Farjeon, Joan Jefferson

Joan Frances Farjeon was born in 1913 in London. As an adolescent she attended the Lindores School in Bexhill-on-Sea and the Westminster School of Art. In 1939 she illustrated a collection of plays called Granny Gray, for her aunt, Eleanor Farjeon. She also designed the sets and costumes for all the plays by her friend, Nicholas Stuart Gray throughout her career. In the 1950s she designed sets and costumes at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge (England), the Pitlochry Festival and did many set designs in London including Agatha Christie's The Hollow (Fortune, 1951) and Verdict (Strand, 1958), Vernon Sylvaine's comedy starring Robertson Hare, Will Any Gentleman? (Strand, 1950), and Lock Up Your Daughters! (Mermaid, 1959). Sometime after 1955, she acted as amanuensis, officially titled "manager", for the TV cooks Johnnie and Fanny Cradock, suffered severe shock and burns when there was an explosion on the Cradocks' boat in Monte Carlo. In 1968 she became resident designer at the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art, creating memorable sets for productions in the tiny Chanticleer Theatre into the 1990s.She died in Northwood, Middlesex on 2006 August 8.