‘Unsung’ pioneering actress and director Esme Church honoured with blue plaque

Esme Church led the Old Vic’s theatre school in the 1930s (Old Vic/PA) -

An “unsung” actress and director who founded a theatre school that taught future stars including three-time Bafta winner Billie Whitelaw has been honoured with a blue plaque.

The recognition in Bradford, where she ran the Northern Theatre School, will allow Esme Church to take her “rightful place in the cultural memory of this country”, Historic England said.