Sybil
Thorndike
was
born in Gainsborough
in 1882. She trained as a pianist but decided on theatre and in 1904
appeared in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
After
spending four years touring the United States
with a Shakespearean Repertory Company she returned to England and
became a leading figure in Annie Horniman's Repertory Company in Manchester.
She also worked at the Old Vic (1914-19). Thorndike established herself
as Britain's leading actress in Saint Joan (1924) by George
Bernard Shaw.
Thorndike
took a keen interest in politics and was a supporter of the Popular
Front government
in Spain during the Spanish
Civil War. She joined with Emma Goldman,
Rebecca West, Fenner
Brockway and
C. E. M. Joad to establish the Committee to
Aid Homeless Spanish Women and Children.
During
the Second World War Thorndike was a leading
figure in the Old Vic Company. Sybil
Thorndike died
in 1976.
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