Dorothy Tutin
Encyclopedia
Dame Dorothy Tutin DBE (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English
actor
of stage
, film
, and television
.
An obituary in The Daily Telegraph
described her as "one of the most enchanting, accomplished and intelligent leading ladies on the post-war British stage. With her husky voice, deep brown eyes, wistful smile and sense of humour, she brought an enduring charm to all kinds of stage drama, ancient and modern, as well as to films and television plays in a career that spanned more than 40 years."
on 8 April 1930, daughter of John Tutin and his wife Adie Evelyn (Fryers), a couple who married the following year. Her year of birth was sometimes given as 1931, said to disguise the circumstances of her birth, but certainly not by herself.
She was educated at St Catherine's School, Bramley
, Surrey
and studied for the stage at PARADA and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
.
Tutin was also a talented pianist
, but chose acting rather than music as her vocation.
She married the actor Derek Waring
, and they had two children, Nicholas (Nick) and Amanda, both of whom also became actors.
Dorothy Tutin and Derek Waring remained married until her death in 2001 at the age of 71 from leukaemia. Waring died in 2007.
Tutin was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE) in 1967, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 2000.
on 6 September 1949, playing Princess Margaret of England in William Douglas-Home
's play The Thistle and the Rose.
She joined the Bristol Old Vic
Company in January 1950, appearing as Phebe in As You Like It
, Anni in Denis Cannan
's Captain Carvallo and Belinda in John Vanbrugh
's The Provok'd Wife. She joined the Old Vic
company in London for the 1950-51 season, playing among other parts, Win-the-Fight Littlewit in Ben Jonson
's Bartholomew Fair, Ann Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor
and Princess Katharine in Henry V
.
At the Lyric Hammersmith
in September 1951 she played Martina in Christopher Fry
's Thor With Angels, followed in January 1952 by Hero in John Gielgud
's triumphant production of Much Ado About Nothing
at the Phoenix Theatre
.
Subsequent roles included:
Work with the RSC
Tutin first joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
Company for the 1960 season in Stratford-upon-Avon
, appearing as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
, Viola in Twelfth Night and Cressida in Troilus and Cressida
. Then with the same company (but re-named the Royal Shakespeare Company
from January 1961) she appeared as:
Other work included:
's 1952 film version of Oscar Wilde
's The Importance of Being Earnest
(BAFTA nomination for Most Promising Newcomer). In the same year she played Polly Peachum to Laurence Olivier
's Macheath in Peter Brook
's film version of The Beggar's Opera
(1953).
Her next major film role was as Lucie in the 1958 film A Tale of Two Cities
, opposite Dirk Bogarde
.
She continued to divide her appearances between stage, TV, and film, appearing in the 1970 film Cromwell
as Queen Henrietta Maria
, before playing another Queen in 1970 - Anne Boleyn
in the BBC
's series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, which starred Keith Michell
in the title role. She also played Margot Asquith, the wife of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith
, in the dramatic series Number 10. (The Asquiths' son Anthony directed Dorothy Tutin in her film debut.) She appeared in the Ken Russell
film Savage Messiah
in 1972.
She also performed as the teacher Sarah Burton in the TV series South Riding (1974), based on the novel South Riding
by Winifred Holtby
. In the early 1980s Tutin also appeared in the made-for-television movie Murder with Mirrors (based on an Agatha Christie
novel) along with Helen Hayes
and Bette Davis
. Another of her notable roles was as Goneril
in an Emmy-winning television production of Shakespeare
's King Lear, opposite Laurence Olivier as King Lear and Robert Lang
as the Duke of Albany
. She guest starred in an episode of the 1980s TV-series Robin of Sherwood
, as Lady Margaret of Gisbourne.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
of stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
An obituary in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
described her as "one of the most enchanting, accomplished and intelligent leading ladies on the post-war British stage. With her husky voice, deep brown eyes, wistful smile and sense of humour, she brought an enduring charm to all kinds of stage drama, ancient and modern, as well as to films and television plays in a career that spanned more than 40 years."
Biography
Dorothy Tutin was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 8 April 1930, daughter of John Tutin and his wife Adie Evelyn (Fryers), a couple who married the following year. Her year of birth was sometimes given as 1931, said to disguise the circumstances of her birth, but certainly not by herself.
She was educated at St Catherine's School, Bramley
St Catherine's School, Bramley
St. Catherine's School, established in 1885, is an independent girls' school in the village of Bramley, near Guildford, Surrey, England; it is one of the UK's most successful girls' independent schools. As of 2011, it has some 880 pupils, of whom around 170 aged 11–18 use the schools' boarding...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and studied for the stage at PARADA and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
.
Tutin was also a talented pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, but chose acting rather than music as her vocation.
She married the actor Derek Waring
Derek Waring
Derek Waring was an English actor who is best remembered for playing Detective Inspector Goss in Z-Cars from 1969 to 1973...
, and they had two children, Nicholas (Nick) and Amanda, both of whom also became actors.
Dorothy Tutin and Derek Waring remained married until her death in 2001 at the age of 71 from leukaemia. Waring died in 2007.
Tutin was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) in 1967, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 2000.
Theatre
Dorothy Tutin made her first stage appearance at The BoltonsThe Boltons
The Boltons is a street located in the Brompton district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England . The street is divided into two crescents to the west and east with large expensive houses and communal gardens in the centre.To the northwest via Boltons Place is Old Brompton...
on 6 September 1949, playing Princess Margaret of England in William Douglas-Home
William Douglas-Home
William Douglas Home was court-martialled in World War II for his refusal to obey orders as a British army officer and later became a successful British dramatist.-Early life:...
's play The Thistle and the Rose.
She joined the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
Company in January 1950, appearing as Phebe in As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, Anni in Denis Cannan
Denis Cannan
Denis Cannan was a British dramatist, playwright and script writer. Born Denis Pullein-Thompson, the son of Captain Harold J. Pullein-Thompson and novelist Joanna Cannan, he changed his name by deed poll in 1964. His younger sisters were Josephine, Diana and Christine Pullein-Thompson.Born in...
's Captain Carvallo and Belinda in John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
's The Provok'd Wife. She joined the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
company in London for the 1950-51 season, playing among other parts, Win-the-Fight Littlewit in Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
's Bartholomew Fair, Ann Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
and Princess Katharine in Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
.
At the Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
in September 1951 she played Martina in Christopher Fry
Christopher Fry
Christopher Fry was an English playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, notably The Lady's Not for Burning, which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...
's Thor With Angels, followed in January 1952 by Hero in John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
's triumphant production of Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
at the Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix Theatre (London)
The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located on Charing Cross Road . The entrance is in Phoenix Street....
.
Subsequent roles included:
- Rose Pemberton in The Living Room (Graham GreeneGraham GreeneHenry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
), Wyndham's TheatreWyndham's TheatreWyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
April 1953 - Sally BowlesSally BowlesSally Bowles is a fictional character created by Christopher Isherwood. She originally appeared in Isherwood's 1937 novella Sally Bowles published by Hogarth Press. The story was later republished in the novel Goodbye to Berlin...
in I Am a CameraI Am a CameraI Am a Camera is a 1951 Broadway play inspired by Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin which is part of The Berlin Stories...
(John Van Druten), New TheatreNoël Coward TheatreThe Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
March 1954 - Joan in The LarkL'Alouette (The Lark)L'Alouette is a 1952 play by Jean Anouilh about Joan of Arc. It was presented on Broadway in English in 1955, starring Julie Harris as Joan and Boris Karloff as Pierre Cauchon. It was produced by Kermit Bloomgarden.The English adaptation was by Lillian Hellman and the incidental music was by...
(Jean AnouilhJean AnouilhJean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
), Lyric Hammersmith March 1955 - Hedvig in The Wild DuckThe Wild DuckThe Wild Duck is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.-Plot:The first act opens with a dinner party hosted by Håkon Werle, a wealthy merchant and industrialist. The gathering is attended by his son, Gregers Werle, who has just returned to his father's home following a self-imposed...
, Saville TheatreSaville TheatreThe Saville Theatre is a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s, finally being converted to a cinema in 1970.-Theatre years:...
December 1955 - Caroline Traherne in The Gates of Summer, touring September 1956
- Jean Rice in The Entertainer, Royal CourtRoyal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
April 1957
Work with the RSC
Tutin first joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
Company for the 1960 season in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, appearing as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Viola in Twelfth Night and Cressida in Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. It was also described by Frederick S. Boas as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The play ends on a very bleak note with the death of the noble Trojan Hector and destruction of the love between Troilus...
. Then with the same company (but re-named the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
from January 1961) she appeared as:
- Viola in Twelfth Night, Aldwych TheatreAldwych TheatreThe Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
December 1960 (Evening Standard AwardsEvening Standard AwardsThe Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
Best Actress) - Sister Jeanne in The Devils, Aldwych February 1961.
- Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford August 1961
- Desdemona in OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, Stratford October 1961, Aldwych October 1962 - Varya in The Cherry OrchardThe Cherry OrchardThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
, Aldwych December 1961 and October 1962 - The Hollow Crown, Henry Miller's TheatreHenry Miller's TheatreThe Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller's Theatre, is a Broadway theatre located at 124 West 43rd Street, between Broadway and 6th Avenue, in Manhattan's Theatre District.-History:...
(New York debut) January 1963 - Polly Peachum in The Beggar's OperaThe Beggar's OperaThe Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
, Aldwych July 1963
Other work included:
- Beatrice in Beatrice et Benedict (concert version) Royal Festival HallRoyal Festival HallThe Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
November 1963 - Queen Victoria in Portrait of a Queen, Bristol Old Vic March 1965; Vaudeville TheatreVaudeville TheatreThe Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
May 1965; and Henry Miller NY, February 1968 (Tony nominee) - Rosalind in As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, RSC Stratford and Aldwych, summer 1967, then at the Ahmanson TheatreAhmanson TheatreThe Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that comprise the Los Angeles Music Center.Through the generosity of philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson, construction began on March 9, 1962. The theatre opened on April 12, 1967 with a production of More Stately Mansions starring Ingrid Bergman,...
, Los Angeles January 1968 - Ann in Ann Veronica, Belgrade TheatreBelgrade TheatreThe Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain and as such was more than a place of entertainment...
, Coventry February 1969 - Francine in Play on Love, St Martin's TheatreSt Martin's TheatreSt Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre, located in West Street, near Charing Cross Road, in the London Borough of Camden. It was designed as one of a pair of theatres with the Ambassadors Theatre by W.G.R...
, January 1970 - Alice in Arden of FavershamArden of FavershamArden of Faversham is an Elizabethan play, entered into the Register of the Stationers Company on 3 April 1592, and printed later that same year by Edward White. It depicts the murder of one Thomas Arden by his wife Alice Arden and her lover, and their subsequent discovery and punishment...
, RSC Theatregoround Festival, Roundhouse November 1970 - Kate in Old TimesOld TimesOld Times is a play by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on June 1, 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was directed by Peter Hall...
, Aldwych June 1971 - Title role in Peter PanPeter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
, London Coliseum. December 1971 and 1972 - Maggie Wylie in What Every Woman KnowsWhat Every Woman KnowsWhat Every Woman Knows is a four-act play written by J. M. Barrie. It was first presented by the impresario Charles Frohman at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on 3 September 1908...
, touring March 1972 and Albery Theatre November 1974 - Natalya Petrovna in A Month in the CountryA Month in the Country (play)A Month in the Country is a comedy in five acts by Ivan Turgenev. It was written in France between 1848 and 1850 and was first published in 1855...
, Chichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
1974 season; and (for Prospect Productions) Albery Theatre November 1975 (Evening Standard AwardsEvening Standard AwardsThe Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
Best Actress) - Lady Macbeth in MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, Yvonne Arnaud TheatreYvonne Arnaud TheatreThe Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Surrey presents in-house productions which often tour and transfer to London's West End. Other performances include opera, ballet and pantomime. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, the company has two performance venues, a main theatre and the smaller Mill...
, October 1976 - Cleopatra in Antony and CleopatraAntony and CleopatraAntony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
, Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh FestivalThe Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
1977 and Old Vic November 1977 - Madame Ranevsky in The Cherry OrchardThe Cherry OrchardThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
, National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, Olivier February 1978 - Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, National, Olivier June 1978
- Lady Plyant in The Double Dealer, National, Olivier September 1978
- Genia Hofreiter in Undiscovered Country, National, Olivier June 1979
- Mme Dubarry in Reflections, Theatre Royal Haymarket March 1980
- Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea, Greenwich TheatreGreenwich TheatreThe Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.-Building history:The building was originally a music hall created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was...
September 1981 - Deborah in A Kind of Alaska (part of a PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
Other Places triple-bill), Duchess TheatreDuchess TheatreThe Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
March 1985 - Blanche Jerome in Brighton Beach MemoirsBrighton Beach MemoirsBrighton Beach Memoirs is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound.-Characters:*Eugene Morris Jerome, almost 15...
, Aldwych Theatre, December 1986 - Sonia in Loleh Sellon's Thursday's Ladies, Apollo TheatreApollo TheatreThe Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
September 1987 - Edna Selby in Harlequinade and Millie Crocker-Harris in The Browning Version, Royalty TheatreRoyalty TheatreThe Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
March 1988 - Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night MusicA Little Night MusicA Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
, Minerva TheatreMinerva TheatreMinerva Theatre may refer to:*Minerva Theatre, Chichester*Minerva Theatre, Kolkata...
, Chichester August 1989; Piccadilly TheatrePiccadilly TheatreThe Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
October 1989 - Elderly Woman in Mountain Language and Melissa in Party Time (Harold Pinter), Almeida TheatreAlmeida TheatreThe Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
, November 1991 - Rhoda Monkhams in Rodney AcklandRodney AcklandRodney Ackland was an English playwright, actor, theatre director and screenwriter.He was educated at Balham Grammar School in London...
's After October, Minerva, Chichester May 1997, Richmond TheatreRichmond TheatreThe present Richmond Theatre, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a British Victorian theatre located on Little Green, adjacent to Richmond Green. It opened on 18 September 1899 with a performance of As You Like It, and is one of the finest surviving examples of the work of theatre...
and Greenwich Theatre June 1997, co-starring with Nicholas Waring - Fonsia Dorsey in The Gin Game, Savoy TheatreSavoy TheatreThe Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
March 1999, co-starring with Joss AcklandJoss AcklandSidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
Films and television
Dorothy Tutin's unusual looks, as well as her acting ability, led to early success. She won the role of Cecily in Anthony AsquithAnthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith was a leading English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy and The Browning Version , among other adaptations...
's 1952 film version of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)
The Importance of Being Earnest is a British film adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde. It was directed by Anthony Asquith, who also adapted the screenplay, and was produced by Teddy Baird.-Adaptation:...
(BAFTA nomination for Most Promising Newcomer). In the same year she played Polly Peachum to Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's Macheath in Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
's film version of The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera (film)
The Beggar's Opera is a 1953 Technicolor film version of John Gay's 1728 ballad opera directed by Peter Brook and starring Laurence Olivier, Dorothy Tutin, Stanley Holloway and others. Olivier and Holloway do their own singing in this film, but Dorothy Tutin and several others were dubbed...
(1953).
Her next major film role was as Lucie in the 1958 film A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)
A Tale of Two Cities is a 1958 British film of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. It starred Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin, and was directed by Ralph Thomas.-Cast:*Dirk Bogarde as Sydney Carton*Dorothy Tutin as Lucie Manette...
, opposite Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
.
She continued to divide her appearances between stage, TV, and film, appearing in the 1970 film Cromwell
Cromwell (film)
Cromwell is a 1970 film, based on the life of Oliver Cromwell who led the Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War and, as Lord Protector, ruled Great Britain and Ireland in the 1650s. It features an all-star cast led by Richard Harris as Cromwell and Alec Guinness as King Charles I...
as Queen Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
, before playing another Queen in 1970 - Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, which starred Keith Michell
Keith Michell
Keith Michell is an Australian actor, particularly noted for his television and film performances as King Henry VIII of England.- Early life :He was born in Adelaide and brought up in Warnertown, near Port Pirie...
in the title role. She also played Margot Asquith, the wife of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
, in the dramatic series Number 10. (The Asquiths' son Anthony directed Dorothy Tutin in her film debut.) She appeared in the Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
film Savage Messiah
Savage Messiah
Savage Messiah is a 1972 British biographical film of the life of French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, made by Russ-Arts and distributed by MGM. It was directed and produced by Ken Russell with Harry Benn as associate producer, from a screenplay by Christopher Logue, based on the book Savage...
in 1972.
She also performed as the teacher Sarah Burton in the TV series South Riding (1974), based on the novel South Riding
South Riding (novel)
South Riding is a novel by Winifred Holtby, published posthumously in 1936.The book is set in the fictional South Riding of Yorkshire: the inspiration being the East Riding rather than South Yorkshire...
by Winifred Holtby
Winifred Holtby
Winifred Holtby was an English novelist and journalist, best known for her novel South Riding.-Life and writings:...
. In the early 1980s Tutin also appeared in the made-for-television movie Murder with Mirrors (based on an Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
novel) along with Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
and Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
. Another of her notable roles was as Goneril
Goneril
Goneril, or Gonerill, is a fictional character in William Shakespeare’s King Lear. She is the eldest of King Lear's daughters. Along with her sister Regan, Goneril is considered a wicked character. She is obsessed with power and overthrowing her elderly father as ruler of the kingdom...
in an Emmy-winning television production of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's King Lear, opposite Laurence Olivier as King Lear and Robert Lang
Robert Lang (actor)
Robert Lang was an English actor of stage and television. Laurence Olivier invited him to join the new National Theatre Company, at the Old Vic, Robert Lang was already earning high praise as an actor. From 1971 until his death he was married to Ann Bell, best known for her portrayal of Marion...
as the Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish, and later the British, royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover....
. She guest starred in an episode of the 1980s TV-series Robin of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood , was a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 1984 to 1986 on the ITV network. In America it was retitled Robin Hood and shown on the premium cable TV channel...
, as Lady Margaret of Gisbourne.