Jane Arden is an English

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 actress.

Born in Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, she spent her childhood in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and returned to the UK to train for the theatre. After performing her first Shakespearean role as Jessica in 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...

, she became a founding member of the British Actors Theatre Company, playing Bianca 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...

, Celia in As You Like It

As You Like It

As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...

, and Hoyden in John Vanbrugh

John Vanbrugh

Sir John Vanbrugh  – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...

's The Relapse

The Relapse

The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger is a Restoration comedy from 1696 written by John Vanbrugh. The play is a sequel to Colley Cibber's Love's Last Shift, or, Virtue Rewarded....

. She became an Associate Director for AFTLS - a company that tours Shakespeare plays to universities in the U.S.A. She played Lady Macbeth, Portia, Celia, Ariel and Juliet for the company. Other Shakespearn roles have been Hermia, Perdita, Maria, Lady Caputlet.
She has played in theatres throughout the UK - which have ncluded several Alan Ayckbourn plays.

Arden's musical credits: West End

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...

 productions Someone Like You

Someone Like You (musical)

Someone Like You is a musical with a book by Robin Midgley and Fay Weldon, lyrics by Dee Shipman, and music by Petula Clark.Based on a concept developed by Clark and Ferdie Pacheco over a period of several years, it is set in West Virginia immediately after the end of the Civil War...

, Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love

Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love

Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love is a musical with a book by Greg Moeller and Russell Dunlop and music and lyrics by Tommy Moeller. The 1993 West End production is considered one of the biggest disasters in the history of London theatre....

, The King and I

The King and I

The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...

, and George

George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...

 and Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin

Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....

's Lady Be Good

Lady Be Good (musical)

Lady, Be Good is a musical written by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson with music by George and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was first presented on Broadway in 1924; the West End production followed in 1926...

.

She played Cecile in Les Liaisons Dangereuses in the Wed End opposite Daniel J. Travanti

Daniel J. Travanti

Danielo Giovanni "Daniel J." Travanti is an American actor best known for his starring role as Captain Frank Furillo in the 1980s television drama Hill Street Blues.-Biography:...

 and then went on to tour the play in Europe and South Africa. For 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...

 Jane played Chorus in Hecuba and covered the title role which she played on several occasions when Vanessa Redgrave was indisposed - in the West End and in Washington DC.

Arden's television credits include 'Lost Empires

Lost Empires

Lost Empires is a 1986 television adaptation of J. B. Priestley's novel of the same name, and starred Colin Firth, John Castle and Laurence Olivier. It was shown as a miniseries, and premiered on UK TV in October 1986.-Plot:...

 with Colin Firth

Colin Firth

SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...

 and Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...

, The Strauss Dynasty a biography of Johann Strauss

Johann Strauss II

Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...

 with John Gielgud

John Gielgud

Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...

, and Edward Fox and played Mary Ellen in the Catherine Cookson series "A Dinner of Herbs".

In 2009 Jane started her own theatre company; British Actor's Group touring dinner theatre and bespoke productions. The company is going to the Middle and Far East this Autumn.

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