Pauline Knowles
Pauline Knowles | |
|---|---|
 In A Slow Air, 2014 | |
| Born | 16 December 1967 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 17 October 2018 (aged 50) Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Alma mater | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1990–2018 |
| Awards | Critics Award, Scotland |
Pauline Knowles (16 December 1967 – 17 October 2018) was a Scottish actress and singer known for her work in theatre. She was referred to as "one of the most powerful stage actresses of her generation".[1]
Early life
[edit]Pauline Knowles was born on 16 December 1967 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the 12th of 13 children.[2][3] She attended Holy Rood High School, and after one year at Stirling University, she transferred to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly known as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.)[4]
Career
[edit]Knowles made her professional debut in 1990, in the play John Brown's Body, by John McGrath.[2] She appeared in major theatres across Scotland, including the Lyceum Theatre, Traverse Theatre, Theatre Babel and the Citizens Theatre. Her theatre work includes Don Juan (Pen-Name Theatre Company}), Vodka and Daisies (Annexe Theatre Company), Cleaning Up and Shanks (Wildcat), Jump the Life to Come and Antigone (7:84), and Cuttin' a Rug and School for Wives (Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh).[5]
She also appeared in musicals such as Man of La Mancha; David Shrigley’s ‘sort-of-opera’, Pass the Spoon; and a chamber opera, The Garden, by John and Zinnie Harris.[6]
Her television credits include John Brown's Body for Channel 4, Taggart for Scottish Television[7] and the second series of Strathblair for the BBC. Radio credits include Floating for Radio 4.[5]
Selected Theatre
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | A Scots Quair | Chris Guthrie | Assembly Hall, Edinburgh | Tony Graham | Alasdair Cording's adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's trilogy |
| 1995 | Knives In Hens | Young Woman | Traverse Theatre, | Philip Howard | The original production of David Harrower's modern classic[8] |
| 1998 | Heritage | Sarah | Traverse Theatre, | Richard Baron | The original production of Nicola McCartney's modern classic. |
| 1999 | The Speculator | Colombe | Traverse Theatre, | David Greig's "rambunctious costume drama"[9] | |
| 2014 | A Slow Air | Morna | Scottish Tour[10] | David Harrower | Revival of David Harrower's play originally staged in 2011. Produced by Borderline theatre company. |
| 2016 | Jumpy | Hilary | Lyceum Theatre, | Cora Bissett | Written by April De Angelis. |
| 2016 | This Restless House | Clytemnestra | Citizens Theatre,
Glasgow |
Dominic Hill | Zinnie Harris's adaptation of Aeschylus’s Oresteia trilogy |
| 2018 | The Belle's Stratagem | Mrs. Racket | Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | Tony Cownie | Tony Cownie's adaptation of Hannah Cowley's play |
Personal life and death
[edit]Knowles was in a relationship with Angus Gray; they first met in the 2000s, when she sent a text message intended for her brother-in-law, but he had recently changed his number, and the message was instead received by Gray.[2] They became engaged in 2017, and intended to marry in 2019, but Knowles died from a heart attack on 17 October 2018, at her home in Glasgow.[2]
In 2019, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland established the Pauline Knowles Scholarship Fund in her honour, to support Scottish or Scottish-based BA acting students at the start of their careers.[7]
Awards
[edit]In 2016, Knowles won a Critics' Award for Theatre in Scotland, as Best Female Performance in the role of Clytemnestra, in This Restless House, a play by Zinnie Harris based on the Oresteia.[4] She gained the Best Performer award at the Adelaide festival in Australia after appearing in "Fleeto and Wee Andy".[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Obituary - Pauline Knowles, actress known for her extensive stage work in Scotland". The Herald. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d Brown, Ian (2022). "Knowles, Pauline (1967–2018), actress". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380530. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Obituary - Pauline Knowles, actress known for her extensive stage work in Scotland". The Herald. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Obituary: Pauline Knowles, award-winning actress at the heart of Scottish theatre for nearly 30 years". www.scotsman.com. November 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ a b A Scots Quair theatre programme, Edinburgh Festival Society, August 1993
- ^ "Obituary - Pauline Knowles, actress known for her extensive stage work in Scotland". HeraldScotland. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Scottish theatre world pays tribute to Pauline Knowles in Knives in Hens at Lyceum". Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ digital.nls.uk https://digital.nls.uk/scottish-theatre/knives-in-hens/index.html. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "The Speculator & The Meeting". Playwrights' Studio Scotland. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ "A Slow Air - Borderline Theatre Company". 20 January 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ^ Geddes, Jonathan (24 April 2014). "Actress Pauline Knowles ready for A Slow Air play at Rutherglen Town Hall". Daily Record. Retrieved 11 March 2021.