Lyndel Rowe is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

actress of stage, television and film, who is best known for her work with the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

, the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

and the State Theatre Company of South Australia, and for her role as Karen Fox/Hamilton in the television soap opera '' Sons and Daughters''.

Career

Theatre

Rowe joined the Union Repertory Company (now the

), in productions including

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was an Australian novelist and playwright who explored themes of religious experience, personal identity and the conflict between visionary individuals and a materialistic, co ...

's '' The Season at Sarsaparilla'', '' Waltz of the Toreadors'', ''

Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Av ...

'', '' Ghost Train'' and toured Australia with J.C. Williamson's production of ''Goodnight Mrs. Puffin'' (by Arthur Lovegrove), alongside

Irene Handl Irene Handl () (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Aus ...

. Travelling to England, she studied at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

, with

George Devine George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

and

Keith Johnstone Donald Keith Johnstone (21 February 1933 – 11 March 2023) was a British-Canadian educator and theatre director. A pioneer of improvisational theatre, he was best known for inventing the ''Impro System'', part of which are the Theatresports. ...

. She performed in a production of ''Painting on Wood'' with the International Theatre Company of The Seventh Seal. From there she moved into repertory and into the company of a West End lunch-time theatre, TheatreScope, doing weekly seasons of one act works by playwrights such as

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

, Ionesco and Anouilh. She later returned to the UK to perform in several productions with the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actre ...

in 1979 – as Anna in '' Old Times'', Dianne in '' Absent Friends'' and Raymonde in '' A Flea in Her Ear''. Invited back to the

at Russell Street Theatre, Rowe's roles included Nancy in ''The Knack'', Raymonde in '' A Flea in her Ear'', Irina in '' Three Sisters'', Mary Warren in ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

'', Margery Pinchwife in ''

The Country Wife ''The Country Wife'' is a Restoration comedy written by William Wycherley and first performed in 1675. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial fo ...

'', Sheila in '' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'', Sandy in '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'', Clarice in '' The Servant of Two Masters'', Marina in ''

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

'', Pip in ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

'', Grace in ''

London Assurance ''London Assurance'' (originally entitled ''Out of Town'') is a five-act comedy co-authored by Dion Boucicault and John Brougham. While the play was collaboratively written by both playwrights, after the play's initial premiere Broughman, who o ...

'', Charlotte in '' The Magistrate'', Celemene in ''

The Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by ...

'' and Gwendolyn 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 ...

''. Her credits with the

included the roles of Kate in ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'', Rose Trelawney in '' Trelawney of the Wells'', Sonya in ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'', Marianne in ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...

'' and Charlotte in '' The Real Thing''. With the South Australian Theatre Company she played Phoebe in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', Daphne in ''

Old King Cole "Old King Cole" is a British nursery rhyme first attested in 1709. Though there is much speculation about the identity of King Cole, it is unlikely that he can be identified reliably as any historical figure. It has a Roud Folk Song Index numbe ...

'', Jill in David Williamson’s '' A Handful of Friends''. At the Playbox, Sydney, she played Lucy in the musical ''

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' is a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and (in a 1999 revision) Andrew Lippa. It is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip ''Peanuts''. The musical ...

''. With Nimrod Street Theatre (now Belvoir), she played Gwendolen Carr in Tom Stoppard’s ''

Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. It centres on the figure of Henry Wilfred Carr, Henry Carr, an old man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during World War I, the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he w ...

'', and also performed in an Australian tour of '' Doctor in Love''. In 2004, Rowe appeared with Lewis Fiander in '' Afterplay'' under the direction of Malcolm Robertson, a UTRC veteran, at Fortyfivedownstairs, in Flinders Lane Melbourne.

Television

In Australia, Rowe's earliest appearance was in a television play '' Quiet Night'' (1961). Other TV plays included '' Light Me a Lucifer'' (1962), '' Shadow on the Wall'' (1968), '' The Cheerful Cuckold'' (1969) and '' The Torrents'' (1969), '' The Juggler'' (1970) and ''Banana Bender'' (1979). She also featured in the TV movies '' Moving On'' (1974) and later, '' I Can’t Get Started'' (1985). She made numerous guest appearances in Australian television series throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including '' Consider Your Verdict'', ''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'', ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

'', ''

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

'', ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for The 0-10 Network (now known as Network 10) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town of Ma ...

'', '' Silent Number'', '' The Last of the Australians'', '' Solo One'' and ''

Cop Shop ''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes. Synopsis The show revolved arou ...

''. In 1976, Rowe starred in the miniseries '' Tandarra'' for which she won a

Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

for her role as Lizzy. Her best-known television role however, was that of Karen Fox (later Hamilton) in the Grundy’s soap opera '' Sons and Daughters'' for 73 episodes, from 1984 to 1985. In 1985, she also starred in the feature film '' Short Changed'' and the following year, appeared in children's film '' Playing Beattie Bow'' based on the novel by Ruth Park. Rowe played French opera singer Blanche Marchesi in the 1988 biographical miniseries '' Melba'' about famed opera soprano Dame Nellie Melba, and Anne McClelland in the 1988 children's TV movie '' Touch the Sun: Princess Kate'', alongside Justine Clarke and Claudia Karvan. She also had a later guest role in long-running police drama series ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for twelve years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted th ...

'' in 1994. In the UK, Rowe's earliest role was playing Fenichka in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

miniseries of Turgenev's ''Fathers and Sons'' (1961). She featured in BBC Play of the Month ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...

'' (1966) with

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger ( ; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associ ...

. She also made guest appearances in television soap ''

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

'' (1965), as well as episodes of police procedural series ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'' (1971) and ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...

'' (1981).

Writing

Rowe has also written novels, short stories and a screenplay. She has had essays published in Australian literally journal "

Meanjin ''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is one of Australia's longest-running literary magazines. Established in 1940 in Brisbane, it moved to Melbourne in 1945 and as of 2008 is an editorially independent impri ...

", and has been twice chosen for publication in "The Best Australian Essays".

Awards

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Lyndel Australian film actresses Australian stage actresses Actresses from Melbourne Living people Logie Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)