![Dame Joan Plowright dies aged 95, West End theatres to dim their lights [Updated]](https://www.westendtheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Dame-Joan-Plowright.-An-early-publicity-headshot-L.-Bringing-Down-the-House-©-2003-Touchstone-Pictures-R-Photo-Sam-Emerson.jpg "Dame Joan Plowright dies aged 95, West End theatres to dim their lights [Updated]")
The family of legendary British actor Dame Joan Plowright have announced that she died yesterday, 16 January 2025, aged 95.
One of the UK’s most accomplished stars of stage and screen, Joan Plowright’s career spanned over 60 years.
Her family said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that the family of Dame Joan Plowright, the Lady Olivier, inform you that she passed away peacefully on January 16 2025 surrounded by her family at Denville Hall aged 95. She enjoyed a long and illustrious career across theatre, film and TV over seven decades until blindness made her retire. She cherished her last 10 years in Sussex with constant visits from friends and family, filled with much laughter and fond memories. She survived her many challenges with Plowright grit and courageous determination to make the best of them, and that she certainly did. Rest in peace, Joan”.
The Society of London Theatre has confirmed that West End theatres will dim their lights at 7pm this Tuesday 21 January 2025 as a tribute to the acclaimed actor.
The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre co-chief executive Hannah Essex said: “Dame Joan Plowright was an iconic and deeply respected figure in the world of theatre, leaving an indelible mark on the industry she shaped with her talent and dedication. We are honoured to contribute to the celebration of her extraordinary career and extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones.”
Updated: West End theatres dim their lights for Joan Plowright
Joan Plowright trained at the Old Vic Theatre School, and quickly became a major actor of the 1950s and 1960s on both stage and screen.
On the West End stage from 1954 onwards Joan was in a number of major successes, including in the English Stage Company at the Royal Court starring in Ionesco’s The Chairs and The Lesson in 1958, and Shaw’s Major Barbara and Saint Joan.
Joan met Laurence Olivier whilst co-starring with him in John Osborne’s The Entertainer in 1957 at The Old Vic, the first home of the National Theatre. They married in 1961.
Joan was nominated for a BAFTA in 1960 for the film version of The Entertainer.
In 1960, Dame Joan made her breakthrough in the US, starring in A Taste of Honey on Broadway, and winning a Tony Award for her performance.
At Chichester Festival Theatre in the 1960s, Joan appeared alongside Olivier in Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya in 1962, and gave a landmark performance in George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan in 1963, winning a Best Actress Award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Also at Chichester, in 1972 she appeared in Jonathan Miller’s production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew opposite Anthony Hopkins.
Later in her career after having children, she appeared on screen in Equus in 1977 directed by Sidney Lumet, earning her a BAFTA nomination; Brimstone and Treacle directed by Richard Loncraine, and Britannia Hospital directed by Lindsay Anderson – both in 1982; in Peter Greenaway’s Drowning by Numbers in 1988; and The Dressmaker directed by Jim O’Brien in 1988.
On stage in 1978 she won a Society of West End Theatre Award, later renamed the Olivier Awards after her husband, for Filumena.
Her London stage performances through the 1980s included Enjoy (1980) at the Vaudeville Theatre; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1981) and Cavell (1982) at the National Theatre; The Cherry Orchard (1983) and The Way of the World (1984) at the Theatre Royal Haymarket; Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1985) at the National Theatre; The House of Bernarda Alba (1986) at the Lyric Theatre and the Globe Theatre; and Time and the Conways (1990) at The Old Vic Theatre.
An American phase of movies started in 1990, with Avalon directed by Barry Levinson, and I Love You to Death directed by Lawrence Kasdan.
British and European film success included her acclaimed performance in Mike Newell’s film Enchanted April 1991, for which she received a Golden Globe Award and Oscar and BAFTA nominations; also in 1991, she won another Golden Globe for her performance in HBO’s Stalin; and in Tea with Mussolini in 1999, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring alongside Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.
Dame Joan was awarded a CBE in 1970, and became a Dame in 2004.
In 2014, Joan retired from the stage and screen having lost her eyesight.
Tributes to Dame Joan Plowright
The Royal Court Theatre said in a statement on social media: “Dame Joan Plowright was more than one of the greatest actors of the last century, she was a revolutionary force of British Theatre. As a founding member of the English Stage Company, and our honorary President, she pioneered contemporary drama at the Royal Court. Acting in many influential early productions alongside our founder George Devine, Plowright was a central part of the cohort that paved the way for a new wave of post-war British playwrights. Often a lone female voice among the “angry young men”, first at the Court then the National Theatre, Plowright’s influence and direct and immediate acting style have immeasurably shaped the past 70 years of theatre in this country. It was at the Court that she met her husband Laurence Olivier, who visited her dressing room backstage after being “knocked off his feet” by her leading performance in The Country Wife. Their relationship grew when acting together in John Osborne’s The Entertainer, and they went on to be the central force behind the founding of the new National Theatre. Tonight at the Court we will mark her remarkable life and contribution, knowing that as long as there are actors on our stage and contemporary plays in our programme her influence will always be with us.”
Rufus Norris, Director and Co-Chief Executive of the National Theatre, said in a statement: “We are incredibly saddened to hear of the death of Dame Joan Plowright, whose immense career spanned theatre, film and television over seven decades and whose contribution as one of the central pillars of the National Theatre cannot be overstated. Her association with the National Theatre as an actor began in its inaugural season in 1963, and she would go on to deliver an extraordinary series of celebrated performances on our stages including Sonya in Uncle Vanya, Joan in Saint Joan, Hilde Wangel in The Master Builder, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Masha in Three Sisters, Rosaline in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Rosa in Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. In many of these she acted alongside Sir Laurence Olivier, her partner in art and life. Joan’s influence offstage on the nascent National Theatre was similarly profound, and her remarkable talent and dedication to her craft have left an enduring legacy as an actor. She remained a personal friend to and champion of the National Theatre throughout its history. We extend our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones.”
The Old Vic Theatre said in a statement: “All at The Old Vic are saddened to hear of the passing of Dame Joan Plowright. Dame Joan’s relationship with The Old Vic goes back to 1952 when, at the age of 23, she made her Old Vic debut in a production of James Forsyth’s The Other Heart. A decade later, in 1963, she returned to the stage as Joan in George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, staged as part of the National Theatre’s first season under the direction of Laurence Olivier. As part of the company’s inaugural ensemble of actors, she featured in over 20 productions before the company moved to its permanent Southbank home in 1976. Today, our thoughts are with her family and friends at this sad time.”
BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) said: “We’re saddened to learn of the passing of Dame Joan Plowright, aged 95. Celebrated for her illustrious career on stage and screen, Dame Joan was nominated for BAFTAs for her roles in Equus in 1978 and The Entertainer in 1961.”
UPDATES: First published 17 January 2025; Updated with tributes 20 January 2025; Updated with dimming lights tribute on 22 January 2025
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