Sarah Craze (born 1948 in Leeds) is a British actress who appeared on stage and television during the 1970s and 1980s, and was known for the command [1] and sensitivity [2] of her performances.
Craze studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, [3] [4] [5] graduating in 1969. [6] The following year, she appeared in two television mini-series, playing Beth in Little Women , [7] [8] [9] and Kate Meyrick in the 1970 version of Daniel Deronda . In 1971, she had a regular part as the secretary in the series Hine. [10] When this ended after one series, one reviewer commented, "we shall miss some attractive actors ... [including] a strangely attractive girl in Sarah Craze". [11] Stage appearances in the following years included a modern play, Children of the Wolf, of which one reviewer commented, "Quite the most startling and striking performance of the evening .. comes from Sarah Craze, whose menace as the daughter, Linda, is quickly established and never relents in its unmerciful progress to climactic inevitability. She is an actress of whom we should hear more." [12] In 1973, she appeared with the Oxford Playhouse Company [2] [13] [14] and the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company. [15] Her performance with the former in J.M. Barrie's Dear Brutus was described as "an exceptionally sensitive characterisation." [2] Television appearances included the 1973 film of Christopher Hampton's Total Eclipse, [16] [17] and significant roles in an episode of the series Colditz (1974) [18] and Softly, Softly (1975). [19] In 1977, Craze worked with London Contemporary Productions [20] and with the Worcester Repertory Company. [21] A review of the Worcester Repertory's performance of Mrs Warren's Profession in 1977 said, "The evening is a triumph for Sarah Craze ... She is emphatic, brusque, matter-of-fact ... Yet there is never much doubt of the warm, desperate person beneath the surface." [22]
Year | Title | Theatre | Role |
---|---|---|---|
1972 | Children of the Wolf | Belgrade Theatre, Coventry | Linda [1] [12] |
1977 | Mrs Warren's Profession | Swan Theatre, Worcester | Vivie [22] |
1978 | An Inspector Calls | Shaw Theatre, London | Sheila Birling [23] [24] |
1973 | Dear Brutus | Oxford Playhouse | Margaret [2] |
1973 | The Merchant of Venice | Oxford Playhouse | Jessica [13] [25] |
1973 | Much Ado About Nothing | Royal Lyceum Theatre | Hero [15] |
1977 | Funny Peculiar | Swan Theatre, Worcester [26] [27] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1973 | Total Eclipse | Mathilde Verlaine [16] [17] | movie |
1970 | Little Women | Beth [7] [8] | mini-series |
1971 | Hine | Susannah Grey (secretary) [10] | series |
1975 | Softly, Softly | Samantha (girl who blackmails firms with incendiary devices) | 1 episode [19] |
1974 | Colditz | Gerda | 1 episode [18] |
Geraldine Sue Page was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four nominations for the Tony Award.
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's most prestigious tournament, the annual World Snooker Championship, which has been held at the venue since 1977. Its name is a reference to a process in the local steel industry. In May 2022 plans were unveiled to build a new 3,000-seat venue nearby with a bridge connecting the two buildings.
Richard Arthur Beckinsale was an English actor. He played Lennie Godber in the BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the ITV sitcom Rising Damp. He is the father of actresses Samantha and Kate Beckinsale.
Francis Bernard Heptonstall better known by the stage name Bernard Hepton, was an English theatre director and actor. He is known for his stage work and television roles in teleplays and series, he also appeared briefly on radio and in film.
Sally James is a former British presenter on the ITV Saturday morning children's show Tiswas from 1977 until it ended in 1982. James's role on the show included conducting the "Almost Legendary Pop Interviews", interviewing musical acts including Elvis Costello, Sting, The Clash, Motörhead, and Kate Bush, and serving as music editor.
Sharon Delores Clarke is an English actress and singer. She is a three-time Olivier Award winner, and is best known to television audiences for her role as Lola Griffin in the medical drama Holby City, and as Grace O'Brien in Doctor Who. Clarke has also played lead roles in many West End musicals, and originated the roles of the Killer Queen in We Will Rock You and Oda Mae Brown in Ghost the Musical.
Katherine Florence Dotrice, known professionally as Kay Newman and Kay Dotrice, was a British stage and screen actress, best known for her roles in the UK TV series Crossroads, the movie Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers, and many repertory performances during the 1950s.
Douglas William Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who has had an extensive career in theatre, as well as television and film where he has appeared in Robin Hood (2010), Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return and Diana (2013), Penny Dreadful (2016), Catastrophe (2018), Joker and Lost in Space (2019), and The Great (2020–2023).
Colin Bennett is an English actor. His television roles have included "Mr Bennett", the accident prone caretaker for Tony Hart in the BBC children's programmes Take Hart (1977–1983) and Hartbeat (1984–1989). He also portrayed the father in the 1985 Yellow Pages/Hornby advert Signal Box - although only in a later edit in which he thanked the son for his present.
Anton Lesser is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, Thomas More in Wolf Hall, Harold Macmillan in The Crown, Clement Attlee in A United Kingdom, Chief Superintendent Bright in Endeavour, and Major Partagaz in Star Wars: Andor. An associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has performed numerous Shakespearean roles on stage and television.
Laura Rogers is a British actress from Carmarthen, Wales.
Fenella Justine Therese Woolgar is an English film, theatre, television and radio actress. She is known for her roles in various films including Bright Young Things (2003) and Victoria and Abdul (2017). She is also well known for TV shows, including Doctor Who, as crime novelist Agatha Christie, Inside Number 9, and Call the Midwife as Sister Hilda.
Jennifer Mary Hilary was a British actress of stage, film and television. Her first acclaimed stage performance was as "Milly" in Henry James' The Wings of the Dove, which marked her debut in the West End.
Diana Barrington is a British actress. She studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She was married to Canadian actor Ken Pogue until his death in 2015.
Sarah Earnshaw is a British actress known for her work in musical theatre.
Birmingham is an important centre for theatre in the United Kingdom. The earliest known performances in the city were medieval pageants and miracle plays. Birmingham's first permanent theatres and theatrical companies were founded in the 1740s, drawing both actors and performance styles from the fashionable theatres of London. During World War II, the Birmingham Blitz forced all performance venues in the city to close; most would stay closed throughout the war. The postwar introduction of television led to further theatre closures.
Jack Elvyn Barrett was a British actor on film, television and stage, best known for his roles as Smellie Ibbotson in The Dustbinmen and Hylda Baker's father in Not On Your Nellie.
Sian Clifford is an English actress. She is best known for playing Claire, the older sister of the titular character in the BBC comedy-drama series Fleabag (2016–2019) and also portrayed Martha Crawley in the ITV/Amazon Studios series Vanity Fair (2018). In 2020, she played Diana Ingram in the ITV series Quiz.
Allison Harding is a musical and drama theatre actor, professional singer, musician, and writer/director from Hastings, Northern Ireland. Allison has performed in productions in theatres in the UK.
Roger Lloyd Milner was a British actor, author and dramatist who is probably best remembered today for appearing in two of the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas dramas in the 1970s. His "outrageous comedy" How's the World Treating You? (1965) gave Patricia Routledge her West End début and her Broadway début when it transferred there in 1966.