Sheila Allen (English actress)
Encyclopedia
Sheila Allen was an English actress, who was best known to the wider public for her role on television as Cassie Manson in Bouquet Of Barbed Wire
and its sequel Another Bouquet (1976-7). From 1966-78, Allen was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company
.
to Dorothy Essex (née Potter) and William Allen.
From the 1950s, Allen appeared in plays by Shakespeare, including for the RSC in both Stratford
and London. Her first leading role was that of Katherine ("the shrew") in The Taming of the Shrew
for the Arena Company in Birmingham
(1954-6). Among many other Shakespearean roles, she played Hippolyta
in A Midsummer Night's Dream
with the Bristol
Old Vic
Company, a production that moved to London (1957-8), and first appeared with the RSC in 1962. Her later Shakespearean parts included Portia
(The Merchant of Venice
, Old Vic, London, 1962), Lady Percy (Henry IV
, Parts I and II) (RSC, Stratford, 1966), Lady Macduff
(Macbeth
, RSC, Stratford and London, 1968), Lady Capulet (Romeo and Juliet
, RSC, Stratford, 1967), Helen (Troilus and Cressida
, RSC, Stratford, 1968), Lady Macbeth
(Macbeth, Shaw Theatre, London, 1973) and Goneril (King Lear
, Stratford and London, 1974).
in an episode of Danger Man
("Don't Nail Him Yet", 1964), before her guest role in The Prisoner
(1967). In the episode "A. B. and C.
", the third episode of the series, Allen was Number 14, a scientist who was one of many who failed in "the Village" to elicit from Number 6 (McGoohan) why he had resigned from a certain organisation. She was pressed by Number 2 (Colin Gordon
) to use a new wonder drug and archive film to influence her subject's dreams, but he was able to manipulate the process and thereby to cause the downfall of Number 2. When not dressed in her subterranean laboratory in a white coat with her hair tied back, Number 14 was seen with flowing hair, walking around the Village in a cape of many colours.
In Bouquet of Barbed Wire, based on a novel by Andrea Newman
and described by Philip Purser
as a "kinky saga which was much discussed ... well made and acted", Allen's character was the wife of Peter Manson (Frank Finlay
), who had an unhealthy obsession about his married daughter, Prue (Susan Penhaligon
). Among many sexual entanglements, Cassie had an affair with Gavin Sorenson (James Aubrey
), her own son-in-law.
She also portrayed the Matron Mary Taylor in the television series Shroud for a Nightingale
(1984), based on the P. D. James
novel.
Her many film credits include The Prince and the Pauper
(1962), Children of the Damned
(1963), The Alphabet Murders
(1965), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(2005). Allen continued to work into the 21st century, and taught at the Guildford School of Acting
.
Bouquet of Barbed Wire
Bouquet of Barbed Wire is a British television series based on a 1969 novel by Andrea Newman. The series – whose title comes from an incident that occurred to Newman and her mother while on a walk – was made by London Weekend Television for ITV in 1976...
and its sequel Another Bouquet (1976-7). From 1966-78, Allen was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
.
Early life and stage work
Allen was born in Chard, SomersetChard, Somerset
Chard is a town and civil parish in the Somerset county of England. It lies on the A30 road near the Devon border, south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 12,000 and, at an elevation of , it is the southernmost and highest town in Somerset...
to Dorothy Essex (née Potter) and William Allen.
From the 1950s, Allen appeared in plays by Shakespeare, including for the RSC in both Stratford
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
and London. Her first leading role was that of Katherine ("the shrew") in The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
for the Arena Company in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
(1954-6). Among many other Shakespearean roles, she played Hippolyta
Hippolyta
In Greek mythology, Hippolyta or Hippolyte is the Amazonian queen who possessed a magical girdle she was given by her father Ares, the god of war. The girdle was a waist belt that signified her authority as queen of the Amazons....
in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
with the Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
Company, a production that moved to London (1957-8), and first appeared with the RSC in 1962. Her later Shakespearean parts included Portia
Portia
-Biology:*Portia , a genus of jumping spiders*Anaea troglodyta, a brush-footed butterfly commonly known as the Florida Leafwing, Florida Goatweed, or Portia*Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia*Ctt...
(The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, Old Vic, London, 1962), Lady Percy (Henry IV
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
, Parts I and II) (RSC, Stratford, 1966), Lady Macduff
Lady Macduff
Lady Macduff, a character in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is the wife of Macduff, the Thane of Fife, and the mother of an unnamed son and other children. Her appearance in the play is brief: she and her son are introduced in Act IV Scene II, a climactic and tragic scene that ends with both her and her...
(Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, RSC, Stratford and London, 1968), Lady Capulet (Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, RSC, Stratford, 1967), Helen (Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. It was also described by Frederick S. Boas as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The play ends on a very bleak note with the death of the noble Trojan Hector and destruction of the love between Troilus...
, RSC, Stratford, 1968), Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth may refer to:*Lady Macbeth, from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth**Queen Gruoch of Scotland, the real-life Queen on whom Shakespeare based the character...
(Macbeth, Shaw Theatre, London, 1973) and Goneril (King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, Stratford and London, 1974).
Television and film
Allen appeared with Patrick McGoohanPatrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
in an episode of Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
("Don't Nail Him Yet", 1964), before her guest role in The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
(1967). In the episode "A. B. and C.
A. B. and C.
"A. B. and C." is the title of the third episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on 13 October 1967 and was first broadcast in the United States on CBS on 22 June 1968....
", the third episode of the series, Allen was Number 14, a scientist who was one of many who failed in "the Village" to elicit from Number 6 (McGoohan) why he had resigned from a certain organisation. She was pressed by Number 2 (Colin Gordon
Colin Gordon
Colin Gordon was a British actor born in Ceylon .He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a production of “Toad of Toad Hall”. From 1936 to 1939 he was a director with the Fred Melville Repertory...
) to use a new wonder drug and archive film to influence her subject's dreams, but he was able to manipulate the process and thereby to cause the downfall of Number 2. When not dressed in her subterranean laboratory in a white coat with her hair tied back, Number 14 was seen with flowing hair, walking around the Village in a cape of many colours.
In Bouquet of Barbed Wire, based on a novel by Andrea Newman
Andrea Newman
Andrea Newman is an English author.An only child, mainly brought up by her grandmother, she taught at a grammar school after graduating with a degree in English from London University...
and described by Philip Purser
Philip Purser
Philip Purser is a British television critic and novelist.A contributor to the News Chronicle in the 1950s, he was television critic of The Sunday Telegraph from its launch in 1961 until he was sacked in 1987 by Peregrine Worsthorne, the then editor...
as a "kinky saga which was much discussed ... well made and acted", Allen's character was the wife of Peter Manson (Frank Finlay
Frank Finlay
Francis Finlay, CBE is an English stage, film and television actor.-Personal life:Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
), who had an unhealthy obsession about his married daughter, Prue (Susan Penhaligon
Susan Penhaligon
Susan Penhaligon is a British actress and writer, she is probably best known for her appearances in the controversial 1976 drama Bouquet of Barbed Wire and several ongoing roles in UK television series.-Early days:...
). Among many sexual entanglements, Cassie had an affair with Gavin Sorenson (James Aubrey
James Aubrey (actor)
James Aubrey was an English stage and screen actor. He trained for the stage at the Drama Centre London. He made his professional acting debut in a 1962 production of Isle of Children. Aubrey made his screen acting debut in the 1963 adaptation of Lord of the Flies. Aubrey performed with the Royal...
), her own son-in-law.
She also portrayed the Matron Mary Taylor in the television series Shroud for a Nightingale
Shroud for a Nightingale
Shroud for a Nightingale is a 1971 detective novel written by PD James in her Adam Dalgliesh series. Chief Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate the death of two student nurses at the hospital nursing school of Nightingale House...
(1984), based on the P. D. James
P. D. James
Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL , commonly known as P. D. James, is an English crime writer and Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, most famous for a series of detective novels starring policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.-Life and career:James...
novel.
Her many film credits include The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper is an English-language novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada before its 1882 publication in the United States. The book represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction...
(1962), Children of the Damned
Children of the Damned
Children of the Damned is a 1963 science fiction film, a thematic sequel to the 1960 version of Village of the Damned. It is about a group of children, with similar psi-powers to the original seeding, but without the obvious 'alien' differences in the earlier film.-Plot:Six children are identified...
(1963), The Alphabet Murders
The Alphabet Murders
The Alphabet Murders is a 1965 British detective film based on the novel The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie, starring Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot. The part of Poirot had originally been intended for Zero Mostel but the film was delayed because Agatha Christie objected to the script. The...
(1965), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, published on 8 July 2000.The novel won a Hugo Award in 2001, the only Harry Potter novel to do so...
(2005). Allen continued to work into the 21st century, and taught at the Guildford School of Acting
Guildford School of Acting
Guildford School of Acting is a drama school located in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an affiliate of the University of Surrey and is an accredited member of the National Council for Drama Training and The Conference of Drama Schools.-Overview:...
.
External links
- http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=sheila+allen+prisoner&um=1&hl=en&rls=ig&biw=1024&bih=677&tbm=isch&tbnid=9pMEeQoPTEm1rM:&imgrefurl=http://beseeingyou.org/target93.html&docid=2a6SXB15CWle4M&w=760&h=535&ei=8-KETqzlKoTC8QPuwLw9&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=563&vpy=194&dur=4472&hovh=188&hovw=268&tx=91&ty=110&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=172&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0 Still of Sheila Allen in The Prisoner (1967)]