Actress Claire Bloom to Present ‘Shakespeare’s Women’

But, for her April 10 appearance at Wake Forest University, she will be alone on stage.

Bloom will present the one-woman show “A Portrait of Shakespeare’s Women” at 8 p.m. in Brendle Recital Hall to conclude the university’s annual Secrest Artists Series.

Without props, scenery or make-up, Bloom transforms herself into women from six of Shakespeare’s plays. The characters she presents range from Viola in the comedy, “Twelfth Night,” to Juliet in the tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet.”

“Bloom’s show is elegantly intimate,” according to the Boston Globe. Through March 21, she played Clytemnestra in the successful Broadway production of “Electra.” Bloom has been in numerous films, including “Richard III” opposite Laurence Olivier and “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” with Richard Burton. More recently, she has appeared in Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Daylight” with Sylvester Stallone.

Bloom, 66, was born in London. At age 16, she made her first appearance on stage with the Oxford Repertory Company. Her first major role came a year later, when she played Ophelia at Stratford-Upon-Avon. Her most notable stage roles have included Juliet, Ophelia, Viola, Miranda and Cordelia. In 1974, for her London portrayal of Blanche du Bois in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” she won three major English theatrical awards.

The actress has also appeared as narrator with many leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony. Her best-selling memoir, “Leaving a Doll’s House,” about her relationship with writer Phillip Roth, was published in 1996.

General admission tickets for the concert are $17.50 for adults, $12.50 for senior citizens and non-Wake Forest students. They are available through the University Theater box office at 336-758-5295. The box office is open weekdays from noon- 5:30 p.m.

For additional information, call the Secrest office at 336-758-5757.