A tribute to the amazing Gawn Grainger (1937 – 2025)

27 May 2025 14:25

You may have heard the very upsetting news that Zoë’s husband, the actor Gawn Grainger, passed away on 17 May at the age of 87.

If you were ever fortunate enough to meet Gawn, you’ll surely remember him as a delightful, incredibly talented soul with the fantastic ability to put everyone at ease (even someone as anxious as me). He and Zoë made an amazing couple – truly a dream team. This very sweet photo was taken on their wedding day. They were married for just over 30 years.

Honouring ‘a wonderful man’

Shakespeare’s Globe, which was of course founded by Zoë’s brilliant dad Sam Wanamaker (who her husband greatly admired), describes Gawn touchingly as ‘an extraordinary actor and a wonderful man’.

To get a sense of the hugely impressive scope of Gawn’s decades-long career – a career that began when he was a plucky 12-year-old and led him to work with giants such as Ivor Novello, Laurence Olivier, Harold Pinter and many more – I encourage you to read theatre critic Michael Billington’s beautiful piece in the Guardian newspaper. It emphasises that Gawn was ‘an engaging raconteur, a fine writer and the kind of dedicated ensemble actor who is the backbone of British theatre’.

Heartfelt words and memorable events

Gawn and Zoë have been on my mind a great deal during the past week and a half. And here I’d like to share some thoughts and memories; a personal tribute. In particular, I’m keen to highlight a couple of wonderful events they took part in together:

National Histories at the National Theatre

Having both worked extensively at the National Theatre, Gawn and Zoë were invited to help this influential institution celebrate its 50th birthday in 2013. They discussed their ‘National Histories’ on the Olivier’s stage.

Zoë actually described the Olivier as her favourite part of the National Theatre, from the perspective of both an actor and theatregoer. It’s a ‘wonderful’ place to be.

Gawn agreed with her about the Olivier’s appeal and named the foyer, where he liked to sit and observe the comings and goings of staff and visitors, as his own favourite part of the National. If you’re rehearsing a play, you’ll surely find your character there, he smiled.

Passion Playing at Hampstead Arts Festival

Also in 2013, Gawn joined Zoë at the stunning Burgh House for a sold-out talk about their work called Passion Playing, which was part of Hampstead Arts Festival. It was an afternoon filled with humour, interest and insight.

Gawn remembered a magical moment shortly before the royal opening of The Globe in 1997 when Zoë was preparing to become the first actor to speak during a performance on that incredibly special stage. She was rehearsing the Prologue to Henry V, which invites audience members to unleash their imaginations on the play. In Gawn’s words, ‘the sun hit her’ as she spoke Shakespeare’s lines and grew brighter and brighter.

Speaking of theatre in general, he pointed out that ‘the audience is another actor’, and their response to a show differs each night.

Zoë emphasised her and Gawn’s commitment to acting: ‘this is a career’, not a path chosen with fame in mind. Their shared passion for their craft is surely one of the many reasons why their partnership was so strong and joyful.

Phenomenal theatre performances

It was joyful, too, to have the chance to watch Gawn perform a number of plays over the years. I most enjoyed The Entertainer, in which he gave a superb portrayal of Billy Rice, a retired music hall star. John Osborne’s powerful, moving play was brought to the West End by the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company in 2016, which Zoë had herself been part of the previous year.

A long life well lived

I also wanted to draw your attention to Gawn’s contribution to the National Theatre’s Look at You Now exhibition in 2018. As the theatre explained at the time, the aim of the exhibition was to reflect on ‘where people start and what they go on to achieve’. So here we see Gawn as both a young actor in a regal role and a mature, experienced actor recreating that portrait many years later – a king among men.

Gawn once memorably likened his fabulous career to ‘a series of parties’. So it feels entirely fitting to conclude this tribute by asking you to join me in raising a glass to this great man. His was a long life well lived.

- Liz x

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