1953. This photo was published as a double-page spread in the January issue of Vogue UK (pages 36–7). The accompanying text reads:
THE YOUNG LOOK IN THE THEATRE
The English acting profession has recently blossomed into a springtime profusion of actresses, pretty, clever, so young that their clouds of professional glory are still tangled with those of childhood. Norman Parkinson photographed ten against a relic of their not-so-distant scholastic past, joining the group himself in a mood of nostalgia for youth.
Top: Norman Parkinson
Middle (l to r): Virginia McKenna, Elizabeth Henson, Patricia McCarron, Josephine Griffin
Ground (l to r): Hazel Penwarden, Zena Walker, Yvonne Furneaux, Jill Bennett, Patricia Owens, Ruth TrouncerHazel Penwarden, dark and vivid, played Miranda, and Catherine in Henry V, at Stratford in 1951; was in the recent successful Winter Journey. Here she wears Albert Hart’s gorgeous lynx coat.
Virginia McKenna, a serene, Saxon-type beauty, is currently playing in The River Line, and has filmed the feminine lead in The Cruel Sea. She wears Dorville’s grey tweed pinafore. Dress, (with stole) £9 9s. 11d; white sweater, £2 9s. 11d. Jay’s.
Zena Walker, kitten-young, played Miranda in the 1952 Stratford season, and is at present acting in the Stratford company big tour of New Zealand and Australia. She wears Susan Small’s evening dress of pale green net, rose-garlanded. £27. Jay’s.
Yvonne Furneaux, sapphire-eyed, appeared in Twenty-Four Hours of a Woman’s Life, will be seen soon in The Beggar’s Opera and The Master of Ballantrae. She wears Rima’s black gold-trimmed jersey slacks, 13 gns.; matching top £7 5s. Fior.
Elizabeth Henson, prettily, delicately English, her style crisp and clean as new linen, was recently seen in Two Loves I Have at the Arts, and The Intruder on T.V. She wears Rima’s black corduroy drainpipe slacks, 7½ gns.; striped Sloppy Joe jersey, 10 gns. Fior.
Jill Bennett, whose distractingly innocent appeal lies in her witty, blunt features, is a baby veteran of Stratford, Olivier, and Ustinov production; will be seen in Moulin Rouge. She wears Horrockses’ black faille cocktail dress, with detachable overskirt of plaid organza and matching stole. Dress, £13 2s. 6d. Overskirt and stole, £20 12s. 11d. Hunt’s.
Patricia McCarron, a romantic, du Maurieresque beauty, has been acting in Waters of the Moon since its far-distant opening, has a Hollywood contract. Her short black velveteen evening dress, with stole, by Dorville, £23 11s. Galeries Lafayette.
Patricia Owens, tawny-haired, with an ebullient talent for comedy, recently played in Second Threshold. Here she wears Susan Small’s white net and black velvet evening dress, £24 10s. Galeries Lafayette.
Josephine Griffin, large-eyed, gentle, with finely-boned features and a meditative, listening look, is currently appearing in Hubert Gregg’s new play, We Have Company. Here she wears Dorville’s royal blue corduroy jeans, £3 7. 6d. Matching jacket, 6 gns. Harrods. Gamba’s brocade slippers, £4 2s. 1d.
Ruth Trouncer, Cecil Trouncer’s tall, handsome daughter, is now the Good Fairy in The Love of Four Colonels. Here she wears Frederick Starke’s slim, nigger-brown tweed suit, 25 gns. Harvey Nichols.
Photo by Norman Parkinson.
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