"judith anderson as hamlet"

The Australian-born Dame Judith Anderson enjoyed an illustrious career in the theater as a classical actress and was considered by many the definitive Medea and a notable Lady MacBeth. She was also successful in films, creating memorable roles in Hitchcock’s Rebecca, Preminger’s Laura, and as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  In 1970, at the age of seventy-three, she satisfied a long-held ambition of playing Hamlet. She was part of a tradition of great actresses who have played the Danish Prince beginning with the French tragedienne Sarah Bernhardt in 1900.  There was the belief that Hamlet, with his vulnerable questioning nature, was beyond the limitations of gender.  The critics were not kind to Dame Judith, criticizing her advanced age and what was considered a dated grand dame performance.  Hirschfeld’s drawing captures both the theatricality and poignancy of a great artist defiantly living out her dream.

Charles Busch