Hello, I'm Krestey Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1989, and the presenter was Sue Lolly. My castaway this week describes herself as just a working actress, but that humble phrase

belies the influential world from which she comes.

Not only has her own career been long and distinguished, her husband was knighted for his services to acting and one of her

daughters has long been regarded as one of the most dynamic forces of British

stage and screen. Her other children have enjoyed success in the profession too,

and now several of her grandchildren are continuing the tradition. As she approaches

her 79th birthday, she still sits at the head of one of this country's most famous theatrical

dynasties. She is of course Rachel Kemson, Lady Redgrave. A working

actress who simply carries on working Lady Redgrave. What are you working on at the time? A working

Act

who simply carries on working Lady Redgrave. What are you working on at the moment?

Well at the moment I'm playing Valumdia in Coriolanus with Corin.

I promised to do it with him for years and now at last we're doing it. He has most of the

play on his shoulders but I do find Valumnia pretty tough but at the same time I think there's quite a bit of

humour in it. So you're playing your son's mother as it was? Yes. Is it is that

difficult? Well it's very funny sometimes because the other day I happened to have my back turned to

him in a certain movement and he said, mother, and I said, what is it, darling?

And it was actually in because it was, he meant it, it was part of the play.

Oh, mother, mother, you see. But he simply said mother. And I said, oh darling,

what's that?

...