Joanna Riding
Encyclopedia
Joanna Riding, is an English
actress. For her work in West End
musicals, she has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, and has been nominated for two others.
, England, growing up on a farm, where her father ran a successful cheese-making business. She received theatre training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
from 1985-1989.
After leaving school, she worked at Chichester Festival Theatre
for a season, playing Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor
and Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz
. She met her former husband, actor Peter O'Brien, at Chichester. She was next cast as a replacement Sally in the West End
production of Me and My Girl
.
In 1993, Riding played the role of Julie Jordan in Nicholas Hytner
's Royal National Theatre
revival of Carousel
and won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. In 1995 she played Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music
opposite Judi Dench
, followed by Sarah Brown in Richard Eyre
's acclaimed revival of Guys and Dolls
, both at the National Theatre. She created the role of Jane Smart in The Witches of Eastwick
in 2000, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
and in 2003 played the role of Eliza Doolittle in Trevor Nunn
's National Theatre revival of My Fair Lady
, for which she won her second Olivier Award.
On May 12th 2002, she appeared in the Richard Rogers'
Tribute Gala 'Some Enchanted Evening' at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which was broadcast on BBC Four
and has since been released on DVD. At the concert she performed the song 'An Old Man' from Two By Two.
Riding performed the role of Ruth in Blithe Spirit
in 2004 on tour at the Milton Keynes Theatre and Theatre Royal, Bath
, and at the Savoy Theatre
in London.
From 1 December 2008 to 29 May 2010, Riding starred as Mrs. Wilkinson in the London production of Billy Elliot the Musical
at the Victoria Palace Theatre
. She took maternity leave from the show between 23 December 2008 and 24 August 2009 when the role was played by Kate Graham.
Following this she headlined a one-off late afternoon concert on 24 October 2010 at Freedom Bar in Soho
called Sondheim
in Reverse, as part of the composer's 80th birthday celebrations.
In 2011, Riding starred in two musicals at The Gielgud Theatre
in London's West End
. From 5th March to May 21st, she played Madame Emery in the Kneehigh Theatre Company's musical adaptation of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. The production had its try-out at Leicester's Curve Theatre from 11th to 26th February. A month later, from 6th June to 6th August, she played jealous Italian mistress Maria Merelli in the London production of Lend Me A Tenor
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress. For her work in West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musicals, she has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, and has been nominated for two others.
Biography
Riding was born in LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England, growing up on a farm, where her father ran a successful cheese-making business. She received theatre training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
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...
from 1985-1989.
After leaving school, she worked at 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....
for a season, playing Anne 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 Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (adaptations)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, which has been adapted into several different works, the most famous being the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland...
. She met her former husband, actor Peter O'Brien, at Chichester. She was next cast as a replacement Sally in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth....
.
In 1993, Riding played the role of Julie Jordan in Nicholas Hytner
Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
's Royal National Theatre
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...
revival of Carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
and won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. In 1995 she played Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A 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...
opposite 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...
, followed by Sarah Brown in Richard Eyre
Richard Eyre
Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBE is an English director of film, theatre, television, and opera.-Biography:Eyre was educated at Sherborne School, an independent school for boys in the market town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset in south-west England, followed by Peterhouse at the University...
's acclaimed revival of Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably...
, both at the National Theatre. She created the role of Jane Smart in The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick is a 1984 novel by John Updike.-Plot summary:The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the late 1960s, follows the witches Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont, who acquired their powers after leaving or being left by their husbands....
in 2000, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
and in 2003 played the role of Eliza Doolittle in Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
's National Theatre revival of My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
, for which she won her second Olivier Award.
On May 12th 2002, she appeared in the Richard Rogers'
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
Tribute Gala 'Some Enchanted Evening' at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which was broadcast on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
and has since been released on DVD. At the concert she performed the song 'An Old Man' from Two By Two.
Riding performed the role of Ruth in Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
in 2004 on tour at the Milton Keynes Theatre and Theatre Royal, Bath
Theatre Royal, Bath
The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, is over 200 years old. It is one of the more important theatres in the United Kingdom outside London, with capacity for an audience of around 900....
, and at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The 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,...
in London.
From 1 December 2008 to 29 May 2010, Riding starred as Mrs. Wilkinson in the London production of Billy Elliot the Musical
Billy Elliot the Musical
Billy Elliot the Musical is a musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot. The music is by Sir Elton John, and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes...
at the Victoria Palace Theatre
Victoria Palace Theatre
Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station.-Origins:The theatre began life as a small concert room above the stables of the Royal Standard Hotel, a small hotel and tavern built in 1832 at what was then 522 Stockbridge...
. She took maternity leave from the show between 23 December 2008 and 24 August 2009 when the role was played by Kate Graham.
Following this she headlined a one-off late afternoon concert on 24 October 2010 at Freedom Bar in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
called Sondheim
Sondheim
Sondheim vor der Rhön is a municipality in the district Rhön-Grabfeld, Bavaria, Germany. It is administrated by the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Ostheim. As of 2002 it had a population of 1123, and covers an area of 18.58 km².-History:...
in Reverse, as part of the composer's 80th birthday celebrations.
In 2011, Riding starred in two musicals at The Gielgud Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...
in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. From 5th March to May 21st, she played Madame Emery in the Kneehigh Theatre Company's musical adaptation of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. The production had its try-out at Leicester's Curve Theatre from 11th to 26th February. A month later, from 6th June to 6th August, she played jealous Italian mistress Maria Merelli in the London production of Lend Me A Tenor
Lend Me A Tenor (musical)
Lend Me A Tenor is a musical with music by Brad Carroll and book and Lyrics by Peter Sham. The musical is based on the 1986 play of the same name by Ken Ludwig.-Productions:...
.
Awards and nominations
Olivier Award Best Actress in a Musical- Carousel (1993) (winner)
- My Fair LadyMy Fair LadyMy Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
(2003) (winner) - Guys and Dolls (1997) (nomination)
- The Witches of Eastwick (2001) (nomination)