Ida Schuster (28 September 1918 – 9 April 2020) was a Scottish theatre, radio and television actress, theatre director, and a leading figure in Glasgow's 20th-century Jewish theatre community.[1]
Biography
One of nine children, her parents were Jewish immigrants who moved from
Vilnius to Glasgow at the end of the 19th century.
Ida attended Abbotsford Primary School in the
Gorbals.[2]
Ida's older sister, Ray, married
Avrom Greenbaum, who founded the Glasgow Jewish Institute Players,[3] and her brother, Leon Schuster, was production manager for GJIP, and, later, when it merged with other groups,
Glasgow Unity Theatre.[4][5]
Ida began acting at the age of 15, and was a prominent member of both theatre troupes.[6][7][8] Glasgow Unity Theatre, was, she said: “...a particular response to a particular time. These were heady days and after the war we really felt utopia had arrived.”[5] She turned professional in the 1950s.
In 1973, she described her feelings about the artist within the community:
Well...the bridge games, the social activities for charities which form so much of the pattern, must be partly rejected if one is to survive with any creative energy. And as one grows older, responsibilities increase and energy decreases. This happens to all of us and youth takes over. Make no mistake, our young folk will be holding the reins with great expertise, well equipped for the battles which lie ahead.[2]
Personal life
Ida was married to Dr. Allan Berkeley until his death in 1990, after 45 years of marriage. At the time of his death, she was appearing in The Steamie and had to leave the cast.[9] The couple had two children, Howard and Peter.[10]
Schuster died on 9 April 2020, at the age of 101 from COVID-19.[11][12]
Daughters in Distress (1989) - Schuster was noted for a "tender, funny and uncommonly moving study"[23]
Musical Chairs (1993) - Schuster's performance noted as "worth an award in itself"[24]
As director
Amongst her work as a theatre director was the inaugural production (opening 12 May 1981) of Eine Kleine Nachmutze [Eine Kleine Nachtmusik][17] at the
Tron Theatre.
In 2020, Ida was described as "the world’s oldest podcaster", in reference to her recording of
Old School (for broadcaster Janice Forsyth’s Big Light company), in which she shared stories about her life and career.[17]
^"Glasgow's Jewish Institute players and their narratives of Scottish-Jewish identity". Jewish Culture and History. 20 (1): 85. 2019.
^"From the Gorbals to the Lower East Side: the Cosmopolitanism of the Glasgow Jewish Institute Players". New Theatre Quarterly. 34 (1): 67. February 2018.
^Various (1964). A Conspectus to Mark the Citizens' 21st Anniversary as a Living Theatre in Gorbals Street Glasgow. Citizens' Theatre. p. 62.
^"Legitimate: Shows Abroad". Variety. 244 (4): 74. 14 September 1966.