Shirley Anne Field has had a long and successful career. She has starred opposite Laurence Olivier, Albert Finney, Steve McQueen, Michael Caine, Daniel Day-Lewis and Ned Beatty in classic films including The Entertainer, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The War Lover, Alfie, My Beautiful Laundrette and Hear My Song.
Her breakthrough role came when she starred as Tina the Beauty Queen opposite Sir Laurence Oliver in The Entertainer. Tony Richardson was the director.
Shirley Anne credits Tony Richardson with starting her film career. Her role as "Doreen" in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning soon followed.
At just 22 years old, Shirley Anne was a major film star.
Her next movie, Man in the Moon, was featured in a Royal Command Performance. This resulted in her name being above the title in all the major cinemas around Leicester Square. She has been told that this is a record to this day!
To her surprise, Hollywood was soon paying attention and Shirley Anne was cast as the female lead in The War Lover opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner.
Then she starred in a Hollywood block buster called Kings of the Sun with Yul Brynner and George Chakiris, filmed in Mexico.
Shirley Anne interspersed her film career with theatre and TV performances in Britain and around the world. She played the lead touring in Wait until Dark in South Africa. Later she played the part of Pamela in the U.S. television drama Santa Barbara.
My Beautiful Laundrette and Hear My Song followed in the 80's and 90's, which meant that she has been fortunate enough to star in a very successful movie in each decade of her career.
Starting this evening (July 24), Shirley will treat Milton Keynes when she stars in A Judgement in Stone at Milton Keynes Theatre.
The classy lady, and huge talent, went On Stage with Total MK...
Tell us about your first memory of the theatre
My first memory of the theatre was singing at the Royal Court at the age of seven for a production called ‘Lily White Boys’ which was directed by Lindsay Anderson and starring Albert Finney, with whom I was later to star with in the film ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’.
Whilst performing on stage at night I was also filming ‘The Entertainer’ during the day with Laurence Olivier.
And the moment when you realised the theatre was your calling
At the age of six when I was at Sunday School. Every year we would put on an end of year play. When appearing in the plays I felt comfortable and enjoyed the attention.
My first play at school was ‘The Monkey’s Paw’, my performance silenced everyone and the Deputy Head Master came to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and said “You have found your calling.”
Any dreadful calamities, or funny happenings on stage that you would care to share with us?
Far too many to mention! In ‘Lily White Boys’ at the Royal Court we also had to operate large lathes on stage which were quite complex.
It was difficult to act and sing whilst working with the lathes and at one performance I just couldn’t sing!
Myself and Adam Faith got a fit of giggles when we were filming ‘Beat Girl’. We couldn’t continue filming!
Which stage actor, living or dead, would you most like to meet, and what question would you ask them?
Greta Garbo. I would ask her why she stopped performing.
I would love to have met Humphrey Bogart, he was supposed to be so different to how he appeared on screen and he was a true craftsman.
Another person I would like to have met was James Mason.
Do you have any superstitions, or pre-performance routines?
I am one of those actresses who likes to be close to the theatre at all times. I am probably one of the first in the theatre in the morning and if I venture out, it is never far away.
Before the performance I like to have a little ‘quiet time’. I will usually be sitting in the wings quietly long before I am due to appear on stage.
The best piece of advice given to you when you started in the business
I often remember what Noel Coward said, ‘Learn the lines and don’t bump into the furniture’. I try to do both!
What do you think has been your steepest learning curve
Not to have your head turned by success or get deluded by criticism. It’s important to remain yourself and make your own choices. Act on your own instincts.
How do you fill your spare time while on tour
It’s funny but I don’t really have a lot of spare time. I would like to use my time more wisely but I find that I am always planning the next journey or doing odd little chores.
I do like to look around the towns of the places that we visit on tour though.
Nerves or excitement? Which takes over just before the curtain rises?
A little bit of both. I get a little nervous and excited before each performance. I think being a little nervous is healthy.
How can the future of theatre be safeguarded? What would you do to entice new blood to audiences?
It’s important for us to keep producing good plays and attracting good writers and directors.
Television is a great competitor and I think it is a shame that they don’t bring back the ‘Play of the Week’ to our screens.
Now tell us about the three favourite roles your have played so far, and what makes them special.
1 Saturday Night, Sunday Morning which was voted the 3rd most popular British film that year.
2 Kings of the Sun which I starred in with George Chakiris and Yul Brynner. We had great fun filming in Mexico.
3 Kennedy’s Children, a play that we did at the Kings Head in London. It put the theatre on the map.
Finally, for those yet to take a ticket to A Judgement in Stone, sell the show.
It’s all about the excitement of the conclusion. Ruth Rendell is a terrific writer and we have a terrific cast.
To book your ticket click here
> Never miss leisure news in Milton Keynes - Follow us on Twitter: @thisistotalmk
And on Facebook: here
