Gillian Hanna

Gillian Hanna
Gillian Hanna
Born	20 June 1944; Buxton, Derbyshire, England
Died	18 August 2019 (aged 75); London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1971—2019

Gillian Hanna (20 June 1944 – 18 August 2019)^[1] was an Irish stage, film, TV and voice actress. She founded the feminist Monstrous Regiment Theatre Company about which she wrote a book that was published in 1991.

Early life

Hanna graduated with a First Class degree in Modern Languages from Trinity College, Dublin. She went on to work as an actor as well as a translator.^[2]^[3]

Career

In 1975, Hanna founded the feminist Monstrous Regiment Theatre Company. Hanna worked with the company for fifteen years.^[4]^[5] In 1981, she starred in Honor Moore's Mourning Pictures at the Tricycle Theatre, a Monstrous Regiment Theatre Company production, with original music by Tony Haynes. The play was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1982.^[6]^[7]

She later published a book about the company, Monstrous Regiment: A Collective Celebration.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] An essay of hers, "An Age Of Innocence", was published in the collection Trinity Tales: Trinity College In The Sixties.^[12] She has extensive credits on stage as well as on TV and film.^[13]

Hanna also had a bit part playing the very fragile and somewhat 'delicate' typist teacher Mrs Gossage in the sixth series of Grange Hill (1983) and played the sister of the evil Trevor Jordache in Brookside during the infamous 'body under the patio' storyline in the 1990s.^[1]

Books

Monstrous Regiment: A Collective Celebration, London: Nick Hern Books, (1991)
Feminism and Theatre: Gillian Hanna, Department of Theatre, Dartington College of Arts, 1978

Partial filmography

Full House (1973, TV Series) - Actress in Plugged Into History
Grange Hill (1983, TV Series) - Mrs. Gossage
Brookside (1983-1995, TV Series) - Brenna Jordache / Mrs. Brown
The Fear (1988, TV Series) - Mrs. Broderick
All Creatures Great and Small (1988, TV Series) - Betty Sanders
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989) - Mrs. Shubunkin
Making News (1990, TV Series) - Mrs. Gurney
EastEnders (1991, TV Series) - Mrs. Desmond
All Good Things (1991, TV Series) - Mrs. Grant
The House of Bernarda Alba (1991, TV Movie) - Maid
Poirot (1993, TV Series) - Margaret Baker
The Marshal (1993) - Maria Pia
15: The Life and Death of Philip Knight (1995, TV Movie) - Margareth Knight
Desmond's (1993, TV Series) - Pamela
Screenplay (1993, TV Series) - Eileen
Drop the Dead Donkey (1994, TV Series) - Mrs. Babcock
Casualty (1995-2007, TV Series) - Sal Rhodes / Mrs. Mohan
The Heart Surgeon (1997, TV Movie) - Margot
Dangerfield (1997, TV Series) - Julie Hanson
Les Misérables (1998, directed by Bille August) - Mme. Thénardier
All the Queen's Men (2001, directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky) - Nettie
Weirdsister College (2001, TV Series) - Josie Foster
The Heart of Me (2002, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan) - Betty / Maid
Oliver Twist (2005, directed by Roman Polanski) - Mrs. Sowerberry
Doctors (2006, TV Series) - Pat Bishop
The Kindness of Strangers (2006, TV Movie, directed by Tony Smith) - Hannah
Mist: The Tale of a Sheepdog Puppy (2006, TV Movie) - Swift
Mist: Sheepdog Tales (2007-2009, TV Series) - Swift / Queenie Creamer / MacPhereson Sister
Inspector George Gently (2008, TV Movie) - Mabs Hardyment
Mr. Nice (2010, directed by Bernard Rose) - Irish Phone Operator
Married Single Other (2010, TV Series) - Mrs. Kelly
Strike Back (2011, TV Series) - Joanna Heath
National Theatre Live: Treasure Island (2015, directed by Polly Findlay) - Grandma
The Amazing World of Gumball (2015-2019, TV Series) - Betty McArthur (Season 4-6)
Genius (2016, directed by Michael Grandage) - Julia Wolfe
Ethel & Ernest (2016, directed by Roger Mainwood) - Midwife / Aunty Flo (voice)

References

^ ^a ^b Lavery, Bryony (29 August 2019). "Gillian Hanna obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
^ Gaetana Marrone; Paolo Puppa (26 December 2006), Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies, Taylor & Francis, pp. 741–, ISBN 978-1-135-45529-3
^ Tony Mitchell (8 January 2014), Dario Fo: People's Court Jester, A&C Black, pp. 494–, ISBN 978-1-4081-4863-1
^ Herta Schmid; Aloysius Van Kesteren (1 January 1985), Semiotics of Drama and Theatre: New Perspectives in the Theory of Drama and Theatre, John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 463–, ISBN 978-90-272-7967-5
^ Sandra Richards (18 June 1993), Rise of the English Actress, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 254–, ISBN 978-1-349-09930-6
^ Radlin, Victoria (15 March 1981). "An anatomy of death". The Observer.
^ Ferris, Paul (30 May 1982). "A portrait of death". The Observer.
^ Elaine Aston; Elin Diamond (10 December 2009), The Cambridge Companion to Caryl Churchill, Cambridge University Press, pp. 16–, ISBN 978-0-521-49322-2
^ Lizbeth Goodman (2 September 2003), Contemporary Feminist Theatres: To Each Her Own, Routledge, pp. 267–, ISBN 978-1-134-90696-3
^ Marianne Novy (1993), Cross-cultural Performances: Differences in Women's Re-visions of Shakespeare, University of Illinois Press, pp. 225–, ISBN 978-0-252-06323-7
^ Awam Amkpa (1 June 2004), Theatre and Postcolonial Desires, Routledge, pp. 198–, ISBN 978-1-134-38133-3
^ "Biography of Gillian Hanna". The Playwrights Database. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
^ Lynda Hart; Peggy Phelan (1993), Acting Out: Feminist Performances, University of Michigan Press, pp. 174–, ISBN 0-472-06479-7

External links

Gillian Hanna at IMDb
Agent's Biography Archived 9 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine
Gillian Hanna at Playbill Vault
Gillian Hanna at the Internet Broadway Database
National Theatre
Official Monstrous Regiment Theatre Company website

[guardian-1] Lavery, Bryony (29 August 2019). "Gillian Hanna obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.

[MarronePuppa2006-2] Gaetana Marrone; Paolo Puppa (26 December 2006), Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies, Taylor & Francis, pp. 741–, ISBN 978-1-135-45529-3

[Mitchell2014-3] Tony Mitchell (8 January 2014), Dario Fo: People's Court Jester, A&C Black, pp. 494–, ISBN 978-1-4081-4863-1

[SchmidKesteren1985-4] Herta Schmid; Aloysius Van Kesteren (1 January 1985), Semiotics of Drama and Theatre: New Perspectives in the Theory of Drama and Theatre, John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 463–, ISBN 978-90-272-7967-5

[Richards1993-5] Sandra Richards (18 June 1993), Rise of the English Actress, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 254–, ISBN 978-1-349-09930-6

[6] Radlin, Victoria (15 March 1981). "An anatomy of death". The Observer.

[7] Ferris, Paul (30 May 1982). "A portrait of death". The Observer.

[AstonDiamond2009-8] Elaine Aston; Elin Diamond (10 December 2009), The Cambridge Companion to Caryl Churchill, Cambridge University Press, pp. 16–, ISBN 978-0-521-49322-2

[Goodman2003-9] Lizbeth Goodman (2 September 2003), Contemporary Feminist Theatres: To Each Her Own, Routledge, pp. 267–, ISBN 978-1-134-90696-3

[Novy1993-10] Marianne Novy (1993), Cross-cultural Performances: Differences in Women's Re-visions of Shakespeare, University of Illinois Press, pp. 225–, ISBN 978-0-252-06323-7

[Amkpa2004-11] Awam Amkpa (1 June 2004), Theatre and Postcolonial Desires, Routledge, pp. 198–, ISBN 978-1-134-38133-3

[12] "Biography of Gillian Hanna". The Playwrights Database. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2016.

[HartPhelan1993-13] Lynda Hart; Peggy Phelan (1993), Acting Out: Feminist Performances, University of Michigan Press, pp. 174–, ISBN 0-472-06479-7

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]