# Nancy Hewins > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nancy_Hewins > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nancy_Hewins.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Hewins > Source revision: 1351988740 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British theatre director and actress}} {{Infobox person | name = Nancy Hewins | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Margaret Nancy Hewins | birth_date = 14 February 1902 | birth_place = [London](/source/London) | death_date = {{death date and age text|17 January 1978|14 February 1902}} | death_place = [Oxford](/source/Oxford) | death_cause = | other_names = | known_for = leading Britain's first all-woman theatre group | education = | employer = | occupation = theatre director | spouse = | parents = | relatives = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Margaret Nancy Hewins''' (14 February 1902 – 17 January 1978) was a British theatre director and actress. She founded the first all-woman theatre troupe who toured the UK presenting Shakespeare particularly to schools. ==Life== Hewins was born in [London](/source/London). Her parents were Margaret (born) and [William Hewins](/source/William_Hewins). She had a brother and a sister. Her [godmother](/source/Godparent) was [Beatrice Webb](/source/Beatrice_Webb) (her father had been appointed to be the director of the [London School of Economics](/source/London_School_of_Economics) in 1895 by [Sidney Webb](/source/Sidney_Webb).{{Cite ODNB|title=Hewins, William Albert Samuel (1865–1931), economist and politician|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-33848|access-date=2020-10-31|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/33848}} She became interested in the theatre while she was at [St Hugh's College](/source/St_Hugh's_College%2C_Oxford) in Oxford. In 1924 she graduated and set up an amateur theatre company called Isis. She founded the first British professional all-woman set of players named "Osiris" in 1927.{{Cite web|last=Barker|first=Paul|date=2004-06-26|title=Paul Barker on the genius of The Osiris Players|url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2004/jun/26/theatre|access-date=2020-10-31|website=the Guardian|language=en}} She was helped by £40 which [Lord Rothermere](/source/Lord_Rothermere) gave her to help. Rothermere was a friend of her fathers. The troupe toured in two Rolls-Royces because Hewins said that they were big enough to take them and their props and they were reliable. The troupe toured the UK presenting Shakespeare particularly to schools. The troupe was never larger than seven women and they were the actors and the crew. The troupe would sleep on the floor of village halls as the budget never stretched to paying for board and lodging. She had a few actors who were the core of the troupe but most would be employed for a couple of years and then they would be replaced as they could not endure the conditions of the employment. The troupe never received grants but survived on its own fortunes. Hewins would occasionally take work as a lighting expert for other productions. She worked for pageants and{{Cite ODNB|title=Hewins, (Margaret) Nancy (1902–1978), theatre director and actress|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-56707|access-date=2020-10-31|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/56707}} for the director [Edy Craig](/source/Edith_Craig). Others found Craig abrupt, but Hewins welcomed her direct criticism.{{Cite book|last=Schafer|first=Elizabeth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9QYggKPVOd4C&q=Nancy+Hewins&pg=PA221|title=Ms-Directing Shakespeare: Women Direct Shakespeare|date=2000-05-19|page=209|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-22746-3|language=en}} ==Death and legacy== Hewins died in 1978 in [Oxford](/source/Oxford) and the players were disbanded by former Osiris member Wynne Griffiths.{{Cite web|title=Nancy Hewins, Barbara Baker and the estate of Nancy Hewins. - Social Networks and Archival Context|url=https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6t30b5p|access-date=2020-11-01|website=snaccooperative.org}} Her troupe had toured throughout England but they never appeared in the [West End](/source/West_End_theatre). In 2004 [Imogen Stubbs](/source/Imogen_Stubbs) play "[We Happy Few](/source/We_Happy_Few_(play))" was performed at the London's [Gielgud Theatre](/source/Gielgud_Theatre). The play was based on Hewins and her troupe's life during the second world war. A production of "Much Ado About Nothing" was inspired by Hewins. It was directed by [Brigid Larmour](/source/Brigid_Larmour) at the [Watford Palace Theatre](/source/Watford_Palace_Theatre) in 2018 and it was set during WWII and included an all-woman cast.{{Cite web|title=Interview with Brigid Larmour, director of Much Ado About Nothing|url=https://watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk/|access-date=2020-11-01|website=watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk|language=en}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewins, Nancy}} Category:1902 births Category:1978 deaths Category:Theatre people from London Category:English theatre directors Category:British women theatre directors Category:English Shakespearean actresses --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nancy Hewins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Hewins) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Hewins?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.