Mary Kerridge (3 April 1914 – 22 July 1999) was an English actress and theatre director, who (with her husband, John Counsell) ran the Theatre Royal, Windsor and its in-house repertory company from the 1930s to the 1980s. Her daughter is the actress Elizabeth Counsell.

Personal life

Born in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

to Ernest Kerridge and Antoinette Fick, she attended Highbury Hill School from 1924 to 1928. Her family later moved to

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and she attended

Wimbledon High School Wimbledon High School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls' day school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, South West (London sub region), South West London. It is a Girls' Day School Trust school and is a member of the Girls' ...

from January 1929 to July 1932, having taken her London University Higher Certificate in English, French, Modern History and German in June 1932. At

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, she studied for the (one year) Intermediate Arts BA. She worked as a secretary, model and receptionist before making her name as an actress. In the middle of 1939, she married John Counsell, the managing director of the Theatre Royal, Windsor. She gave birth to twin daughters in 1942, one of them the actress Elizabeth Counsell.

Career

Beginning her career in the repertory companies of

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, Kerridge made her West End debut in 1937 with

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer of crime and adventure fiction. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was ...

's ''The Squeaker''. She then based herself in Windsor, running the Theatre Royal and its in-house repertory company, whilst also directing and performing. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she toured with Donald Wolfitt's travelling Shakespearean company. After the war she appeared in a number of West End productions under her husband's direction, amongst them

Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at ...

's only play as a writer (''Top Of The Ladder'' at the St James' theatre in 1950). At the

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre 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 ...

she was directed by the theatre's founder as Rosalind 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 ...

'' and Imogen in ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

''. In 1955 she played Queen Elizabeth in the

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

film of ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'', then reprised the role for Olivier's company at The Old Vic in 1962 (opposite Paul Daneman's Richard), alongside the part of Portia in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

''. In 1963 and 1964 she appeared alongside Michael MacLiammoir at the

Gaiety Theatre, Dublin The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St. Stephen's Green. It specialises in operatic and musical productions, with occasional dramatic shows. History In April 1871, the broth ...

and the Vaudeville Theatre, respectively.Counsell, John. "Counsell's Opinion" (1963)

Death

Mary Kerridge died in Windsor on 22 July 1999 and was buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor. Fittingly, the chapel is also the resting place of

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile; c. 1437Karen Lindsey, ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived'', p. xviii, Perseus Books, 1995. – 8 June 1492), known as Dame Elizabeth Grey during her first marriage, was Queen of Engla ...

, the Queen Elizabeth in

that Kerridge famously played.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Independent ObituaryGuardian Obituary
1914 births 1999 deaths Actors from the London Borough of Islington English film actresses Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Alumni of University College London People educated at Wimbledon High School Burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle {{england-actor-stub