Interview

Susannah York

Film and stage star Susannah York, a noted beauty in her day and still with cheekbones to die for, has been a favourite with audiences since the early 1960s, when she starred in Tunes Of Glory with John Mills. Other wok included the ground-breaking The Killing of Sister George, which introduced lesbian affairs to mainstream movies. A successful writer and director as well as actress, she about to open in a three-hander play, The Kindness of Strangers, at the Warehouse Theatre in Croydon. Paul Webb bravely left the West End for an hour or two to meet her there in rehearsals...

What can you tell us about The Kindness of Strangers? "It's a thriller, a very mysterious piece, and an ambiguous play. It's the study of three characters - mine is a woman called Elaine - and their reaction to each other. Elaine has got no idea of how she got into her situation - she's in a house with the other two - or how to get out of it. There's something surreal about the piece, which attracted me to it, and the action switches in time, from past to present, in an interestingly unsettling way."

Actors often have an ambivalent relationship with critics. What do you think about them? "I have a better relationship with them now. That may be because I'm less worried about what they write, or it may be because I'm a better actress so they write nicer things!"

Is it harder for women than for men to find good roles as they get older? "That depends, partly on your own attitude. Sometimes people talk about making the transition from sex symbol to character actor, but all actors, male and female are character actors in one way or another - you just play different types of characters as your looks change. One advantge of greater experience is that you also turn that experience to other areas, like directing or producing or writing - all of which I've now done, and enjoyed, and learned from. I'm working on the screnplay of a book of mine, and that's a different challenge, too."

I saw you, some years ago now, in September Tide at the Comedy Theatre, where you co-starred with Michael Praed. Did you ever meet the playwright, Daphne Du Maurier? "Unfortunately not, though I enjoyed the play and I like the Comedy Theatre."

Is there any playhouse you have an ambition still to appear in? "Yes, I'd like to appear at the Duke of York's, which is a very attractive theatre."

You're also known for your film career...I've always enjoyed Tunes of Glory "So did I, and It was fascinating to work with John Mills and Alec Guinness. It wasn't a huge part but it was a good one to have and a great film to appear in at that stage of my career."

Another well-known film you appeared in was Oh What A Lovely War... "Yes, I had a brief scene with Dirk Bogarde, which we decided to play in a very Noel Coward way..."

What was he like? He had a reputation for being gifted but sometimes difficult... "I always found him lovely to work with, and we became good friends - I used to visit him at his house in the South of France. I think he minded not being taken seriously as an actor in this country, at having to work overseas to get the sort of roles he deserved and did well in. Joseph Losey was an honourable exception among British film directors in that respect."

Speaking of abroad, you've been on a tour of the United States earlier this year? "Yes, in The Loves Of Shakespeare's Women, which I wrote and acted. I enjoy America, and it's diversity. And the weather's often better!"

You are known for being politically aware - would that interfere with your desire to work in the States? "No, I like America and Americans too much to be put off by my feelings about their current government!"

You've just come back from a trip to Israel, where you are well-known as a campaigner for Mordecai Vanunu...Do you think there's more of a tradition of actresses who came to fame in the 1960s - like yourself and Vanessa Redgrave - being involved in politics rather than younger stars who seem more interested in charitable causes rather than political ones? "I do. I think we were much more politically aware in the 1960s, there were bigger and more immediate, more threatening issues, like nuclear disarmament and the Cold War. Actually I only really got involved in politics myself in the early 1970s, with the birth of my children. I felt more committed to getting involved in things that would affect they world they grew up in.

"I also think there's a lot of pressure on young people today, the pressure of life is so strong, so competitive, that they can't look up and around at other, global issues. Although I've mentioned my children, the main single event that politicised me was the riots of 1968, there was a real sense of the ferment of change..."

Would you say, overall, that the 60s were a good thing? People seem to be very polarised about them... "They were a great time to be young... a wonderful time, as there was a sense of the sun finally bursting out after the years of war and then the drab 1950s. Everything became freer, the class boundaries came down, social distinctions were blurred...it was very exciting..."

You're obviously interested in foreign countries and what's going on there - do you have a home abroad? "I have a house in Greece which I own with my ex, but it's really only a shepherd's cottage, it's very small, but it has olive tress and is in a lovely location, so it's a good place to get away to."

Do you have a favourite theatre restaurant? Are you a regular at The Ivy? "I've been there twice in my life! I suppose a favourite would be Joe Allen's in Covent Garden - it's fun to go there after a play."

Look out for Susannah York in the 'Kindness of Strangers' in the Warehouse Theatre, Croydon

By Paul Webb
Wednesday April 27