Janie Dee
Encyclopedia
Janie Dee is an English actress and singer.
She is married to the actor Rupert Wickham.
In 2010, She won great critical acclaim for her performances as Natalia Petrovna in "A Month in the Country"(Brian Friel's adaptation of Turgenev) at Chichester for Director Jonathan Kent, Susan in Nancy Mitford's "The Little Hut" dir. Tim Luscombe, Anna in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I" Curve, Leicester for Paul Kerryson and Annie in Calendar Girls West End dir. Hamish McColl. 2008 and 2009 were mostly taken up with her reunion with Alan Ayckbourn to play Susan in his play "Woman in Mind" at Scarborough and then in the West End. Although latterly in 2009 she returned to work with Sir Peter Hall on George Bernard Shaw's "The Apple Cart" playing the King's 'Muse' "Orinthia"The End of 2007 and beginning of 2008 the West End saw her as Joy Gresham in a critically acclaimed production of William Nicholson's "Shadowlands" opposite Charles Dance as C.S. Lewis. At The Wyndhams Theatre and then extended at The Novello Theatre. Dir Michael Barker Caven.
In 2007, she played Kate in the Harold Pinter
play Old Times
, alongside Neil Pearson
and Susannah Harker
. In 2005 she starred as Beatrice in Sir Peter Hall's acclaimed production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal in Bath. Hall remarked in a radio interview that the reason he had chosen to produce that play was to see Dee perform the role. Early in 2003,she had worked with Sir Peter on Harold Pinter's "Betrayal" and Noel Coward's "Design for Living". she played the role of Nurse Fay in the premiere production of Sondheim'sAnyone Can Whistle
at the Bridewell Theatre.
Dee presented her one woman show at the Divas at the Donmar in 2002. In the same year she also played Edythe Herbert in the UK premiere of the Gershwin musical My One and Only
at the Chichester Festival Theatre
(and when it transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre
, again to wonderful reviews and much praise). As the season's guest lead at Chichester, Dee also demonstrated her classical range, earning high praise for her performance as Masha in Chekov
's Three Sisters
. Prior to Chichester she played the lead Lydochka in Opera North
's production of Paradise Moscow
, by Dmitri Shostakovitch, in Leeds
, London
and throughout England.
In 2000 Dee appeared in the lead role Jacie Triplethree in Sir Alan Ayckbourn
's new comedy Comic Potential
at the Lyric Theatre
, Shaftesbury Avenue. This was a virtuoso performance for which she was rewarded with the three most prestigious drama awards for theatre in the capital, an achievement only ever matched by Dame Judi Dench
: the Olivier, London Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Theatre Best Actress Awards. This remarkable performance and reaction to it was repeated at The Manhattan Theatre Club in New York
, where she received the following award and honours: OB Awards, Theatre World Awards, Lucille Lortel Nomination, Drama League Citation and Drama Desk Nomination for 'Best Actress'.
Work in other plays written and directed by Ayckbourn includes, Dreams From A Summerhouse, and House And Garden
, originating the roles of Amanda and Joanna respectively. She also starred in the 2008-2009 revival of and Woman in Mind
. Ayckbourn also directed her own show, which began its life at the NT studio
, with songs by some of Britain's new song writers.
Her work at the National Theatre includes - Helen of Troy in The Women of Troy, Julie in Johnny On A Spot, and a platform exploring The Children's Hour
as part of NT200. For the Royal Shakespeare Company
she appeared in The Shakespeare Revue (1995), and Ellie in the musical Showboat (a coproduction with Opera North). Other theatre includes Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, A Connecticut Yankee (New Shakespeare Company at Regent's Park), A Chorus Of Disapproval (Salisbury Playhouse), Parallel Vision, You Can't Take It With You (King's Head Theatre), Cinderella (Tokyo), Glory Of Gershwin, Oklahoma! (National Tour), The Sound Of Music and South Pacific (The Crucible, Sheffield), Enter The Guardsman (Donmar Warehouse), They're Playing Our Song, Love Songs For Shopkeepers, Figuring Things, Bolt From The Blue. (Stephen Joseph Theatre
, Scarborough).
Dee also starred as Emma Lavenham in the BBC's adaptation of PD James's Death in Holy Orders
(one in the series of the Adam Dalgliesh
books) transmitted in the Spring of 2003.
, an album of 20 brand new recordings by 26 West End stars, released in November 2008 on Dress Circle Records.
She is married to the actor Rupert Wickham.
Theatre
Dee is presently part of the Globe Theatre 2011 season playing The Countess of Roussillion in Shakespeare's "All's Well that Ends Well" and in October she goes to Nottingham Playhouse to play Amanda in Noel Coward's "Private Lives". She has performed a wide range of stage productions, from modern comedy to Shakespeare, contemporary drama to musical theatre and opera. She has also directed drama school productions.In 2010, She won great critical acclaim for her performances as Natalia Petrovna in "A Month in the Country"(Brian Friel's adaptation of Turgenev) at Chichester for Director Jonathan Kent, Susan in Nancy Mitford's "The Little Hut" dir. Tim Luscombe, Anna in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I" Curve, Leicester for Paul Kerryson and Annie in Calendar Girls West End dir. Hamish McColl. 2008 and 2009 were mostly taken up with her reunion with Alan Ayckbourn to play Susan in his play "Woman in Mind" at Scarborough and then in the West End. Although latterly in 2009 she returned to work with Sir Peter Hall on George Bernard Shaw's "The Apple Cart" playing the King's 'Muse' "Orinthia"The End of 2007 and beginning of 2008 the West End saw her as Joy Gresham in a critically acclaimed production of William Nicholson's "Shadowlands" opposite Charles Dance as C.S. Lewis. At The Wyndhams Theatre and then extended at The Novello Theatre. Dir Michael Barker Caven.
In 2007, she played Kate in the Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold 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...
play Old Times
Old Times
Old 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...
, alongside Neil Pearson
Neil Pearson
Neil Joshua Pearson is a British actor best known for his work on television.-Biography:Pearson grew up in Battersea, London, the son of a panel beater, who left home when he was five, and a legal secretary, and was educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Suffolk, a boarding school, where he first...
and Susannah Harker
Susannah Harker
Susannah Harker is an English film, television, and theatre actor. She is the daughter of English actress Polly Adams and actor Richard Owens, and the great-niece of Gordon Adams. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards...
. In 2005 she starred as Beatrice in Sir Peter Hall's acclaimed production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal in Bath. Hall remarked in a radio interview that the reason he had chosen to produce that play was to see Dee perform the role. Early in 2003,she had worked with Sir Peter on Harold Pinter's "Betrayal" and Noel Coward's "Design for Living". she played the role of Nurse Fay in the premiere production of Sondheim'sAnyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story concerns a corrupt mayoress, an idealistic nurse, a man who may be a doctor, and various officials, patients and townspeople, all fighting to save a bankrupt town...
at the Bridewell Theatre.
Dee presented her one woman show at the Divas at the Donmar in 2002. In the same year she also played Edythe Herbert in the UK premiere of the Gershwin musical My One and Only
My One and Only
My One and Only is a musical with a book by Peter Stone and Timothy S. Mayer and music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin.Written to incorporate classic Gershwin tunes from Funny Face and other popular shows into one evening of entertainment, the plot, set in 1927 America, revolves around Capt...
at the Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester 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....
(and when it transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The 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...
, again to wonderful reviews and much praise). As the season's guest lead at Chichester, Dee also demonstrated her classical range, earning high praise for her performance as Masha in Chekov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
. Prior to Chichester she played the lead Lydochka in Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
's production of Paradise Moscow
Moscow, Cheryomushki
Moscow, Cheryomushki is an operetta in three acts by Dmitri Shostakovich, his Op. 105. It is sometimes referred to as simply Cheryomushki...
, by Dmitri Shostakovitch, in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, London
London
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...
and throughout England.
In 2000 Dee appeared in the lead role Jacie Triplethree in Sir Alan Ayckbourn
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
's new comedy Comic Potential
Comic Potential (play)
Comic Potential by Alan Ayckbourn is a romantic sci-fi comedy. It is set in a TV studio in the foreseeable future, when low-cost androids have largely replaced actors.-Background:...
at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (London)
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
, Shaftesbury Avenue. This was a virtuoso performance for which she was rewarded with the three most prestigious drama awards for theatre in the capital, an achievement only ever matched by Dame Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
: the Olivier, London Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Theatre Best Actress Awards. This remarkable performance and reaction to it was repeated at The Manhattan Theatre Club in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where she received the following award and honours: OB Awards, Theatre World Awards, Lucille Lortel Nomination, Drama League Citation and Drama Desk Nomination for 'Best Actress'.
Work in other plays written and directed by Ayckbourn includes, Dreams From A Summerhouse, and House And Garden
House & Garden (plays)
House and Garden are a diptych of plays written by the English playwright Alan Ayckbourn, first performed in 1999. They are designed to be staged simultaneously, with the same cast in adjacent auditoria, and were published together as House & Garden. House takes place in the drawing room, and...
, originating the roles of Amanda and Joanna respectively. She also starred in the 2008-2009 revival of and Woman in Mind
Woman In Mind
Woman in Mind is the 32nd play by English playwright, Alan Ayckbourn. It was premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, in 1985. Despite pedestrian reviews by many critics, strong audience reaction resulted in a transfer to London's West End...
. Ayckbourn also directed her own show, which began its life at the NT studio
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, with songs by some of Britain's new song writers.
Her work at the National Theatre includes - Helen of Troy in The Women of Troy, Julie in Johnny On A Spot, and a platform exploring The Children's Hour
The Children's Hour (play)
The Children's Hour is a 1934 stage play written by Lillian Hellman. It is a drama set in an all-girls boarding school run by two women, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie. An angry student, Mary Tilford, runs away from the school and to avoid being sent back she tells her grandmother that the two...
as part of NT200. For 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...
she appeared in The Shakespeare Revue (1995), and Ellie in the musical Showboat (a coproduction with Opera North). Other theatre includes Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, A Connecticut Yankee (New Shakespeare Company at Regent's Park), A Chorus Of Disapproval (Salisbury Playhouse), Parallel Vision, You Can't Take It With You (King's Head Theatre), Cinderella (Tokyo), Glory Of Gershwin, Oklahoma! (National Tour), The Sound Of Music and South Pacific (The Crucible, Sheffield), Enter The Guardsman (Donmar Warehouse), They're Playing Our Song, Love Songs For Shopkeepers, Figuring Things, Bolt From The Blue. (Stephen Joseph Theatre
Stephen Joseph Theatre
The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain....
, Scarborough).
BBC Radio 2
- The Vicissitudes of Evangaline
- Paradise Moscow
- Finian's RainbowFinian's RainbowFinian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
- CarouselCarouselA carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
- Salad Days
Television
- House of CardsHouse of CardsHouse of Cards is a 1990 political thriller television drama serial by the BBC in four parts, set after the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was televised from 18 November to 9 December 1990, to critical and popular acclaim...
- The Live Show
- Midsomer MurdersMidsomer MurdersMidsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
- Heartbeat
- London's BurningLondon's BurningLondon's Burning was a British television drama programme produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network that focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch at a fictional fire station called Blackwall.It was broadcast between 1986 and...
- Love HurtsLove Hurts"Love Hurts" is the name of a song, written and composed by Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by The Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is also well known from a 1975 international hit version by the rock band Nazareth and in the UK by a top 5 hit in 1975 by Jim Capaldi.The song was introduced...
- The Boot St Band (BBC)
- Little White LiesLittle White Lies"Little White Lies" is a popular song.It was written by Walter Donaldson. The song was published in 1930. It was recorded on July 25, 1930 by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians with vocal by Clare Hanlon and The Waring Girls...
- The Murder RoomThe Murder RoomThe Murder Room is a 2003 detective novel and the 12th in the Adam Dalgliesh series by P. D. James. It takes place in London, particularly the Dupayne Museum on the edge of Hampstead Heath in the London Borough of Camden....
Dee also starred as Emma Lavenham in the BBC's adaptation of PD James's Death in Holy Orders
Death in Holy Orders
Death in Holy Orders is a 2001 detective novel in the Adam Dalgliesh series by P. D. James.-Setting:The novel is mainly set in and around an Anglican theological college, Saint Anselm's, on the windswept coast of East Anglia...
(one in the series of the Adam Dalgliesh
Adam Dalgliesh
Adam Dalgliesh is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of fourteen mystery novels by P. D. James. Dalgliesh first appeared in James's 1962 novel Cover Her Face and has appeared in a number of subsequent novels.-Character:...
books) transmitted in the Spring of 2003.
Recordings
In 2008 Dee recorded a song for the CD Act One - Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. BermangeAlexander S. Bermange
Alexander S. Bermange is an English musical theatre composer and lyricist. He has often served as musical director and pianist for his own productions. He is also a regular broadcaster on UK radio.-Career:...
, an album of 20 brand new recordings by 26 West End stars, released in November 2008 on Dress Circle Records.