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 (film) performance, "This version of “Hedda Gabler” is all Miss Jackson's Hedda and, I must say, great fun to watch ... Miss Jackson's technical virtuosity is particularly suited to a character like Hedda. Her command of her voice and her body," and concluded, "the physical production is handsome, and Mr. Nunn is most successful in preserving the claustrophobic nature of the play without creating a static film. "Hedda" is an imaginative, intelligent film version of a play that I wasn't breathlessly waiting to see at this moment." Judith Crist of Saturday Review wrote, "... a startlingly fresh and perceptive version written