in 1932. Originally known for its Shakespearean productions, the theatre now features a wide variety of performances, including musicals, ope ...

, ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' at the Shaw Theatre and three world premieres ''Beached'', ''Sinners and Saints'' and ''Bet Noir'' at the New Vic and Warehouse Theatre. Bannerman has a long association with Sands Films starting by playing "Biddy" in Christine Edzards's film "Biddy" followed by setting up Edzard's first big feature film "Little Dorrit" and casting the 200 actors. "Little Dorrit" was nominated for Oscars and won the LA Film Critics Award. Also for Sands Films she cast "The Fool", "As You Like It" and "A Dangerous Man: Lawrence after Arabia" which won an Emmy for Best Drama. She has been a Dialect Coach and a Children's Acting Coach on several movies including '' Seven Years in Tibet'', '' Two Brothers'', '' The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'' and ''

Nanny McPhee ''Nanny McPhee'' is a 2005 comedy drama fantasy film based on the Nurse Matilda character by Christianna Brand. It was directed by Kirk Jones, coproduced by StudioCanal, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Working Title Films, Three Strange Angels ...

''.

Family

She is married to Edward Klein. Parents Hugh Bannerman and Hilda Bannerman, née Diamond. Brother Julian Bannerman.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Celia Bannerman - Acting & Dialogue Coach

Celia Bannerman
Aveleyman)
Spotlight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bannerman, Celia English television actresses English film actresses English film directors English television directors 1944 births Living people British women television directors People from Abingdon-on-Thames Actresses from Oxfordshire Actors from Vale of White Horse