Quoted by Dominic Penna in the Daily Telegraph, 2 June 2021
Quoted by Mark Bridge in The Times, 2 June 2021
Where did the 'storians get the idea that Electra Yaras was an "actress"?
Was it their brain-child, the gentleman-in-question, or simply a by-product of random googling?
Perhaps a combination of these, but let's test the latter hypothesis, shall we?
Electra Yaras dressed in a Greek traditional costume © Andrew Yaras
If we google out Electra Yaras' name, all we get is a link to the "Daily Telegraph" of 2 June 2021 - as in the screenshot above.
Now, if we search for "Electra Yaras" + "actress" nothing happens, but when we search for "Electra Yaras" + "Theatre" = Bingo!
Electra's name does appear in the credits of a Shakespeare's play entitled: "Two Gentlemen of Verona" that was staged in 1951 at the Questors - an amateurs' venue in Ealing. A drama club.
Did the 'storians (assuming this information came from them) double-check the source for more details? Or did the preliminary result suit their assumptions - or their mentor's agenda ?
Guesstimates aside, the fact remains that a past-time, a hobby, is not a profession!
Suppose Electra Yaras had a bicycle and enjoyed cycling - which she did - should she have been described in their piece as a "former cyclist"?
I decided to e-mail The Questors for more details...
Mr. John Dobson, the archives' Director, was kind enough to indulge me.
He replied:
"It seems that Electra was only with The Questors' for a very brief period..." He wrote back.
A very brief period? What did that mean?
It meant that Electra may have, taken part in an amateur play or two.
But who hasn't? Even Prince Charles has!
The point is that was not her profession (nor the Prince's) unless, of course, there was a vested interest in portraying her as an actress.
If not, why describe Mrs. Yaras as a "former actress" solely on the basis of her appearance as an extra on an amateurs' stage?
My guess is that they could have been trying to suggest - or imply - that there had been some sort of acquaintance, some tacit agreement between two actresses - her and Adrienne Corri (a well-known actress) - to stage the "myth" of Lillie Langtry and Leighton House!
Far-fetching?
Actors are known to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances so, by turning a "tour director" - who had taken part in an amateur's play or two - into a full-fledged actress, absurd as it may seem, may have suited the "scoop" they had in mind ...
Actors are known to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances so, by turning a "tour director" - who had taken part in an amateur's play or two - into a full-fledged actress, absurd as it may seem, may have suited the "scoop" they had in mind ...
Actors (denotation) represent - or in common parlance pretend (connotation) - and so, here we had "two actresses" on the stage of ongoing events lying, pretending Lille Langtry had lived in Leighton House and trying to prevent its demolition ...
Pure Semiotics!
Was this deliberate on their part?
Not necessarily ...
Assumptions could have been made on the basis of what is known in Logic as "poorly differentiated and emotionally distorted perceptions".
Perhaps they did not take the time to investigate things properly and overlooked some evidence. It can happen (...)
One thing was for sure, the story made headlines and reached the Pedia via the gentleman in question. Funny how conspiracy theories work (...)
I then proceeded to double-check this with Andrew Yaras, who was just as surprised!
Here is what he thought:
* His mother was involved in the Greek cultural scene in London ...
* She was a friend of Lady Crosfield ...
Portrait of Lady Crosfield by Philip Alexius de Laszlo (1923)
* Lady Crosfield, was a leading player in numerous Greek cultural organizations ...
* His mother was, likewise, part of a Hellenic traditional dancing amateur group that performed at various charitable events in London ...
* As a part of her Greek traditional dancing activities, she may have been involved in some amateur dramatics for a very short period in the early 1950’s ...
* He drew my attention to the following:
* He drew my attention to the following:
You can see from the Questors programme of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" - Andrew went on - that she was also mentioned among the musicians and dancers. She was probably helping someone she knew and was among the dancers and joined in with another part to help with the production - as is quite common with amateur theatrical productions - everybody mucks in...
He gave me a good example of this ...
* If you check the programme for the play ‘By Further Request’ (Questors, January '51) you will find that on page 7, Electra Yaras is credited with the dance costumes. Shouldn't the 'storians have described her as a "former costumier" -instead of a "former actress" in the 1950s?
Good point!
Moreover, the role of Ursula is a very minor one. More of an extra, really. Anyone (given the right costume) could have done it. No special dramatic skills were necessary ...
If you check with a Shakespeare's website, the sole description of Ursula you will find is on Act4:
Scene 4, line 125. Sylvia, calling Ursula: "Bring my picture there!".
That's it. Not a word spoken by Ursula. It is evident that hers was an extra's role!
IN SUM:
Electra Yaras was not an actress - or a cyclist, or a costumier or a dancer! An amateur in these areas perhaps, but professionally she was a Tour Director - as the press correctly reported back in the middle 1960s and early 1970s.
Why describe her in 2021 as a "former actress" in the context of Adrienne Corri? You tell me ...
Another important point is that Electra Yaras was not a friend or even acquainted with Adrienne Corri (...)
Not until she came knocking on Leighton House's door in 1971 - and by then, as we now know, the legend of Lillie Langtry connection with Leighton House, was already in place - and had been certainly since 1950 and perhaps as far back as 1914 - or beyond - as I have suggested in a previous post.
There really was no need for a tacit agreement between "two actresses" to create the myth of Lillie Langtry to try to prevent Leighton House from being demolished - except perhaps to push a story.
Electra was simply not an actress - and was not acquanted with Adrienne Corri ...
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