![]() ![]() ![]() In 1955 he joined forces to perform Titus Andronicus, directed by the young and revolutionary Peter Brook. In 1956 Osborne’s play Look Back in Anger shook the theatre world, but even before that Olivier had been involved in a minor revolution in the unlikely setting of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. His career took him to Hollywood as well as London and he became the most famous and glamorous of English actors.Īfter the war he continued to cement his reputation, but was aware that theatre needed to move in new directions. London soon beckoned, and although the energy and charisma of his performances were praised he was often unfavourably compared with John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, both great stage actors. ![]() His professional acting career began early, with a couple of seasons at that great cradle of talent, the Birmingham Rep. It received much attention and the praise of Ellen Terry and Sybil Thorndike, who described him as “the best Shrew I ever saw – a bad-tempered little bitch”. His first performance in Stratford was as a 14-year old schoolboy in 1922 when he appeared at Kate in The Taming of the Shrew in a production featuring the boys of All Saints School in London. Other actors of his generation have dropped out of popular consciousness, but Olivier’s name is still famous. It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole quarter of a century. Laurence Olivier as Kate in The Taming of the Shrew, 1922 ![]()
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