Lynette Davies
Encyclopedia
Lynette Davies was a Welsh
stage, television, and film actress.
The daughter of a Customs and Excise officer, Davies was born in Tonypandy
, Glamorgan
, in 1948, and was educated at Our Lady's School, Cardiff. She trained for an acting career at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
in London
before going into repertory
at the Bristol Old Vic
.
In 1974 she appeared as Regan
in a Royal Shakespeare Company
production of King Lear
, and later the same year she played Yulia in the RSC's first British production of Maxim Gorky
's Summerfolk at the Aldwych Theatre
.
Her highest-profile role was as Davinia Prince, the central character in The Foundation, a British television series of 1977-1978 by ATV
about the widow of a business tycoon.
In 1989 she played Doll Tearsheet in an English Shakespeare Company
production of King Henry IV, Part II
.
In December 1993, at the age of forty-five, she was drowned at Lavernock Point, on the coast of the Vale of Glamorgan
. The cause of death was later determined as suicide
.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
stage, television, and film actress.
The daughter of a Customs and Excise officer, Davies was born in Tonypandy
Tonypandy
Tonypandy is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, today Tonypandy is best known as the site of the Tonypandy Riots....
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
, in 1948, and was educated at Our Lady's School, Cardiff. She trained for an acting career at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
before going into repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
at the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
.
In 1974 she appeared as Regan
Regan (King Lear)
-Role in play:She is the middle child of King Lear's daughters and is married to the Duke of Cornwall. Similarly to her older sister, Goneril, Regan is attracted to Edmund. Both sisters are eager for power and even convince their father with false flattery to hand over his kingdom."Sir, I am madeOf...
in a 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...
production of 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...
, and later the same year she played Yulia in the RSC's first British production of Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
's Summerfolk at the Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
.
Her highest-profile role was as Davinia Prince, the central character in The Foundation, a British television series of 1977-1978 by ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
about the widow of a business tycoon.
In 1989 she played Doll Tearsheet in an English Shakespeare Company
English Shakespeare Company
The English Shakespeare Company was an English theatre company founded in 1986 by Michael Bogdanov and Michael Pennington to present and promote the works of William Shakespeare on both a national and an international level....
production of King Henry IV, Part II
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
.
In December 1993, at the age of forty-five, she was drowned at Lavernock Point, on the coast of the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
. The cause of death was later determined as suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Screen roles
- ClayhangerThe Clayhanger FamilyThe Clayhanger Family is a series of novels by Arnold Bennett, published between 1910 and 1918. Though the series is commonly referred to as a "trilogy", it consists of four books; the first three novels were released in one single volume as The Clayhanger Family in 1925.-Clayhanger :The novels are...
(1976) – Adela Orgreave - The Ghosts of Motley HallThe Ghosts of Motley HallThe Ghosts of Motley Hall was a British children's television series written by Richard Carpenter, produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence, and shown in 1976 by Granada Television.The series relates the adventures of 5 ghosts who haunt Motley Hall...
(1976) – Miss Uproar/Imogen - RafflesRaffles (TV series)Raffles was a 1977 television adaptation of the A. J. Raffles stories by Ernest William Hornung. The series was produced by Yorkshire Television and written by Phillip Mackie...
(1977) – Lady Camilla Belsize - Will ShakespeareWill Shakespeare (TV series)Will Shakespeare, also known as Life of Shakespeare, was a 1978 historical drama series created and written by John Mortimer. Broadcast in six parts, the series is a dramatisation of the life of William Shakespeare, and was co-produced by Lew Grade's ATV and RAI and distributed internationally by ITC...
(1978) – Countess of SouthamptonMary Wriothesley, Countess of SouthamptonMary Wriothesley , Countess of Southampton was born in Cowdray House, Midhurst, Sussex, England to Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu and Lady Jane Radcliffe. Mary was married three times first to Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton son of Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton and... - The Foundation (1977-1978) – Davinia Prince
- Tales of the UnexpectedTales of the Unexpected (TV series)Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
, "The Last Bottle in the World" (1981) – Sophie Kassoulas - Miracles Take LongerMiracles Take LongerMiracles Take Longer was a United Kingdom drama series broadcast on ITV from January 1984 to May 1984 made by Thames Television.The drama depicted the life and cases dealt with by a branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau....
(1984) – Jenny Swanne - Tales of the UnexpectedTales of the Unexpected (TV series)Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
, "The Best Chess Player in the World" (1984) – Paula Shaw - No Place Like Home, "Dear Miss Davenport" (1986) – Celia Davenport
- Inside Story (1986) – Eileen Stead
- The District NurseThe District NurseThe District Nurse is a British television series, produced by BBC Wales and shown on BBC One between 1984 and 1987.The series was a period drama created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland and starred Nerys Hughes as Megan Roberts, the titular district nurse fighting to improve living conditions for...
(1987) – Isobel Huxtable - BergeracBergerac (TV series)Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
, "Treasure Hunt" (1987) – Miranda Bassett - The Watch HouseThe Watch HouseThe Watch House is a 1977 fiction book by Robert Westall. The main story is about a teenager called Anne, who is left to spend the summer with her mother's old nanny. While there she explores the watch house, writes a guidebook for the watch house and is haunted by a ghost. It is split up into...
(1988) – Fiona - The Christmas Stallion (1992) – Nerys
- Street LegalStreet Legal (TV series)Street Legal is a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1994.-Synopsis:A spinoff from the 1985 television movie Shellgame, Street Legal focused on the professional and private lives of the partners in a small Toronto, Ontario law firm, Barr, Robinovitch and Tchobanian...
, "Children's Hour" (1992) – Dr Renata Berger