Star of the stage taking her final bow after four decades

Doreen Brownstone, 92, is retiring from acting after four decades in the theatre.

The Prairie Theatre Exchange is saying goodbye to one of Manitoba’s most cherished actresses.

Performing is something Doreen Brownstone has been doing for more than half a century.

Brownstone, who plays “Aunt Grace” in the play Vigil, moved to Canada in 1946 from England, where she first caught the acting bug.

“My lecturer mistress would do a Shakespeare per term, so she would say, ‘Who wants to read?’ I say, ‘I do, I do.’ I loved it,” she said.

That passion led her to star in a number of television shows and movies across the country.

At 92 years old, she’s the oldest working theatre actress in Canada.

“You just revel in it,” said Brownstone. “It’s there, things are going well, there’s nothing like it.”

Four decades after her first on-screen appearance, Brownstoneis now ready to say goodbye to the stage.

“She’s gotten better with age, and we really enjoyed her performance,” said audience member Marvin Kohn. “She’s an icon in Winnipeg and Manitoba theatre, and she’ll be missed.”

“(She’s) a darling of the theatre, I would say,” said director Carman Johnston.“Everybody who knows Doreen, loves Doreen.”

As she walks away on her own terms, Brownstone says it’s emotional, but you could never tell.

“Get off the stage, Brownstone. Somebody else is coming in,” she said.

And when they do, they’ll have big shoes to fill.

Watch The latest production from Prairie Theatre Exchange, Vigil, is the story of a self-centered bank employee who receives a letter from his sick aunt. Jenna sat down with the actors, Doreen Brownstone and Michael Spencer-Davis.

Culled from CTVnews.

View Original Here