Ashwell, Lena (1872–1957)
Ashwell, Lena (1872–1957)
English actress. Born in 1872; died in 1957; daughter of C. Ashwell B. Pocock, R.N.; educated in Toronto, Canada; studied singing at Lausanne Conservatoire and Royal Academy of Music; married Arthur Playfair (an actor), in 1896 (divorced 1908); married a Dr. Simson, in 1908.
At the turn of the century, Lena Ashwell was one of London's leading actresses. In 1895, she portrayed Elaine in Sir Henry Irving's production of King Arthur at the Lyceum and would again act for him in 1903 in Dante. Ashwell scored her first major triumph in Mrs. Dane's Defence, directed by Sir Charles Wyndham in 1900. In 1907, she starred under her own management at the Kingsway Theatre. From 1914 to 1918, during World War I, she provided concerts and plays for troops at the front. For the next ten years, she ran the Lena Ashwell Players, which toured the suburbs. Ashwell also founded the Century Theatre after 1924 to provide quality plays at quality prices and to give opportunities for beginning actors. She was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1917.