Margaret Johnston
| Margaret Johnston | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Margaret Annette McCrie Johnston 10 August 1914 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 19 June 2002 (aged 87) Kingston upon Thames, London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1936–68 |
| Spouse(s) | Albert Parker (1946–74) |
Margaret Johnston (10 August 1914, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia – 19 June 2002, Kingston upon Thames, England) was an Australian-born British actress. Johnston was best known for her stage performances, but also appeared in 12 films and a handful of TV productions before retiring from acting in 1968 to devote herself to running a theatrical agency.
Johnston was the second of three daughters born in Australia to English parents. She was educated at the North Sydney Girls High School, then at the University of Sydney where she studied Law. Johnston had shown an interest and aptitude for drama from an early age acting in various school productions before working professionally in Sydney's theatres. It was reported that her oft-stated ambition at this time was "to move to Europe, to learn her craft, and to lose her (Australian) accent." In 1936, Johnston (accompanied by her sisters) travelled to Britain in order to pursue her career. She was accepted as a student by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she was tutored by Stefan Hock.
Johnston's first role on the West End stage was a minor part in a 1939 production of Saloon Bar, a comedy-thriller. She followed this with a period in repertory theatre, before being cast in a 1942 production of Murder Without Crime at London's Comedy Theatre. A box-office hit, the production ran for over a year. In 1944 Johnston played opposite Fay Compton in The Last of Summer at the Phoenix Theatre. Her performance, especially in an acrimonious verbal duel with Compton at the play's climax, was much praised and drew the attention of influential theatrical impresario Binkie Beaumont, who signed her for his agency H.M. Tennent Ltd., then London's leading theatrical management company.
In 1946, Johnston played the lead role of Kitty Duval in The Time of Your Life at the Lyric Hammersmith, followed in 1948 by a stage production of The Barretts of Wimpole Street in which she portrayed Elizabeth Barrett, a performance which earned her further critical appreciation, although the production itself was thought lacklustre. Critic Alan Dent noted that "the one exception among the general cowed lethargy of the Barretts is Elizabeth herself...she is sincere, touching, awakened."
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