Athene Seyler

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 1988

⏱️ 34 minutes

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🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sue Lawley's castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is the actress Athene Seyler. She first appeared on the stage 80 years ago as Rosalind in As You Like It - a part she can still recite - and now, at 99, she looks back with pleasure on her many happy years as one of Britain's finest comic actresses.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Du Bist Wie Eine Blume by Robert Schumann Book: The Disinherited by Gareth Jones Luxury: Case of champagne

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello I'm Kirsty Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.
0:05.0	For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.
0:08.0	The program was originally broadcast in 1988 and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My castaway this week is a famous comic actress. She first appeared on the professional stage 80 years ago as Rosalind in As You Like it.
0:39.0	Today she's best remembered for her portrayals of characters like Mrs Malaprop in the rivals, Lady Bracknell
0:46.4	in the importance of being earnest, and for her distinguished double act with Sybil Thorndyke in arsenic and old lace. Now at the age of 99 she
0:56.2	still enjoys performing, but her script is her own, built upon the witty memories of a
1:01.7	long and enjoyable career.
1:04.1	She is Miss Athene Siler.
1:07.2	Athene, it's a wonderful gift to be able to make people laugh.
1:10.7	Were you born with it, do you think think? Well I know the first time that I did make people laugh. I was only
1:17.7	eight years old and I was doing a little hornpipe at a special performance and saluting as I went off, peeling very like a
1:27.8	sailor and my drawers fell off. And of course the audience
1:32.7	was after and I thought to my silver I see what's ahead of me is comedy.
1:41.3	And you were hooked on it after that way.
1:43.0	Yes, I was.
1:44.0	Do you think you can learn to make people laugh?
1:47.0	Did you learn more of how to do it?
1:49.0	No, I don't think one can learn.
1:52.0	One has to be truthful about what one's doing, and then if
1:59.2	it's well designed by the author, it'll get its love.
2:05.0	Oh, it mustn't be sounding on the top of it, I don't think.
2:10.0	But it still gives you great pleasure to make people laugh, doesn't?
	...

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