Fidelis Morgan (born 8 August 1952) is an Anglo-Irish actress, writer and director. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and in West End productions, including Noël Coward's The Vortex.
She has written stage plays based on the novels Pamela and Hangover Square. Her non-fiction works include The Female Wits, a study of female playwrights in the Restoration era and biographies of women from the 17th and 18th centuries such as Charlotte Charke.Morgan, Fidelis. The Female Wits: Women Playwrights on the London Stage 1660-1720, Virago (1981), Google Books Her novels include the Countess Ashby dela Zouche series of historical crime mysteries including The Rival Queens.
Life and career Morgan was born in a "gypsy caravan" on the grounds of Amesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge. Her parents, originally from Liverpool, resettled in Amesbury, where her father established a dental career and her mother pursued a passion for art.Morgan, Fidelis. Fidelis Morgan official website , 2008, accessed 20 January 2012Liverpool Echo; Waterloo & Great Crosby Herald birth announcement August 1952, ref 168J217 Morgan's family moved several times when she was a child, but she always thought of Liverpool as home. She studied at Farnborough Hill in Farnborough, Hampshire, and at the University of Birmingham, receiving a degree there in the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts in 1973.A life less ordinary: Stalwart of stage and screen, successful author and self-confessed work addict Fidelis Morgan has friends and fans including Rupert Everett and Paul O'Grady. Even former US President Bill Clinton couldn't keep a straight face... University of Birmingham Newsletter, May 2010, pg 11
Acting
As an actress, Morgan appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company (1975), Glenda Jackson’s company at The Old Vic (1976), the National Theatre (1986), repertory in Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham and Leeds (1973–1996), as well as a regular company member of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre where, among other roles, she played The Mother in The Mother by Brecht; Elizabeth in Mary Stuart by Schiller; Putana in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by Ford; Mrs Peachum in The Threepenny Opera by Brecht; Ruth in Blithe Spirit by Coward, and Kath in Entertaining Mr Sloane by Joe Orton. She played Clara Hibbert at Citizens Theatre, and in the West End transfer, of Noël Coward's The Vortex."Fidelis Morgan", Debrett's People of Today, accessed 20 January 2012
Her television appearances include The Liver Birds (1974), Rachel Gold in The Politician's Wife (1995), four different roles in The Bill (1985–1998), Dorcas in As Time Goes By (1996), the Hon. Myrtle Pongleton in two episodes of Jeeves and Wooster (1991),An evening with Celia Imrie and Fidelis Morgan: 'Orphans of the Storm' and Titanic, National Museums Liverpool database Rosalie in four episodes of Big Women (1998), Assistant Registrar in Dead Gorgeous (2002) and was Bunty Brace-Girdle in 20 episodes of Mr Majeika (1988–1990). Her film roles include Matron in Never Let Me Go (2010), Anne in A Little Chaos (2014), and Agnes Carpenter in the TV movie Karen Carpenter: Goodbye to Love (2016).
Morgan was nominated Best Actress of the Year 1984 in The Observer for her work at Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre.Fidelis Morgan: Granada Artist-in-Residence Fall 2014, University of California, Davis database (2014) Morgan has put on several 50 minute shows at the National Theatre. In 1991, her show on 'Female Playwrights of the Restoration' at the National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre was concerned with the largely neglected plays by women dramatists written for the London stage in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The show, subsequently entitled The Female Wits, included extracts from the plays performed by a group of actorsFidelis Morgan: 'Female Playwrights of the Restoration' - The National Theatre, South Bank, London, Arthur Lloyd.co.uk - The Music Hall and Theatre History Site: Dedicated to Arthur Lloyd, 1839 - 1904Fidelis Morgan: Female Playwrights of the Restoration, National Theatre Archive (1991) and played at various literary festivals including the Isle of Wight, Truro, Utrecht, and on Queen Mary 2. Again at the National, in 2011, she interviewed her friend Celia Imrie on the platform of the Cottesloe Theatre.National Theatre – New season March to July 2011, West End Theatre website
In 2015, Morgan returned to Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre to take part in its 70th anniversary celebrations, performing an extract from Mary Stuart with Ann Mitchell.STARS COME TO GLASGOW TO CELEBRATE 70 YEARS OF THE CITIZENS THEATRE, Citizens' Theatre website, 22 September 2015
Novels and non-fiction Morgan's novels include the Countess Ashby dela Zouche series of historical crime mysteries: Unnatural Fire (2000), for which she was nominated as a Discovery Author by Barnes and Noble in 2001; The Rival Queens (2001); The Ambitious Stepmother (2002) and Fortune's Slave (2004).Orphans of the Storm; Celia Imrie and Fidelis Morgan with Oxford Literary Festival, University of Oxford database (2022) The Rival Queens was nominated for a Lefty Award for "the most humorous mystery novels published in the U.S. in 2002" by Left Coast Crime, California, in 2003."Mystery Awards ", Blackraven Press, accessed 20 January 2012 Her non-fiction work includes The Female Wits, the first study of female playwrights of the Restoration stage and biographies of charismatic female figures from the 17th and 18th centuries including Charlotte Charke.
She was the author of The Bluffer's Guide to British Theatre (1986), part of The Bluffer's Guides series.
Plays and teleplays Morgan's stage plays include adaptations of famous novels, Samuel Richardson's PamelaPamela, Amber Lane Press website and Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square (Lyric Hammersmith, 1990, and the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2008).Hangover Square , Finborough Theatre website, 2008, accessed 20 January 2012Hangover Square: Patrick Hamilton, adapted by Fidelis Morgan - Finborough Theatre (2008), British Theatre Guide For her work on Pamela for Shared Experience, Morgan was nominated Most Promising Playwright in Plays and Players (1985). She collaborated with Lynda La Plante on Channel 4's Killer Net.Fidelis Morgan and Fortune’s Slave, Harper Collins website
In 1988, she wrote and directed the sketch 'Fat Life' for Before The Act: A Celebration to Counter the Effects of Section 28.Before The Act Programme, the website of Ian McKellen This was a gala held at the Piccadilly Theatre to protest against Section 28, which had been enacted on 24 May 1988. The programme consisted of material created on gay themes.Section 28/The Arts Lobby, the website of Ian McKellen In 1997, two of her sketches were performed in Then Again, a revue directed by Neil Bartlett at the Lyric Hammersmith.Then Again (1997), Neil Bartlett OBE - professional website
Directing In 2011, at the Finborough Theatre, Morgan directed a sell-out production of Lennox Robinson’s Drama at Inish starring Celia Imrie and Paul O’Grady.Drama at Inish, Finborough Theatre website (2011) In the same year, she directed a reading of The Piper, a new play by Colleen Murphy at Vibrant – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights. The cast included Philip Herbert, Dudley Sutton, Christopher Webber, Julian Wadham, Siân Thomas, George IrvingThe Piper (2011)| George Irving website and Pauline Moran. In 2018, she directed a production of But It Still Goes On by Robert Graves and starring Sophie Ward and Alan Cox, again at the Finborough Theatre.But It Still Goes On by Robert Graves. Edited with additional dialogue by Fidelis Morgan Finborough Theatre website (2018)
In 2014, at the St. James Theatre, Morgan directed Celia Imrie in Laughing Matters, and directed Wedlock Deadlock at the Kings Head, starring Paola Dionisotti, Sian Thomas and Celia Imrie and adapted into a musical from The Custom of the Country by Susanna Centlivre.Laughing Matters Press Night, Tatler, 13 August 2014Celia Imrie’s Laughing Matters, St James Theatre - cabaret review, The London Evening Standard, 13 August 2014
Also in 2014, she was Artist-in-Residence at the University of California where she directed a production of The Gambling Lady by Susanna Centlivre, a play Morgan rescued from near-oblivion in her book The Female Wits.The Gambling Lady (The Bassett Table), University of California, Davis website In 2019, she directed The Wooden Meadow by Stewart Pringle at the Finborough Theatre.11th Year Of Vibrant – A Festival Of Finborough Playwrights, Finborough Theatre News (2019)
Bibliography
Non-fiction The Female Wits: Women Playwrights on the London Stage 1660–1720, Virago (1981) A Woman of No Character: An Autobiography of Mrs Manley, Faber (1986) Bluff Your Way in Theatre, Ravette (1986) The Well-Known Trouble Maker: A Life, Faber (1988) A Misogynist's Source Book, Jonathan Cape (1989) Female Playwrights of The Restoration: Five Comedies, ed. with Paddy Lyons, Dent Everyman (1991) The Female Tatler, Dent Everyman (1992) The Years Between, Virago (1994) Wicked!, Virago (1996) Like a Charm (Century) collaboration with other crime writers and edited by Karen Slaughter (2004)
Fiction My Dark Rosaleen Heinemann (1994) Unnatural Fire HarperCollins (2000) The Rival Queens HarperCollins (2001) The Ambitious Stepmother HarperCollins (2002) Fortune’s Slave HarperCollins (2004) The Murder Quadrille ebook (2011)
Short stories "The Actress & The Thief", BBC Radio 4, 1995 "The Creep", Image Magazine (Eire), October 1995 "Dead At The Wheel", Magazine of Architectural Symposium Pontresina, 2001 "Down and Dirty", Like A Charm by Karin Slaughter (ed.) (Century, February 2004) Contributions to Encyclopedia of British Women's Writing 1900-1950 (Palgrave Macmillan), 2006
Plays Pamela with Giles Havergal 1985 Hangover Square 1990 Fragments From the Life of Marie Antoinette 1996
References
External links