Dame May Whitty

Webster, Margaret (1905–72), actress and director. She was born in New York, the daughter of two famous players, Ben Webster and Dame May Whitty, and spent most of her early years on British stages. American audiences first saw her work when she directed Richard III in 1937 and first saw her act when she appeared as Masha in a 1938 revival of The Sea Gull. Webster subsequently directed several American Shakespearean productions, scoring her greatest success in 1943 with her staging of Othello. This production, which starred Paul Robeson and José Ferrer and in which she played Emilia, ran 295 performances, a still unbroken record for a Shakespearean mounting. She staged a highly praised revival of The Tempest in 1945 before joining Eva Le Gallienne and Cheryl Crawford to found the American Repertory Theatre, directing and performing in several of its offerings during its short existence. From 1948 to 1950 she toured with her Shakespearean company. Although Webster's stagings were usually lauded for their understanding of Shakespeare's characters and for their theatrical effectiveness, she regularly caused controversy for tampering with Shakespeare's texts: She eliminated the Clown in Othello, while in The Tempest she made an epilogue of the famous fourth act speech that begins with “Our revels now are ended.” Her theories and reminiscences were blended in her book Shakespeare Without Tears (1942).

Dame May Whitty 1865-1948, English actress. She made her London debut in 1881. In 1892 she married Ben Webster, an actor, and in 1895 she first appeared in the United States, becoming a favorite on the stage and in films. Her notable films include Night Must Fall (1938), The Lady Vanishes (1938), and Mrs. Miniver (1942). Her forte was the portrayal of kind but strong-minded old ladies. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1918. Her daughter was Margaret Webster .

Bibliography: See M. Webster, The Same Only Different (1969).