It’s our sad duty to report the passing of Louise Davies, a long-time and steadfast supporter of our theatre. Louise, their son William and husband Michael (who himself acted and directed here to popular acclaim) eventually moved to the USA to be nearer her family although they continued to visit us on-line.
Poor Louise was in poor health for several years but bore the discomforture stoically; her indomitable spirit shone through even during the darker times of her steadily overwhelming illnesses. When she and Michael heard of Val’s death, she sent this sweet memorium on Sat, 27 Feb 2016:
“I always remember The Grange when it was full of people. There were people on stage, people in the bar, I remember a lot of the audience used to dress up when they came to see performances at The Grange. It seemed as though you could get the entire audience into the two rooms and there still would be more room. People would carry their drinks outside and crunch around on the gravel. (Once you had three people and the Guinness in the lighting and sound box it was terribly crowded.)
“I remember when Michael directed Absent Friends. Among the cast was Cliff Denton, who is now Dr Denton. When we last heard of him he was at South Wales Bible College. Neil Canning was also in the cast. He is now preparing for his next exhibition of paintings in Cornwall. Fred and Val drew the most wonderful collection of people who were allowed to be creative.
“I am happy that Val passed without pain. Here [USA] they tend to try last minute interventions which are usually not peaceful. I am pleased Andrew will be there. When we first planned our trip we were going to go down and see him. Then the doctor told me to cancel that trip so we didn’t get to see him. Do give him our best. Whoever ends up,with the house will have a house which was filled with love and creative energy.
Know our thoughts are with you.
Love, Louise”
We all send Michael and William our sincere condolences; it was an honour to have known her and shared such happy times at the theatre.
RIP Louise