Dame Sybil Thorndyke (photo courtesy of Glynis Casson)
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Dame Sybil Thorndyke as St. Joan
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Dame Sybil Thorndike: A Visitor to St John’s
St John’s welcomes visitors to its services and events. A famous visitor in the middle years of the twentieth century was the great actress Dame Sybil Thorndike. She came to Sandymount to visit her son, Christopher Casson, one of four children of Dame Sybil and her husband, the actor Sir Lewis Casson. Christopher Casson had married Kay O’Connell, a stage designer at the Gate Theatre, and lived with their two daughters Bronwyn and Glynis, on Strand Road.
Dame Sybil was born in 1882 in Lincolnshire, one of four children of Revd Arthur Thorndike and his wife Agnes MacDonald. A child prodigy on the piano, she took to the stage when an accident to her wrist prevented her pursuing a musical career. She trained with Ben Greet’s Academy and made her stage debut in 1904 in his production of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor at the New Theatre, Cambridge. A tour of the US followed and a period with Annie Horniman’s company at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester. While in Manchester she played opposite the actor Lewis Casson in Marriages are made in Heaven. He proposed over a meal of sausages and mash and she accepted! They married in 1908. Their partnership became one of the legends of twentieth century British theatre.
During the First World War Dame Sybil joined the Old Vic Theatre Company, with whom she played almost all the main female Shakespearean roles. In 1924, she was St Joan in George Bernard Shaw’s play of that name; it was her favourite, and, perhaps, her greatest role; the part was written with her in mind. Her career spanned 72 years; she was still playing well into the 1970s. She was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1931 and Companion of Honour in 1970. She was predeceased by Sir Lewis, who died in 1969. Dame Sybil died in 1976, aged 93.
Their son Christopher Casson had a successful acting career in Dublin, beginning with Longford Productions at the Gate Theatre. He appeared in many stage productions and on film and TV. He was a familiar figure in Sandymount, walking along the Strand or driving his Mini car to Mass at Star of the Sea Church or Queen of Peace Church in Merrion.
The love of theatre and performance has continued to the present generation. Christopher’s elder daughter Bronwyn was a set designer at the Abbey Theatre. His younger daughter Glynis had her own Radio Show for two years with the ABC in Sydney and performed as a singer on Australian, Indian and New Zealand Television Stations. She is also a theatre, T.V. and film actress. She has played in Gilbert and Sullivan Productions, in musicals like ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Gigi’, and on screen in ‘Fair City’, ‘The Clinic’ and the Bollywood film ‘Moore Street Marsala’, where she tried Bollywood dancing for the first time! In recent years, she has produced and performed in her own shows including Ladies Who Lunch and Yeats’ Women. St John’s is honoured to have her as a reader at the annual Community Carol Service each Christmas.
St John’s welcomes visitors to its services and events. A famous visitor in the middle years of the twentieth century was the great actress Dame Sybil Thorndike. She came to Sandymount to visit her son, Christopher Casson, one of four children of Dame Sybil and her husband, the actor Sir Lewis Casson. Christopher Casson had married Kay O’Connell, a stage designer at the Gate Theatre, and lived with their two daughters Bronwyn and Glynis, on Strand Road.
Dame Sybil was born in 1882 in Lincolnshire, one of four children of Revd Arthur Thorndike and his wife Agnes MacDonald. A child prodigy on the piano, she took to the stage when an accident to her wrist prevented her pursuing a musical career. She trained with Ben Greet’s Academy and made her stage debut in 1904 in his production of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor at the New Theatre, Cambridge. A tour of the US followed and a period with Annie Horniman’s company at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester. While in Manchester she played opposite the actor Lewis Casson in Marriages are made in Heaven. He proposed over a meal of sausages and mash and she accepted! They married in 1908. Their partnership became one of the legends of twentieth century British theatre.
During the First World War Dame Sybil joined the Old Vic Theatre Company, with whom she played almost all the main female Shakespearean roles. In 1924, she was St Joan in George Bernard Shaw’s play of that name; it was her favourite, and, perhaps, her greatest role; the part was written with her in mind. Her career spanned 72 years; she was still playing well into the 1970s. She was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1931 and Companion of Honour in 1970. She was predeceased by Sir Lewis, who died in 1969. Dame Sybil died in 1976, aged 93.
Their son Christopher Casson had a successful acting career in Dublin, beginning with Longford Productions at the Gate Theatre. He appeared in many stage productions and on film and TV. He was a familiar figure in Sandymount, walking along the Strand or driving his Mini car to Mass at Star of the Sea Church or Queen of Peace Church in Merrion.
The love of theatre and performance has continued to the present generation. Christopher’s elder daughter Bronwyn was a set designer at the Abbey Theatre. His younger daughter Glynis had her own Radio Show for two years with the ABC in Sydney and performed as a singer on Australian, Indian and New Zealand Television Stations. She is also a theatre, T.V. and film actress. She has played in Gilbert and Sullivan Productions, in musicals like ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Gigi’, and on screen in ‘Fair City’, ‘The Clinic’ and the Bollywood film ‘Moore Street Marsala’, where she tried Bollywood dancing for the first time! In recent years, she has produced and performed in her own shows including Ladies Who Lunch and Yeats’ Women. St John’s is honoured to have her as a reader at the annual Community Carol Service each Christmas.
