Barbara Atkinson
Encyclopedia
Barbara Atkinson is an actress from Manchester
, England
. Her first professional appearance was at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
in December 1945. Atkinson has appeared in various television episodes since 1965.
, England
. Her parents were Charles Stuart Atkinson and Dorothy Carol Atkinson (née Lyons). She was educated in Châtelard
and trained for the stage at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
.
. Her early career also included repertory work in such towns as Swindon
, Wigan
, and Wednesbury
. Atkinson made her debut West End theatre
performance in the role of Mary Williams in Serious Charge at the Garrick Theatre
in February 1955. She went on to do more repertory work in such towns as Oxford
, Birmingham
, and Nottingham
. Atkinson appeared with the National Theatre Company for the 1969–1970 season in the role of Mincing in The Way of the World
. In 1978, Atkinson appeared at the Greenwich Theatre
as Lady Markby in An Ideal Husband
.
in 1965. Atkinson went on to portray Miss Fellowes in the 1974 television adaptation of William Somerset Maugham's novel Cakes and Ale
. Her most recent television performance was in an episode of The Bill
in 1998.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her first professional appearance was at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
in December 1945. Atkinson has appeared in various television episodes since 1965.
Biography
Barbara Atkinson was born on January 8, 1926, in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her parents were Charles Stuart Atkinson and Dorothy Carol Atkinson (née Lyons). She was educated in Châtelard
Châtelard
Châtelard is a commune in the Creuse department in the Limousin region in central France.-Geography:The smallest commune of the department; a farming village situated some east of Aubusson on the D27a road.-Population:-Sights:...
and trained for the stage at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
.
Stage work
Barbara Atkinson made her first professional stage appearance at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in December 1945 in the role of Mr. Fox in Toad of Toad HallToad of Toad Hall
Toad of Toad Hall is the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows. It was written by A. A. Milne, with incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson....
. Her early career also included repertory work in such towns as Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
, and Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
. Atkinson made her debut West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
performance in the role of Mary Williams in Serious Charge at the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
in February 1955. She went on to do more repertory work in such towns as Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, 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...
, and Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. Atkinson appeared with the National Theatre Company for the 1969–1970 season in the role of Mincing in The Way of the World
The Way of the World
The Way of the World is a play written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London...
. In 1978, Atkinson appeared at the Greenwich Theatre
Greenwich Theatre
The Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.-Building history:The building was originally a music hall created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was...
as Lady Markby in An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour...
.
Film work
Barbara Atkinson has appeared on several television shows since 1965. Her first television performance was in an episode of The Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
in 1965. Atkinson went on to portray Miss Fellowes in the 1974 television adaptation of William Somerset Maugham's novel Cakes and Ale
Cakes and Ale
Cakes and Ale: or, the Skeleton in the Cupboard is a novel by British author William Somerset Maugham. It is often alleged to be a thinly veiled roman à clef examining contemporary novelists Thomas Hardy and Hugh Walpole — though Maugham maintained he had created both characters as composites...
. Her most recent television performance was in an episode of The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
in 1998.