Robert Emrys James (1 September 1928 â€" 5 February 1989) was a Welsh
Shakespearean actor. He also performed in many theatre and TV parts
between 1960 and 1989, and was an Associate Artist of the Royal
Shakespeare Company. He was born in Machynlleth, the son of a
railwayman, and attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.After
training at RADA, in 1953 James joined Peter Hall and John Barton's
Oxford Playhouse-based Elizabethan Theatre Company. In 1956 he played
his first season at Stratford, taking the roles of Guildernstern,
Salerio in The Merchant of Venice and Claudio in Measure for Measure.
Seasons at the Bristol Old Vic and the Old Vic, London,
followed.Notable roles at the RSC included Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry
Wives of Windsor, 1968; Gower in Pericles, 1969; Feste in Twelfth
Night, 1969; The Boss in Günter Grass' The Plebeians Rehearse the
Uprising, 1970; The Cardinal in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi,
1971; Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, 1971; Iago in Othello, 1971;
the title role in King John, 1974; Mephistopheles in Christopher
Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, 1974; Chorus in Henry V, 1975; the title
role in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, 1975â€"76; York in Henry VI, parts I,
II and III, 1977â€"78; Jaques in As You Like It, 1977; Edgar in
Strindberg's The Dance of Death, 1978; Cassius in Julius Caesar, 1983;
Malvolio in Twelfth Night, 1984; and Sir Giles Overreach in Philip
Massinger's A New Way to Pay Old Debts, 1984.In 1981, he played
Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Shakespearean actor. He also performed in many theatre and TV parts
between 1960 and 1989, and was an Associate Artist of the Royal
Shakespeare Company. He was born in Machynlleth, the son of a
railwayman, and attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.After
training at RADA, in 1953 James joined Peter Hall and John Barton's
Oxford Playhouse-based Elizabethan Theatre Company. In 1956 he played
his first season at Stratford, taking the roles of Guildernstern,
Salerio in The Merchant of Venice and Claudio in Measure for Measure.
Seasons at the Bristol Old Vic and the Old Vic, London,
followed.Notable roles at the RSC included Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry
Wives of Windsor, 1968; Gower in Pericles, 1969; Feste in Twelfth
Night, 1969; The Boss in Günter Grass' The Plebeians Rehearse the
Uprising, 1970; The Cardinal in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi,
1971; Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, 1971; Iago in Othello, 1971;
the title role in King John, 1974; Mephistopheles in Christopher
Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, 1974; Chorus in Henry V, 1975; the title
role in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, 1975â€"76; York in Henry VI, parts I,
II and III, 1977â€"78; Jaques in As You Like It, 1977; Edgar in
Strindberg's The Dance of Death, 1978; Cassius in Julius Caesar, 1983;
Malvolio in Twelfth Night, 1984; and Sir Giles Overreach in Philip
Massinger's A New Way to Pay Old Debts, 1984.In 1981, he played
Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard at Chichester Festival Theatre.
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