Gillian Smithies
Gillian joined RDG in2000 when she was immediately cast in our award-winning production of Yerma, following this with her appearance as the Mother in Memory of Water, The. Her poignant performance as one half of the Couple in our festival success Bed won the Adjudicators Award at Elmbridge in March 2002. The production went on to win the English Final in 2002. She scored a great personal success in her notable performance as the matriach in A Little Like Drowning. In 2006 Gillian won the Best Actress Award at Elmbridge Festival for her central role in And Go To Innisfree and the following year played the eponymous matriach in The House of Bernarda Alba. She appeared as Rebecca Nurse in our memorable production of The Crucible following which she was in our festival play The Cagebirds. Gillian happily dropped everything as she played one of the exuberant Calendar Girls - a contrast to her matriarchal role in the musical Crazy for You and her eccentric bag-lady (witch) in Macbeth 2015. Further eccentricity came in her next role: the extraordinary character of Aunt Augusta in Travels withe My Aunt. Gillian made her 20th RDG appearance as one on the Dames of the Theatre in our 2016 presentation of The Beggar's Opera.