Jennie Stoller
Born
Jennifer Stoller

(1946-04-26)26 April 1946
Finchley, London, England, United Kingdom
Died18 November 2018(2018-11-18) (aged 72)
London, England, United Kingdom
OccupationActress
Years active1966–2018

Jennifer Stoller (26 April 1946 – 18 November 2018) was a British actress. In a career spanning almost 40 years, she appeared in TV, film, stage and radio productions.[1]

Early life

Stoller was born in Finchley, north London, to Jewish parents. Her father, Sam Stoller, was a fishmonger, of Russian and Lithuanian descent, and her mother Ada (née Pottersman), was from Łódź, Poland. Stoller attended La Sagesse, a Catholic convent school, in Golders Green.[1] After completing high school, Stoller attended the Drama Centre theatre school in London, however in 1966 she was asked to leave as she was not considered suitable for group dramatic work.[1]

Career

Following her training at the Drama Centre, Stoller worked in repertory theatre for a number of years, and in theatre-in-education groups. In 1971 she joined Nancy Meckler’s Freehold company. Meckler was an American director and Stoller appeared in a number of new works, including works by American Sam Shepard. Stoller was also a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1970s, playing Helena in the 1972 world tour of Peter Brook’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and was later a founding member of its offshoot company Joint Stock.[1] She also performed with the Royal Court Theatre and the National Theatre of England. In 1983 she performed in New York City as part of the New York Shakespeare Festival.[2]

In 2009 Stoller performed in Caryl Churchill's play Seven Jewish Children at the Royal Court Theatre. The BBC refused to broadcast the play on radio due to its political nature; in response, The Guardian hired theatre director Elliot Smith to produce a version of the play that could be shared on its website, and Stoller performed the play as a monologue.[3]

Stoller was a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company and appeared in over 100 radio broadcasts.[4][5] She also appeared in television series, notably in the role of Annabelle Harborough in the 1981 series Sapphire & Steel, and a small number of films. In her later years, Stoller taught and directed theatre productions for London theatre schools.[1]

Death

Stoller died in London on 18 November 2018 of cancer. She was 72 years old.[1]

Stage appearances

Year Production Theatre company Notes
1972 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Royal Shakespeare Company [1]
1974 Action Royal Court Theatre [6]
1977 The Elephant Man Hampstead Theatre [7][8]
1983 Fen Almeida [1]
1984 Cries from the Mammal House Royal Court Theatre [1][9]
1993 The Mountain Giants National Theatre of England [1]
1996 The Oedipus Plays National Theatre of England [1]
2008 Three Sisters Liverpool Everyman [1]
2009 Seven Jewish Children Royal Court Theatre [4][10]

Television appearances

Year Title Notes
1977 Eleanor Marx [1][4]
1981 Sapphire & Steel [1]
1983 Grange Hill [11]
1991 Shrinks [12]

Film appearances

Year Title Notes
Genghis Khan [4]
1985 The Good Father [4]
1991 King Ralph [4]

Radio appearances

Year Title Notes
2008 Shylock [13]
2006 Adulteries Of A Provincial Wife [14]
2001 Little Dorrit [15]
2001 Tess of the D'Urbervilles [16]
2000 The American Dentist [17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Coveney, Michael (November 18, 2018). "Jennie Stoller obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "Actress Jennie Stoller in a scene from the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of the play "Fen." (New York)". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  3. ^ Stevens, Lara (2016). Anti-War Theatre After Brecht: Dialectical Aesthetics in the Twenty-First Century. Springer. p. 158.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "JENNIE STOLLER - Royal Court". Royal Court. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "Stanton Davidson Associates". www.stantondavidson.co.uk. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  6. ^ Bottoms, Stephen (1998). The Theatre of Sam Shepard: States of Crisis. Cambridge University Press. pp. 119. ISBN 9780521582421.
  7. ^ "Roland Rees, theatre director: Obituary". The Independent. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  8. ^ "Elephant Man starring Bradley Cooper in London from May to August 2015 - theatre tickets and information". www.thisistheatre.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  9. ^ "BBC Radio 4 FM - 3 June 1984 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  10. ^ "Seven Jewish Children - Drama Online". www.dramaonlinelibrary.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  11. ^ "Grange Hill - BBC One London - 7 January 1983 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  12. ^ "Shrinks[11/03/91] (1991)". BFI. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  13. ^ "BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, Shylock". BBC. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  14. ^ "BBC - Adulteries Of A Provincial Wife - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  15. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  16. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  17. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Mary Baker - The American Dentist". BBC. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
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