Our Patrons
Our Patron Daisy Badger
In the wake of The Archers turning 75 on New Years Day this year, we’d like to take the opportunity to introduce another patron to you, our very own Daisy Badger! Daisy plays the part of Pip Archer in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers. She can regularly be heard on the BBC’s Archers Podcast, and we saw her on the BBC coverage of their re-recording the first ever episode of the longest running soap in the world.
Since graduating from LAMDA in 2014, Daisy has worked in theatre (RSC, Derby, Bolton), on screen (BBC, ITV, Netflix, Warner Bros) and in audio. Daisy went to school at Church Lench First School and has recently moved back to the village with her young family. Daisy has jumped in with both feet and has already written and directed shows for the Greater Lenches Amateur Dramatics group. GLADs performed a brilliant adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at our very own amphitheatre.
Daisy assures us there will be plenty more where that came from and she’s looking forward to contributing to the amphitheatre in the years to come.
Our Patron Geraldine James OBE
Geraldine recently played Isabella Salucci in Dope Girls, directed by Shannon Murphy, and can recently be seen in Steven Knight’s series This Town (BBC).
Her extensive film credits include Benediction, Downton Abbey, Beast, 45 Years; Daphne (for which she was nominated for an Evening Standard Film Award), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Made in Dagenham, Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2, Calendar Girls, The Tall Guy, Gandhi and Sir Peter Hall’s She’s Been Away, for which she won the Coppa Volpi Award for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.
Amongst many television dramas, Geraldine has been BAFTA-nominated four times for her television performances, in Dummy (for which she also won a Critics’ Association Award for Best Actress), The Jewel in The Crown, Band of Gold and The Sins.
Notably, Geraldine has also won a Drama Desk Award, and was nominated for a Tony Award, for her performance as Portia in Sir Peter Hall’s production of The Merchant of Venice in the West End and on Broadway opposite Dustin Hoffman; she also played on Broadway as Gertrude in Michael Grandage’s production of Hamlet, with Jude Law.
She was awarded an OBE in 2003.
We are delighted to welcome Geraldine to The Lenches Amphitheatre and hope that amidst her busy schedule, she will be able to join us for an event, in person, in the not-too-distant future.