Siân Phillips she was the first since Sarah Bernhardt to play the role. In 1957 (some sources say 1959) Phillips performed the title role in Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler". Many sources consider this her London stage debut but she actually did "Magda" before "Hedda Gabler". In September 1958 she was performing as Margaret Muir in John Hall's "The Holiday" at Oxford New Theatre. In May 1958 Phillips performed as Joan in G. B. Shaw's "Saint Joan", at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, which had opened just six weeks before, produced by Bryan Bailey. An observer described her performance: "Sian Phillips' portrayal of Joan
Hedda Vernon Piel. She also worked in other films directed by Piel and collaborated with Max Obal until 1914. Some of her early films are "The Struggle for the Heritage" (1912), "The Brown Beast" (1914), and "The Iron Cross" (1914). In 1914 she founded her own production company, Hedda Vernon Films, in Berlin and produced her own films for the Hedda Vernon series, including the self-directed "The Yellow Grimace" (1914) and "Hedda Vernon's Stage Sketch" (1916). She also acted in several Eiko film productions until the end of World War I, mainly under the direction of her husband Hubert Moest, who founded