Sean is not just the name of my de facto brother-in-law-to-be; it is also the name of the late Peter O’Toole’s ex-wife. A celebrated actress and a Dame, Sian ( pronounced Sean) Phillips, happens to be one of my godmother’s closest friends. For years, every time I stayed in Oxford with my godmother, I would hear of Sian Philips, her new play, a new film, or her visits. Then, a few years back, when I moved to New York, my godmother finally felt I was ready to meet the Dame herself.
My first meeting with Sian was highly memorable. There we were, waiting in the Royal Overseas Club, facing the back of Buckingham Palace. Sian Phillips waltzed in, wearing a long linen dress. She kissed both my cheeks and, in the most gracious manner, asked the waiter to bring her a glass of ice-cold water. “I walked from Regent’s Park”, she announced. “That’s about 45 minutes”, I said very timidly, ‘Yes, Darling, that’s right, she said gaily, as she likes to address everyone as darling. “I like to walk around London”. I did not say it, but I knew that she was at least 89 years old, and this was a sign of remarkable mental and physical health. Her voice, polished, deep, and forceful. I was in awe the entirety of the lunch. For me, it was as if the Queen, her Majesty, herself had arrived. We talked, or Sian and Mrs.Wilson talked, and I listened and laughed. They shared amazing stories from the BBC, about O’Toole (her name for Peter O’Toole), and gardening, of course.
Last year, during the summer, my godmother treated a few of us to the musical Kiss Me Kate, playing at the Barbican, London. This alone was enough of a treat, but it was announced that Sian Phillips will be serving us tea in her flat before the show. Unsurprisingly, she lives inside the Barbican. I was puzzled by the idea of her serving us. But when we arrived from Oxford, there she was at the tube station, waiting for all of us. I was greeted with the same kind and gracious smile I had seen before. I have never failed to notice how generous Sian Philips is to people around her. She shares all of herself, without being overbearing. We were led to the flat upstairs, and she served us in the most unassuming manner a nice chocolate cake, strawberries, savoury scones, butter, and jam, with tea and coffee. We talked, as if we had known each other for ages. It felt like a dream, especially when she candidly started talking about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, like two normal people, with whom she shared apartments in New York and so on. I had to pinch myself to remind myself that this was real and I was sitting in the company of an old Hollywood legend. Just like that, it was brought up by my godmother that Sian also sang beautifully in Pal Joey, we did not talk much about that, because we were rushed to get to our show.
Once we returned to Oxford, I asked my godmother to find a YouTube performance of Sian Phillips’s song in Pal Joey. Perhaps this version of Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered remains one of my favourites, not only because it is Sian Philips and her voice transports you somewhere else. But also because her signing captures exactly the feelings I have for my beloved when he is around him. Even a glimpse of Ezra is enough to make me,
Wild again, beguiled again
A simpering, whimpering child again
Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered
