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M0076
Coins/Medallions: M0076
Title
Bronze plaque of Sybil Thorndike as Saint Joan
Technique
Bronze
Subject
Character
Joan of Arc : Saint Joan
Dimensions
Height: 10.5cm
Width: 9.2cm
Depth: 0.8cm
Width: 9.2cm
Depth: 0.8cm
Inscription/signature
"Sybil Thorndike" (b.c.); "Saint Joan" (top)
Provenance
Presented to the Garrick Club by Dame Sybil Thorndike (the sitter), 1954
Other number
Gift 745
Shaw's “Saint Joan” was performed for the first time by the New York Theatre Guild at the Garrick Theatre, New York, on 28th December 1923. The production ran for 214 performances, with Winifred Leniham as Joan. The play opened in London at the New Theatre on 26th March 1924, in a production mounted by Mary Moore and Sybil Thorndike, and ran for 244 performances. It was directed by the author and Lewis Casson, and designed by Charles Ricketts. Sybil Thorndike played Joan, with a supporting cast that included Lewis Casson as Chaplain de Stogumber and E. Lyall Swete as Warwick.
Her performance was remembered by Archibald Haddon (and quoted in Sheridan Morley, "Sybil Thorndike; a Life in Theatre" London 1977):
"What a picture she is in her resplendent suit of armour - the fine poise of her body in the cathedral at Rheims - her bright auburn hair falling short at the neck, her radiant face uplifted in celestial rapture, listening to the voices of her saints! How the grand voice moves you when the distracted girl turns on her persecutors of the Inquisition and pours on her judges the vials of her righteous scorn! This is Joan of Arc incarnate. It is great, an inspired, creation. As a feat of acting it compels enthusiasm. It is a precious jewel in Sybil Thorndike's crown."
Her performance was remembered by Archibald Haddon (and quoted in Sheridan Morley, "Sybil Thorndike; a Life in Theatre" London 1977):
"What a picture she is in her resplendent suit of armour - the fine poise of her body in the cathedral at Rheims - her bright auburn hair falling short at the neck, her radiant face uplifted in celestial rapture, listening to the voices of her saints! How the grand voice moves you when the distracted girl turns on her persecutors of the Inquisition and pours on her judges the vials of her righteous scorn! This is Joan of Arc incarnate. It is great, an inspired, creation. As a feat of acting it compels enthusiasm. It is a precious jewel in Sybil Thorndike's crown."
