Actors Maggie Smith and Daniel Day-Lewis are among the theatre stars to be honoured in the Queen’s 2014 Birthday Honours list.
One of Britain’s best-loved actresses, Smith, who was already a Dame before the release of Her Majesty’s latest Honours list, is elevated to a Companion of Honour. While arguably best known for her screen performances in Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter films, Smith recently appeared on the London stage in the National Theatre’s 50th birthday celebrations, returning to the South Bank following her numerous appearances at the venue throughout the course of her long and successful career.
Day-Lewis, who receives a knighthood for services to drama, is, like Smith, well known for his screen roles, but the Academy Award-winning actor’s stage appearances include the original production of Another Country, a revival of which is currently playing at the Trafalgar Studios.
They are joined on the list by fellow actor Damian Lewis, who was most recently seen on the London stage in 2009’s The Misanthrope at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Young Vic Artistic Director David Lan and John Berry, who has been at the helm of English National Opera since 2005. Lan and Berry receive CBEs, while Lewis is awarded an OBE.
Other performers to receive honours in this year’s birthday list are musical theatre advocate John Barrowman, who is the recipient of an MBE for services to light entertainment and charity, and Scottish actress Phyllida Law, whose London stage credits include La Cage Aux Folles at the London Palladium. Law is awarded an OBE.
Writers were also among those honoured in the 2014 list. Acclaimed author Hilary Mantel, whose Man Booker Prize-winning tales Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies are currently play at the Aldwych Theatre, was made a Dame for her services to literature, while playwright and theatre producer Femi Oguns, whose plays include Torn, receives an MBE for services to acting.
Other behind-the-scenes names to be recognised in the 2014 birthday list are choreographers Michael Clark and Rosemary Butcher, who receive a CBE and MBE respectively. Complicite producer Judith Dimant receives an MBE for services to theatre, lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe is awarded an OBE for services to the arts and wig designer Angela Cobbin is the recipient of an MBE for services to theatre and the community.