Born in Edinburgh in 1935, June Watson’s career on stage, television and film spans 67 years. Although she is familiar from series such as Casualty, All Creatures Great and Small and Agatha Raisin, theatre is her great love and for the past decade she has produced a string of unforgettable performances, most notably as Mammy in Michael Grandage’s production of The Cripple of Inishmaan (for which she won the Clarence Derwent Award), as the mysterious Genevieve in Annie Baker’s John, directed by James Macdonald, and most recently as the old servant Firs in The Cherry Orchard at the Donmar Warehouse. She has been married to the actor and director Christopher Dunham since 1962. Next month, she stars opposite Mark Strong and Lesley Manville in Robert Icke’s new modern-day Oedipus.
What part are you playing in Oedipus?
His mother, Merope. She’s only talked of in Sophocles’s play, but Robert [Icke] has decided to make her into a character who actually appears. He has his reason! It’s not an adaptation of the original. It’s his version of the Oedipus story, really powerful. And a terrific cast. I’m absolutely loving it.
