Blue Plaque honour for Bradford theatre pioneer

A pioneer of theatre in the north of England has been honoured with a Blue Plaque in Bradford.

Actress Esmé Church was born in 1893 in London and joined the Old Vic Company in 1927, where she performed major Shakespearean roles including Lady Macbeth and Hamlet's mother Gertrude.

She moved into directing at the Greyhound Theatre in Croydon, then led the Old Vic's drama school, before becoming artistic director at the Bradford Civic Playhouse from 1944 to 1950.

While she was there she founded the Northern Theatre School at 26 Chapel Street in Little Germany, where Historic England has unveiled a plaque to mark her legacy.

The venue has since been renamed the Bradford Playhouse Theatre.

Megan Wilson, artistic director at the site, said: "The plaque is super important. The Playhouse has a fantastic history as a civic theatre.

"Not only did Esmé train many fabulous actors she also worked really, really hard to get young people into the theatre."

One of those young people was Megan's grandfather, Kenneth Kenzie, now 91, who came to one of Esmé's productions of Julius Caesar.

She said: "He was 13 years old at that point and had never been to a proper theatre.

"He said that his parents would never have been able to afford to send him to a theatre. I was only because it was a school trip that he managed to get to go."

Ms Wilson said that despite Church's pioneering work, there were very few female artistic directors.

"It's still quite a male-dominated industry," she said.

"I think we should be celebrating, but also asking more women to be involved.

"While there's a a lot of women on the stage, there's not a lot of women backstage, there are not a lot of women technicians, producers, and theatre managers.

"I think that's a real shame."

Among those mentored by Church during her time in Bradford was The Omen actress Billie Whitelaw.

Other actors including Lord Peter Wimsey star Edward Petherbridge, Secret Army actor Bernard Hepton and theatre actor Sir Robert Stephens were also mentored by Church.

She died in 1972 at the age of 79.

Her great nephew, Bruce Durham, said: "Growing up with Esmé around, it was always wonderful to see and hear about her work – whether it was entertaining troops in France during the World War One, becoming the head of The Old Vic Theatre School, or travelling to and from New York."

He said it was "an honour" to see the plaque unveiled.

Lord Neil Mendoza, chairman of Historic England, said: "Esmé Church was a formidable force in British theatre - an actor, director, and teacher whose influence shaped generations of performers.

"Like so many trailblazing women working in the 1920s and 1930s, her legacy has not received the national recognition it deserves."

The plaque reads: "Esme Church, 1893-1972, actress and director ran the Northern Theatre School here."