Margaret Webster is a theater actress, producer and director, recognized for her work on stages in England and America.
Biography
Margaret Webster was born into the creative family of two movie stars - Ben Webster and Demi Mae Whitty. This event, which gave the theatrical world a talented actress, took place in New York on March 15, 1905. Margaret was not the firstborn in the family. Her older brother died as an infant. Ben Webster announced the birth of his long-awaited daughter from the theater stage during his performance in one of Shakespeare's plays.
The appearance of the child did not relieve the family of the need to tour as part of a theater troupe. The girl traveled frequently between England and the United States. At the age of 13, it was decided that Margaret would continue her studies at the Queen Anne School. This independent boarding school for girls is located in Caversham, a suburb in the Reading area. The educational institution reacted with understanding to this creative family and allowed Margaret to take part in the performances of her parents. This allowed a very young girl to work on the same stage with the famous actress Ellen Terry. After graduating from boarding school in 1923, the future actress had the opportunity to continue her education at the University of Cambridge. But she refused. The desire to pursue an acting career prevailed. She entered the Etlinger Theater Drama School in London, where her mother, in parallel with her performances on stage, worked as a manager and acting coach.
The following years, Margaret spent honing her playing skills and taking part in various productions. By the beginning of her long career, the actress was already well known in England. And then many years of painstaking work followed. Webster has gone from stage actress to Broadway theater director. She devoted her life to her profession.
Margaret Webster was never married and had no children. She suffered from colon cancer in the last years of her life and died on 13 November 1972 at the Hospice of St. Christopher in London. Her departure meant not only the end of a brilliant career, but also put an end to the 150-year-old English theatrical dynasty.
Career
Theater Born Margaret Webster made her stage debut at age eight. Then she took part in Ellen Terry's Christmas production. In addition, the parents of the girl, whose life revolved around the theater, now and then allowed the girl to appear on stage as an extra actor.
Margaret Webster began her professional career in theater companies. In 1929 she became a member of the collective called Old Vic. Initially, the actress played secondary roles. A few years later, she already appeared in the title role, playing Lady Macbeth. In the period from 1934 to 1936, Margaret was already involved in fourteen plays, including the roles of the Queen of Scots, the governor of Sarah, characters in the plays of Ferenc Molnar. It was during this period that Webster received her first directing experience. While continuing her acting career, she also directed nine productions, most of which were new plays. In 1937, Margaret received an offer from Maurice Evans. He invited her to lead the New York delivery of Richard II, which was first presented on Broadway in 1878. Webster has never worked with New York City actors before. Of this experience, she wrote: "Very soon I discovered some fundamental differences between American and English actors, especially when it comes to Shakespeare. Americans worked harder, were more focused and open."
Having won unanimous critical acclaim for her directing work, Webster continued to work with Evans on Hamlet (1938), Henry IV (1939), Twelfth Night (1940) and Macbeth (1941). In 1939, she also directed abridged versions of four Shakespearean comedies for the Globe Theater, presented at the New York World's Fair.
In 1942, Webster created a buzz by casting black actor Paul Robson for the role of Moor in a production of Othello, which also starred Uta Hagen and José Ferrer.
Although it was predicted that the production would fail due to its unconventional casting approach, the play was shown to viewers in a record 295 performances.
Margaret's projects as a director were by no means limited to Shakespeare. Under her leadership, the plays of Euripides "The Trojan Women", "The Battle of Angels", "The Cherry Orchard" by Chekhov and others were staged.
In 1951, Webster's career took a hit after being accused of being committed to communism. Jose Ferrer, under pressure, called her name before the Commission of Inquiry on Anti-American Activities. And despite the fact that she was eventually cleared of all charges, Margaret was blacklisted and had a hard time finding work in the United States. She returned to England and took up directing there again.
In 1961, the US Department of State invited Margaret Webster to visit South Africa as a member of the American Specialists Program. This allowed her to restore her former status in America. While on tour, she gave lectures, gave concert readings of Shakespeare and directed several productions. In the following years, she also acted as a visiting lecturer at various American universities, was involved in teaching, directed and performed in her own women's shows based on the works of Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw.
Dedicated to the profession, Margaret Webster has never been married and had no children. She spent the last few years of her life in southeastern Massachusetts in a place called Martha's Vineyard. Here she worked on writing the family memoirs "The same, only different" (1969) and her autobiography "Do not take your daughter on stage" (1972). When the health condition of the actress suffering from cancer deteriorated significantly, she retired to the Hospice of St. Christopher, from where the message about her death came.
