When an acting legend passes it’s traditional for the lights of the West End to dim, and actors don’t get more legendary than Maggie Smith, who sadly died aged 89 this week.
Although younger generations knew her best for screen turns in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey – and indeed, her storied film career stretched back to the ’50s and included two Academy Award wins – the stage was her first love and her big breakthrough came as part of Laurence Olivier’s original National Theatre company. Even as her screen career took off, she remained a theatre regular, only formally retiring from live performance in 2007, until she abruptly unretired in 2019 to perform the haunting monologue A German Life (pictured) at the Bridge Theatre for her The Lady in the Van director Nicholas Hytner.
The dimming of the lights is a solemn tradition wherein the great theatres of the West End (and beyond) switch off their outside lights for a minute in honour of the deceased. Although there is sometimes a particular focal point (the Sondheim Theatre when Stephen Sondheim passed away, for instance) there probably won’t be for Smith, who acted all over the West End during her 70-plus year career. The Old Vic isn’t a bad shout insofar as that’s where the legendary original National Theatre company was based, but Shaftesbury Avenue is the most dramatic spot to head for, with multiple theatres in close proximity to each other all dimming at the same time (the Sondheim Theatre is also not a bad shout as it’s where The Lady in the Van played in 1999).
Farewell, Dame Maggie – and if you want to say goodbye to her in person, be in the West End on Tuesday night.
The lights of the West End will be dimmed in memory of Maggie Smith at 7pm on Tuesday October 1, for two minutes.
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