Yvonne Bryceland

Yvonne Bryceland (18 November 1925 – 13 January 1992) was a South African stage actress. Some of her best-known work was in the plays of Athol Fugard.

Early life She was born Yvonne Heilbuth in Cape Town, South Africa, the daughter of Adolphus Walter Heilbluth, a railway foreman, and Clara Ethel (née Sanderson). She was educated at St. Mary's Convent, Hope St., Cape Town.

Career Bryceland worked as a newspaper librarian for the Cape Argus before her professional theatrical début in Stage Door in 1947, becoming an actress with the Cape Performing Arts Board in 1964. who with her husband, Morris Phillips, a ballroom dancer, founded the Maas-Phillips School of Dance, Speech and Drama, in Cape Town in the 1950s.

Yvonne's first husband was an immigrant from England named Danny Bryceland, a real-estate salesman. The relationship became abusive and, although a devout Roman Catholic, after urgent consultations with her priest, they were divorced in 1960. They had three children – daughters Colleen, Melanie, and Mavourneen,

In 1969, Bryceland performed in the première of Athol Fugard's play Boesman and Lena and repeated the role in the 1974 film version.

Described as the first lady of South African theatre, Bryceland was a committed artist who, in 1972, defied racial segregation by co-founding, with her second husband, Brian Astbury, South Africa's first non-racial theatre, the Space Theatre in Cape Town.

She joined the Royal National Theatre in 1978, making her acclaimed début in The Woman by Edward Bond. She remained with the National Theatre for eight years. She received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in 1985 for her performance in The Road to Mecca.

Fugard attempted to have The Road to Mecca produced in New York in 1985 but Actors Equity refused to grant Bryceland permission to perform on Broadway on the grounds that she was not an "international star" and therefore not entitled to preference over an American actress. She performed the role in a 1987 production at the Spoleto Festival, which is not subject to Equity contracts, receiving a rave review from the Chicago Tribune: For sheer emotional range, Bryceland's performance is phenomenal. Barefoot at times, wrapped in a worn cardigan whose sleeves seem to want to cover her hands, the actress journeys from failing old age to heights of insight. She suggests a person reborn into a faith of her own invention. It is a difficult part in a play that is far from easy, but Bryceland gives it a sustained glow. In 1988, Bryceland appeared in a New York production at the Promenade Theater, off-Broadway, with Fugard as the clergyman and Amy Irving as Miss Helen's friend Elsa, receiving an Obie Award for her performance, as well as a Theatre World Award. a role she also played in the film version.

In 1987, Bryceland participated in an educational programme at Cornell University developed by the Education Department of the National Theatre of Great Britain for actors in training.

Theatre

People Are Living There (1969) – Millie Boesman and Lena (1971) – Lena Orestes (1971) – Clytemnestra Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act (1972) Dimetos (1976) (with Paul Scofield and Ben Kingsley) Franz Grillparzer's Medea (1977) translated by Barney Simon Hello and Goodbye (1978) The Woman (1978) – Hecuba Richard III (1979) – Queen Margaret Othello (1980) Emilia Dario Fo and Franca Rame (1981) One Woman Plays: Waking up; A Woman Alone; The Same Old Story; Medea

Summer (1982) by Edward Bond - Marthe Coriolanus (1984) – Volumnia The Road to Mecca (1985) – Helen Martins The Wild Duck – Gina Ekdal Mrs. Warren's Profession – title role The Glass Menagerie – Amanda Wingfield

Filmography + Yvonne Bryceland film and television credits Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes 1988 The Equalizer Darlene Episode: "The Last Campaign" Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards for Best Actress 1966, 1969 & 1973 Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play 1978 (nominated) Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress 1985 Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress 1988 Theatre World Award 1988

Death Yvonne Bryceland died of complications from cancer in 1992 at age 66 in London, United Kingdom.

Other Her name has sometimes been misspelled as Yvonne Brayceland.