ABSTRACT
Janet Suzman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1939. She made her London debut for the Royal Shakespeare Company as Luciana in The Comedy o f Errors. She continued with the RSC in The War of the Roses, performing the role of La Pucelle. Suzman stayed with the RSC on and off for a decade playing Rosaline in Love's Labour's Lost, Lulu in The Birthday Party, Portia in The Merchant o f Venice, Ophelia in Hamlet, Katharina in The Taming of the Shrew, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Rosalind in As You Like It, Lavinia in Titus Andronicus, and Celia in As You Like It, culminating in her portrayal of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra, which was also shown on television. Although she then left to work independently, she returned to the RSC to play Clytemnaestra and Helen of Troy in John Barton’s decathlon, The Greeks. Suzman has also appeared in Athol Fugard’s Hello and Goodbye and Boesman and Lena, Gorky’s Vassa, Hedda Gabler, The Good Person of Setzuan, Andromache, The Duchess o f Malfi, Ronald Harwood’s Another Time and The Sisters Rosensweig. She received the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for Masha in Jonathan Miller’s production of The Three Sisters and for her performance in Hello and Goodbye. Hedda Gabler - which Suzman played both on television and in the West End - was chosen as the BBC’s 50th Anniversary Classic Drama repeat. She has also directed Othello and The Good Woman of Sharkville for the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, Death of a Salesman for Theatr Clwyd, and The Free State (her adaptation of The Cherry Orchard), set in today’s South Africa, at the Birmingham Rep. This production will be revived at the Barbican. She has also directed The Snow Princess for the Tricycle Theatre.
