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 Gabler Suzman, Diana Rigg, Isabelle Huppert, Claire Bloom, June Brown, Kate Burton, Geraldine James, Kate Mulgrew, Kelly McGillis, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Jane Fonda, Annette Bening, Amanda Donohoe, Judy Davis, Emmanuelle Seigner, Harriet Walter, Rosamund Pike and Cate Blanchett, who won the 2005 Helpmann Award (Australia) for Best Female Actor in a Play. In the early 1970s, Irene Worth played Hedda at Stratford, Ontario, prompting "New York Times" critic Walter Kerr to write, "Miss Worth is just possibly the best actress in the world." Glenda Jackson returned to the RSC to play Hedda Gabler. A later film version directed by Nunn