Jane Lapotaire

The death of actor Jane Lapotaire was announced on 12 March 2026. Best known for the RSC production of Piaf and her work on TV, she had many connections with Stratford. She was Gertrude in the Kenneth Branagh Hamlet in 1992-3  and Queen Katherine in the 1996 production of Henry VIII.  Her career was limited by a near-fatal brain aneurism in 2000 but she did appear on stage in Stratford as the Duchess of Gloucester in Richard II in 2013 and the Queen of France in Henry V in 2015.

She was the President of the Shakespeare Club in 1996-7, and in 2018 was awarded the Pragnell Shakespeare Prize at the Birthday Luncheon, attended by hundreds of people including about 30 members of the Club. The award was made by Professor Michael Dobson, also a previous President of the Club, as pictured. Here is the video of her witty acceptance speech.