Avis Bunnage

Mildred Avis Bunnage, born on 22 April 1923 in Ardwick, Manchester, was an English actress whose career spanned stage, film, and television. She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School before working as a secretary and a nursery teacher. She eventually pursued acting professionally, making her first stage appearance at Chorlton Rep Theatre in Manchester in 1947 after gaining experience in repertory theatre.

Bunnage became closely associated with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, where she originated the role of Helen, the mother, in A Taste of Honey. The production subsequently transferred to Wyndham's Theatre in the West End, marking her West End debut. She also appeared in Oh, What a Lovely War! at Stratford East, a production that likewise transferred to Wyndham's Theatre. During a two-week absence from that production, her role was covered by Danny La Rue. Additional Theatre Workshop credits included Mrs. Lovett in Christopher Bond's Sweeney Todd, which later served as the basis for the Sondheim musical, and the title role in a play about music hall performer Marie Lloyd.

In 1960, Bunnage brought her Theatre Workshop work to Broadway, appearing in The Hostage. Beyond her Stratford East and Broadway engagements, she performed in the musical Billy at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, playing the mother of Billy Liar, and took on the role of Golda in Fiddler on the Roof opposite Alfie Bass at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.

Her film work included several British New Wave productions, among them Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. On television, she appeared in an episode of The Frighteners alongside Victor Maddern in 1972, played Veronica, the estranged wife of Rupert Rigsby portrayed by Leonard Rossiter, in Rising Damp, and featured in an episode of Wodehouse Playhouse in 1978. She also appeared as Amy Jenkinson in eleven episodes of In Loving Memory. In the early run of Coronation Street, she played Lucille Hewitt's aunt.

Married to Derek Orchard, Bunnage died on 4 October 1990 in Thorpe Bay, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, at the age of 67.