Gillian Smithies
Gillian joined RDG in2000 when she was immediately cast in our award-winning production of Yerma, following this with her appearance as the Mother in Memory of Water, The. Her poignant performance as one half of the Couple in our festival success Bed won the Adjudicators Award at Elmbridge in March 2002. The production went on to win the English Final in 2002. She scored a great personal success in her notable performance as the matriach in A Little Like Drowning. In 2006 Gillian won the Best Actress Award at Elmbridge Festival for her central role in And Go To Innisfree and the following year played the eponymous matriach in The House of Bernarda Alba. She appeared as Rebecca Nurse in our memorable production of The Crucible following which she was in our festival play The Cagebirds. Gillian happily dropped everything as she played one of the exuberant Calendar Girls - a contrast to her matriarchal role in the musical Crazy for You and her eccentric bag-lady (witch) in Macbeth 2015. Further eccentricity came in her next role: the extraordinary character of Aunt Augusta in Travels withe My Aunt. Gillian made her 20th RDG appearance as one on the Dames of the Theatre in our 2016 presentation of The Beggar's Opera. In 2019 she made an impressive Head of the Court in our classic comedy Volpone following which played one of nuns in our popular musical Sister Act.. More period comedy followed when he gave an amusing cameo performance in our classic comedy, The Beaux Stratagem. Age has never dimmed Gillian's enthusiasm for the theatre and performing as instanced her delightful poetic performance as Mary Anne the Sailors in our 2023 presentation of Under Milk Wood. The following year gave an engaging performance in our award winning festival play To Know When My Time Will Come.