Two Dames Come to The Mill At Sonning in September

Two of Britain's best-loved theatrical Dames are heading to The Mill at Sonning Theatre.

On Sunday September 1, Dame Sheila Hancock will sit down with The Mill's Artistic Director, Sally Hughes, in An Afternoon With Dame Sheila Hancock to look back on her life and answer questions from the audience.

On Sunday September 29 Dame Joanna Lumley will recount many of the hilarious and interesting adventures from her incredible career spanning more than four decades in her new stage show, Joanna Lumley: Me and My Travels - a work in progress show - ahead of an Australian tour.

The two Dames follow in the footsteps of Dame Judi Dench, who appeared at the venue with Simon Williams in April at an event to celebrate her life and career and launch a £600,000 fundraising appeal for a new rehearsal block, a band room and offices, and Dame Penelope Wilton in an evening with Peter Egan for The George Hatfield Theatrical Arts Foundation.

The Mill's Manging Director, Sally Hughes, said today: “Four Dames in one year! The Mill is blessed to have the support of these incredible women. Along with their respective on-stage interviewers, Simon Williams, Peter Egan and Clive Tulloh, they all continuously give back to the profession that has enriched their lives. How lucky is The Mill audience to enjoy the stories of their successful careers?” 

An Afternoon With Dame Sheila Hancock

Dame Sheila Hancock, one of the most respected actors of our time, will sit down with The Mill's Artistic Director, Sally Hughes to look back on her life and answer questions from the audience.

Sheila's extensive career has ranged from the original West End casts of Sweeney Todd, Annie and Sister Act to being the first Woman Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company's tour; from playing Ranyevskaya in The Cherry Orchard at the Royal National Theatre to Celebrity Gogglebox; and from Senna Pod in Carry on Cleo to winning an Olivier Award for her performance as Fraulein

Schneider in Cabaret. She has most recently appeared in the BBC series The Sixth Commandment, ITV's Unforgotten, in the title role in the feature film Edie as well as presenting Ch4's Great Canal Journeys with Gyles Brandreth. An accomplished writer, she was awarded Author of the Year for The Two of Us and her latest book, Old Rage, is out in paperback. She is a monthly columnist for Prospect magazine.

Joanna Lumley: Me and My Travels

Joanna Lumley icon, national treasure, activist, comedy actress and all-round top girl is barely off our TV screens and appears to have been a permanent fixture in our sitting rooms since she burst onto our screens as Purdey in the New Avengers in 1976.

Her new show, Me & My Travels - a work in progress show - covers many of the hilarious and interesting adventures from an incredible career spanning more than four decades, recounting some never heard before stories.  

She will be joined on stage by friend and producer Clive Tulloh, who will put to Joanna the questions that you've always wanted to ask – submitted by the audience – making the show a unique and hilarious night to remember.

Me & My Travels will take us through the random journey that started in London in the swinging 60's. Beginning as Jean Muir's house model and muse, progressing to becoming a full-blown photographic model, featuring in knitting patterns, mini-skirts, toothpaste commercials and the occasional front cover.

Joanna will also share stories of her acting career that includes Coronation Street, On the Buses, Dracula and as a brainwashed Bond Girl in Blofeld's lair in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Joanna's breakthrough role was as Purdey, a part for which over 800 girls auditioned.  urdey propelled her to instant fame and created one of the “must-have” hairstyles of the 1970s -The Purdey Bob. She became a pin-up figure for a generation of British males who grew up watching her as the high-kicking action girl.

Alongside iconic hairstyles Joanna started to develop a nice side line as adventurer and activist; popping up all over the globe she was often seen gasping at the Northern Lights, turning her bra into espadrilles and finding the source of the Nile.

Then as Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous she became a degenerate role-model for a generation. Winning two BAFTAs, Joanna emerged as one of the best comedy actresses of her generation. For 25 years the adventures of Patsy and Edina have sporadically lurched across our screens culminating in AbFab The Movie in 2016.

This intimate night with Joanna tells some of these tales and more as we gallop through almost 50 years in this business we call show.

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