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Helen Blatch

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Helen Christine Blatch (née Wilson; 24 January 1934 – 31 December 2015)[1] was a British actress on stage and screen, best remembered on screen for her roles in Doctor Who (in the serials The Deadly Assassin and The Twin Dilemma)[2] and The Practice, and on stage for her casting as "Cerimon, a lord of Ephesus", in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1989–1990 performance of Pericles.[3]

Career

[edit]

Born in Southampton, Hampshire, Blatch trained at The Questors Student Group Course, finishing in 1958,[4] and performed with the Questors for some years afterwards.[5] She spent some years in repertory, working with directors such as Sam Walters, David Scase, David Thacker and Phyllida Lloyd. Her performances attracted positive reviews ("Miss Blatch .. is capable of an extraordinary tranquillity of both voice and manner, against which slight nuances of intonation or expression register with great effect";[6] "Helen Blatch captures perfectly the fragility and neuroses of the regressing morphine addict living in a dream of the past";[7] "Helen Blatch is strong and striking ... Her wit is waspish, her frailty acute, her quest for affection chilling.")[8]

She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1989,[9] and, in her first season there, was described by one reviewer as "a find".[9] Her casting as Cerimon, "a lord of Ephesus", in Shakespeare's Pericles was considered by one contemporary reviewer as "a brilliant stroke, for Cerimon (Helen Blatch) becomes a healer whose urgent goodness and brightly pitched grief has us eating magic from her hand."[9] Another reviewer said "this presentation of power within gentleness, strength within femininity, was profoundly impressive."[10]

A 2004 survey of performances of Pericles said "Helen Blatch brought to the part a combination of compassionate humanity and priestly authority",[11] and commented, "In a virtuoso piece of doubling, Helen Blatch went on to play the Bawd in brothel scenes that were positively Hogarthian in their fetid realism; by having one actress play parts so different, Thacker emphasized the way in which Pericles ... brings together contrasting extremes: here, .. juxtaposed in a single performer."[11] Since Blatch's performance, Cerimon has often been cast as female.[12]

Blatch appeared in many other classic and modern plays. For her role in Sir Peter Shaffer's The Gift of the Gorgon, she learned Greek from a 'How to Speak Greek' tape and tourist guidebook.[13] Her performance in Sir David Hare's Racing Demon as "Espy's understandably unhappy wife" was particularly noted as "affecting ... their final scene of clenched and frigid misery sends a shiver down the spine."[14] She appeared in films also (including different roles in two versions of A Doll's House) and in many TV series. Her longest-enduring television role was as Nora Madkay in the ITV series The Practice,[15] but she is perhaps best known for her two roles in Doctor Who: the voice of the Matrix in the 1976 serial The Deadly Assassin,[2][16] and Fabian in the 1984 serial The Twin Dilemma.[2][17]

Selected stage performances

[edit]
Year Title Theatre Role Director
1966 Hecabe Questors Theatre, Ealing Polyxena Alan Clarke[18]
1968 Beware of the Dog Birmingham Repertory Theatre She Peter Jefferies[6][19]
1971 Tree Little Theatre Club, Garrick Yard Derek Oldfield[20]
1973 Night King's Head Theatre, Islington The Woman Sam Walters[21][22]
1977 The Island Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond Dee Roger Swaine[23][24][25]
1980 Past Tense Library Theatre, Manchester David Scase[26]
1980 Love's Old Sweet Song Library Theatre, Manchester Nan Alan Meadows[27]
1981 The Importance of Being Earnest Duke's Playhouse, Lancaster Lady Bracknell David Thacker[15][28]
1982 Long Day's Journey into Night Duke's Playhouse, Lancaster Mary Tyrone David Thacker[7][15]
1983 Just Between Ourselves Haymarket Theatre, Leicester Christopher Honer[29]
1984 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Theatr Clwyd, Mold Gertrude George Roman[30]
1986 The Cheeky Chappie Library Theatre, Manchester Howard Lloyd-Lewis[31]
1986 Julius Caesar The Young Vic Calphurnia David Thacker[32][33]
1987 Just Between Ourselves Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham Phyllida Lloyd[34]
1987 Cider With Rosie Derby Playhouse Martin Houghton[35]
1988 Tom and Viv Library Theatre, Manchester Rose Chris Honer[36]
1988 Noises Off Theatre Royal, York Martin Houghton[37]
1988 Woman In Mind Library Theatre, Manchester Susan [8]
1989 Pericles Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Cerimon; Bawd David Thacker[15][11][9][38][3][39][40][41]
1989 The Duchess of Malfi Swan Theatre, Stratford Midwife Bill Alexander[42][43]
1990 Earwig The Pit, Barbican Centre, London Martha Ron Daniels[42][44]
1990 All's Well That Ends Well Barbican, London Widow Capilet Barry Kyle[15][42][45]
1990 Pericles The Pit, Barbican Centre, London Cerimon; Bawd David Thacker[46][47]
1990 The Duchess of Malfi The Pit, Barbican Centre, London Midwife Bill Alexander[42][48]
1991 Sex Please, We're Italian! The Young Vic Clotilde Salto David Thacker[15][49][50]
1991 The Snow Queen The Young Vic Karen Stephens and Chris White[15][51]
1992 The Gift of the Gorgon The Pit, Barbican Centre, London Katina Peter Hall[15][52][42][13]
1992 Columbus: The Discovery of Japan Barbican, London Felipe Pinzon John Caird[15][42]
1993 The Gift of the Gorgon Wyndham's Theatre, London Katina Peter Hall[42][53]
1993 Live Like Pigs Royal Court Theatre Katie Mitchell[15][54]
1994 Babies Royal Court Theatre Ivy Williams / Valerie Pinkney Polly Teale[15][55]
1995 The Knocky Royal Court Theatre Pearl (grandma) Brian Stimer[56]
1995-1996 The Tempest The Young Vic; Swan Theatre, Stratford; UK tour Mariner, Spirit David Thacker[57]
1995 Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death Swan Theatre, Stratford Old Woman David Thacker[58][59]
1997 Marat/Sade Olivier Theatre A newly-rich lady Jeremy Sams[60][61]
1997 Measure for Measure Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh Mistress Overdone and Sister Francisca Stephane Braunschweig[62][63]
1998 Racing Demon Chichester Festival Theatre Heather Espy Christopher Morahan[64][14][65][66]
1999 Sitting Pretty Chelsea Centre, London Jacob Murray[67]
2001 Blood Red, Saffron Yellow Theatre Royal, Plymouth Daily cleaning woman Jennie Darnell[68]
2002 The Three Sisters Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond Anfisa Sam Walters[69][70]
2002 Three Sisters Two Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond Anfisa Auriol Smith[69][71]
2004 Humble Boy Library Theatre, Manchester Mercy Roger Haines[72]
2005 Arsenic and Old Lace Derby Playhouse Miss Brewster Joseph Alford[73]

Selected filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1973 A Doll's House Helene Patrick Garland, director[15][74][75]
1976 Doctor Who - The Deadly Assassin Matrix (voice) Two episodes[2][15][16]
1979 Secret Army Simone Borel One episode[15][76]
1980 Blake's 7 Receptionist One episode[77]
1984 Tenko Mrs. Briggs One episode[78]
1984 Doctor Who - The Twin Dilemma Fabian One episode[2][17]
1985 The Practice Nora Madkay 12 episodes[15]
1988 Coronation Street Muriel Ashton One episode[15]
1992 A Touch of Frost Annie One episode[15]
1992 A Doll's House Anne-Marie David Thacker, director[79]
1991, 1993, 1997, 2002 The Bill Four characters Four episodes[15]
1993 The Buddha of Suburbia Pyke's Maid Four episodes[15]
1998 The Hello Girls Aunt Helen Two episodes [80][81][82]
2001-2010 Doctors Several characters Several episodes[83]

Personal life

[edit]

Blatch commented in a 2002 interview that she had entered the theatre against her father's wishes.[69] It was announced in January 2018 that Blatch died on 31 December 2015, aged 82.[84][85]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ England and Wales, Death Index, 1989-2018
  2. ^ a b c d e Muir, John Kenneth (2007). A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television. McFarland. pp. 249, 345. ISBN 9780786437160. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b Dickson, Andrew (2016). The Globe Guide to Shakespeare: The plays, the productions, the life. Profile Books. p. 358. ISBN 9781782832478. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Student Group 12 (1958/59)" (PDF). The Questors Theatre Archive. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Search: Helen Blatch". The Questors Theatre Archive. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  6. ^ a b W.E.H. (13 June 1968). "Arts Review - Beware of the Dog". Birmingham Daily Post. p. 6. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b Duke, Robin (23 December 1982). "Regional Reviews: Looking at morphine and booze". The Stage: 21. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  8. ^ a b Wilks, Carol (12 March 1988). "Manchester - Woman In Mind". The Guardian. p. 16. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d Ratcliffe, Michael (17 September 1989). "Sober sort of magic". The Observer. London, England. p. 42. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  10. ^ Smallwood, Robert (Winter 1990). "Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon, 1989 (Part II)". Shakespeare Quarterly. 41 (4): 498. doi:10.2307/2870780. JSTOR 2870780.
  11. ^ a b c Shakespeare, William; Wilkins, George (2004). A Reconstructed Text of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Oxford University Press. pp. 27–28, 46. ISBN 9780192814609. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  12. ^ Endo, Hanako (2009). "Cerimon as a Heterodox Early Modern Physician in Pericles (pp. 35-46 of 實踐英文學 (English Literature) journal, Vol. 61)". Jissen Women's University institutional repository. 61: 37.
  13. ^ a b Durrant, Sabine (21 April 1993). "Speaking in tongues: Some actors only get through a performance with the help of tourist phrase-books, how-to tapes and parrot-fashion phonetics". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-09. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  14. ^ a b Spencer, Charles (11 July 1998). "A blessed Demon". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harvey, Jonathan (2014). Babies. A&C Black. ISBN 9781408155301. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  16. ^ a b Pixley, Andrew (2004). "Season Thirteen - or I'm in a Horror Movie, Get Me Out of Here!". Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition 08: The Complete Fourth Doctor. One. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  17. ^ a b Campbell, Mark (2011). Doctor Who: The Complete Guide. Hachette UK. ISBN 9781849018869. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
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  22. ^ "Brecht One-Acters - Lunchtime". The Stage. 6 September 1973. p. 10. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  23. ^ "Current Production". The Stage. 20 January 1977. p. 15. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  24. ^ Billington, Michael (24 January 1977). "Review. Richmond - The Island". The Guardian. London, England. p. 8. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  25. ^ "The Island (A Male Chauvinist Comedy)". James Saunders - English playwright. 22 October 2005. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  26. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 15. 25 September 1980. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  27. ^ Bruckshaw, Frank (13 November 1980). "Love's Old Sweet Song". The Stage: 31. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  28. ^ Duke, Robin (26 February 1981). "Regional Reviews: The Importance of Being Earnest". The Stage: 31. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  29. ^ "Regional Production News". The Stage: 12. 28 April 1983. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  30. ^ Price, Cyril (5 October 1984). "Fresh Approach". Liverpool Echo. p. 32. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  31. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 27. 20 March 1986. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Production News". The Stage: 32. 4 December 1986. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Julius Caesar (1986 )". BBA Shakespeare. 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  34. ^ "Regional". The Stage: 30. 26 March 1987. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  35. ^ "Regional Productions". The Stage: 9. 21 May 1987. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  36. ^ Anglesey, Natalie (5 May 1988). "Regional Reviews: Tom and Viv". The Stage: 18. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  37. ^ "Regional". The Stage: 19. 21 July 1988. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  38. ^ Billington, Michael (14 September 1989). "Out of the great vast". The Guardian. p. 34. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  39. ^ Peter, John (17 September 1989). "An Arden unfit for the fashions of these times". The Sunday Times. No. 8614. London, England. p. C7 (S1). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  40. ^ Fitzgerald, Ann (28 September 1989). "Regional Reviews: A shore thing". The Stage: 15. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  41. ^ Nelsen, Paul (Winter 1990). "Reviewed Work: PERICLES by THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY, David Thacker". Shakespeare Bulletin. 8 (1): 32–33. JSTOR 26353491.
  42. ^ a b c d e f g "RSC Performances: Blatch, Helen". Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  43. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 10. 30 November 1989. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  44. ^ Osborne, Charles (16 July 1990). "Soapier than soap". The Daily Telegraph. No. 42008. London, England. p. 15. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  45. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 10. 29 March 1990. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  46. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 11. 12 April 1990. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  47. ^ Hepple, Peter (26 April 1990). "Play Reviews: Lacking in Poetry". The Stage: 11. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  48. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 9. 26 April 1990. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  49. ^ "Sex Please, We're Italian!". London Theatre Record. 11 (14–26). I. Herbert: 811–813. 1991. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  50. ^ "Theatre 1". The Spectator. 266–267. F.C. Westley: 36. 1991. Retrieved 24 January 2019. Rosetta's mother Clothilde (Helen Blatch) is a randy, wheelchair-ridden old lady who begs her daughter to buy her a video so she can watch blue movies.
  51. ^ Hoyle, Martin (3 December 1991). "A treat of Freudian fright". The Times. No. 64193. London, England. p. 18. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  52. ^ "Production News". The Stage: 12. 10 December 1992. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  53. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 11. 11 March 1993. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  54. ^ "Production News". The Stage: 10. 14 October 1993. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  55. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 42. 8 September 1994. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  56. ^ Gibby, Phil (16 March 1995). "Theatre Reviews: The Knocky". The Stage: 12. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  57. ^ Lindley, David (2003). Tempest: Shakespeare at Stratford Series (Arden Shakespeare). Cengage Learning EMEA. p. 249. ISBN 9781903436738. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  58. ^ Plays and Players, Issues 489-500. Hansom Books. 1995. p. 9. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  59. ^ Plays International, Volumes 11-12. Chancery Publications Limited. 1995. p. 15. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  60. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 51. 8 May 1997. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  61. ^ "The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of The Marquis de Sade (or Marat/Sade)". Theatricalia. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
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  63. ^ Schwartz-Gastine, Isabelle (2010). "STÉPHANE BRAUNSCHWEIG'S MEASURE FOR MEASURE: A (GERMAN AND FRENCH) VIENNA MIDWAY BETWEEN BRITAIN AND ITALY" (PDF). Linguaculture. 2: 100, 102. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  64. ^ Plays and Players Applause, Issue 526. Mineco Designs. 1998. p. 25. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  65. ^ Hewison, Robert (12 July 1998). "Rest of the week's theatre". The Sunday Times. No. 9072. London, England. p. 16 (S9). Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  66. ^ Sell, Michael (16 July 1998). "Theatre Reviews: Racing Demon". The Stage: 13. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  67. ^ "Theatre Week". The Stage: 59. 25 November 1999. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  68. ^ Saddler, Allen (24 May 2001). "Theatre Review - Plymouth". The Stage. p. 16. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  69. ^ a b c "Helen's Double Chekhov Vision". The Stage. 28 March 2002. p. 10. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  70. ^ Bainbridge, Beryl (2005). Front Row: Evenings at The Theatre. A&C Black. p. 200. ISBN 9780826487872. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  71. ^ Billington, Michael (4 March 2002). "What the Three Sisters did next - Three Sisters Two". The Guardian. p. 16. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  72. ^ Anglesey, Natalie (6 May 2004). "Humble Boy". The Stage. p. 11. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  73. ^ "Don't Miss; Thursday, August 25". The Stage. 18 August 2005. p. 42. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  74. ^ Gifford, Denis (2001). British Film Catalogue: Two Volume Set - The Fiction Film/The Non-Fiction Film (2016 ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9781317740629. Retrieved 23 January 2019. Ref. 13257
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  76. ^ "Episode 31: Invasions". Le Candide. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  77. ^ Green, Earl. "Blake's 7: Powerplay". The LogBook.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
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  81. ^ "BBC One London - 6 August 1998". The Radio Times (3886): 86. 1998-07-30. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  82. ^ "New Series". The Stage: 22. 25 June 1998. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  83. ^ "Doctors - Helen Blatch". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  84. ^ Doctor Who Cast & Crew Guide: RECENT UPDATES; accessed 2 February 2019.
  85. ^ "Find a will | GOV.UK".
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