1 Roberta Taylor breaks from Hamlet rehearsals. Credit Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Tribute

A tribute to Roberta Taylor

24 Jul 2024

Formidable actress of stage and screen and Citz alumni Roberta Taylor has sadly passed away aged 76.

In our tribute to her, we look back fondly at her long association with the Citizens Theatre.

Roberta Taylor made her professional debut at the Citizens Theatre in 1976 and went on to perform in over 16 productions over three decades from 1976 to 1995. She returned in 2014 to play Gertrude in Dominic Hill’s production of Hamlet, with her husband Peter Guinness as Claudius.

She always had her heart set on working at the Citz.

I’d wanted to come here even though I’d never seen a production here. I’d seen the photographs and all the other theatres looked rather suburban by comparison.

Interview by Joyce McMillan for Citizens Theatre, Sep 2014

Roberta Taylor and Peter Guinness at the Citizens Theatre stage door

For nearly 80 years, the Citizens Theatre has been renowned for its daring and provocative productions and Roberta Taylor was an actor who was at the heart of developing that reputation through her seminal performances in dozens of productions.

When asked in an interview in 2014 for some of her highlights, memorable performances included her debut in The Seven Deadly Sins by Bertolt Brecht “where my whole performance was in bra and knickers and a bunch of balloons” and Mikhail Lermontov’s Maskerade, wearing a necklace so large it “brought blood”.

She also fondly recalled rehearsing Private Lives in ten days – a production that audiences queued round the block to see. Michael Coveney in the Guardian also cites this production as a ‘majestic high comedy performance’ in which Roberta was outrageously funny.

She worked with Rupert Everett and Gary Oldman in Proust’s A Waste of Time and in 1990, she played in the famous revival of Brecht’s Mother Courage with Glenda Jackson.

What I liked about the Citz roles was they broke the moulds…Most theatres employed pretty little feminine women but up here we all had to be the Bette Davis of our time, the broads, and that’s not what many people wanted in women.

Interview in Glasgow Times, 17 Sep 2014

Actress Robert Taylor on stage in a long white skirt and white jacket — Private Lives, 1984

The Citizens' Theatre Company production of A Woman of no Importance by Oscar Wilde Directed and designed by Philip Prowse (1984) Photo shows Roberta Taylor as Mrs Allonby Photo by John Vere Brown (c) Citizens' Theatre — A Woman of No Importance, 1984

I loved it here…you were pushed to look at the storytelling in a slightly different way, and with a bit of fun…having worked for 38 years in the business I would say my strongest work was done here.

Interview in Glasgow Times, 17 Sep 2014

An ideal Husband — An Ideal Husband, 1986

Alongside her distinguished theatre career, Roberta became a household name through her television roles as the matriarch Irene Raymond in Eastenders and Inspector Gina Gold in The Bill.

We will remember how uniquely she trod the boards of our stage in performances that will continue to be treasured by us and the lucky Glasgow theatre audiences who witnessed them.

Our thoughts are with her family and friends.

I was so sorry to hear of the passing of Roberta. She last appeared at the Citz as a sassy, smart but vulnerable Gertrude in Hamlet in 2014. She was wonderfully open, curious and brave as a performer; and funny, fiercely sharp and very kind as a person. Although she spent many years on television, I always felt that the Citz was in her heart and soul since the formative years she spent in the Gorbals. She was a great supporter of the theatre and will be much missed.

Dominic Hill, Artistic Director of the Citizens Theatre.