Author The Old Vic
Published 27/09/2024
All at The Old Vic are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Dame Maggie Smith.
A titan of the stage and the screen, she first performed on The Old Vic stage in 1959 in Michael Benthall’s production of The Double Dealer, alongside a company which included Dame Judi Dench, Miles Malleson, Alec McCowen, Ursula Jeans, Donald Houston, and John Justin.
On seeing her performance, Sir Laurence Olivier invited her to become part of his new National Theatre Company soon after it was formed at The Old Vic in 1962.
In her eight years in the Company, Maggie developed a fierce rivalry with Olivier.
‘He knew immediately he’d met his match – that she was extraordinary. He said that anyone who can play comedy that well can also play tragedy and he offered her the likes of Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello. But having got her into the company they became not enemies, but professional rivals. Never before had anyone on stage been quicker than him and now, it seemed, there was a contest.’ (Michael Coveney)
She remained with the Company for the next eight years as her film career reached new heights – on the night she was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970, she was performing at The Old Vic in The Beaux’ Stratagem.
Following news of her win, she was interviewed by The New York Times (source):
The press had a few minutes with her after news of the Oscar arrived. Her hair was as brilliant red as on stage, her eyes green. She wore brown corduroy slacks and an orange shirt.
What did she think of the Oscar?
‘It won’t help much tonight on stage.’
Could she really be worried?
‘Of course, I’m worried— everybody’s worried on opening night.’
We count ourselves lucky to have played host to some iconic performances and moments in her illustrious career, and our thoughts are with her family at this incredibly sad time.
Dame Maggie Smith at The Old Vic
Company, As You Like It, 1959 – 1960
Lady Plyant, The Double-Dealer, 1959 – 1960
Mistress Ford, The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1959 – 1960
Maggie Wylie, What Every Woman Knows, 1959 – 1960
Celia, As You Like It, 1959 – 1960
Silvia, The Recruiting Officer, 1963 – 1964
Desdemona, Othello, 1964
Myra Arundel, Hay Fever, 1964
Hilde Wangel, The Master Builder, 1964
T/O Avonia Bunn, Trelawny of the Wells, 1965 – 1966
Miss Julie, Miss Julie, 1965 – 1966
Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing, 1965
Marcela, A Bond Honoured, 1966
Clea, Black Comedy, 1965 – 1966
T/O Masha, Three Sisters, 1967
Mrs Sullen, The Beaux’ Stratagem, 1970
Hedda Tesman, Hedda Gabler, 1970
Image: Maggie Smith in 1970 with her husband Robert Stevens and friends in the Stalls Bar in The Old Vic on the night of her first performance in The Beaux’ Stratagem