Joan White
Joan White was born in Alexandria, Egypt and grew up in Portugal where her father was chief engineer of The East Telegraph Company. She attended St. Helen’s School in Northwood, MX and then the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She joined Tyrone Guthrie’s Cambridge Festival Players in 1930 and from there during the 1930s played many roles in London, including Connie Windlestraw in ‘The Black Eye,“ Button Faringdon in ”Housemaster,“ Tonie in ”Children to Bless You,“ Judy in ” Little Ladyship“ and during WW2 was Judy Graves in ”Junior Miss.“ in the 1940’s she was Doto in ”A Phoenix Too Frequent“ and in ”The Cure for Love“ with Robert Donat. Following successful Repertory seasons in Birmingham, Salisbury, Bristol, Dundee and Manchester, both acting and directing, in 1956 she emigrated to North America; first to Canada where she acted and directed at the Grand Theatre in London Ontario. She married for the third time, an American, Robert Grose and moved to the U.S. immediately playing Mrs Higgins in the National Tour of ”My Fair Lady."
Broadway and Regional theatre appearances followed, plus five years teaching at the University of Washington in Seattle where she formed the Joan White English Theatre School in 1970 which for the next twenty years took American students to the UK. In 1983 she returned to England continued her school and started The Next Stage a company for young actors to show off their talents to producers and agents.
This entry was written by her daughter Judy White Staber who has completed a biography of Joan White and hopes to have it published. April 3, 2021
Past productions
- One of 'The Couple', Bed, National Theatre
- Polena Andryeevna, The Seagull, Nottingham Playhouse Company
- Queen Elinor, King John, Nottingham Playhouse
- Mrs Turton, A Passage to India
- Director, The Bespoke Overcoat, Salisbury Playhouse
- Produced by, The First Year, Salisbury Arts Theatre Limited
- Bertha Hayhoe, As Black As She’s Painted, The Repertory Players
- Miss Marcy, I Capture the Castle, Murray Macdonald and John Stevens Ltd
- Maud Neville, a Dancer / Rosie, a Maidservant, A London Actress
- Emmie Cartwright, The Sun and I, Windsor Repertory Company
- A Wardress, Young Madame Conti, Dundee Repertory Company
- Director, The Queen’s Husband, Dundee Repertory Company
- Assistant Director / The Infanta of Navarre, The Hollow Crown, Dundee Repertory Company
- Mrs Wolff, The Beaver Coat, Dundee Repertory Company
- Directed by, Petticoat Influence, Dundee Repertory Company
- Storks Don’t Talk
- Doctor’s Joy
- The Lady’s Not for Burning
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- The Magistrate
- Puss in Boots
- The Cocktail Party
- The School for Scandal
- The Good Natured Man
- Mary Quirke, Blind Man’s Buff, Bristol Old Vic Company
- The Diary Of A Scoundrel
- Marvellous History of St. Bernard
- The Romantic Young Lady
- Duchess of York, mother to Duke of Gloucester, Richard III
- Cassilis Engagement
- Modern Everyman
- Junior Miss
- Little Ladyship
- Button Faringdon, Housemaster
- Tonie, Children, To Bless You!
- Bella Hedley, The Barretts of Wimpole Street
- Azorah, Tobias and the Angel
- Janet, The Anatomist, Anmer Hall