Actors go where real people fear to tread
In the Garden, 31 May 2026
It’s an actor’s privilege to maintain artistic neutrality while preserving individual belief; no human agency can silence me, in performance or life, which is so tiring that I am always thankful for the ineffable peace of a summer’s evenng!
“Human universal rights begin [in] the world of the individual person”, Eleanor Roosevelt, 1958
I was privileged to give the Readings from inspiring speeches of three key figures in the United Nations, urging all of us to give voice to the call for peace, at a Choral Concert given by UNA Tunbridge Wells and Wealden.
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person….without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
Eleanor Roosevelt, On Human Rights and Global Responsibility, 1958
The event celebrated the joy of life and looked forward with seriousness to building a UN fit for the 21st century by supporting sustainable development and human rights while pushing for peace.
“Peace, to have meaning for many who have only known suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health and education, as well as freedom and human dignity”
Ralph Bunche, Nobel Prize lecture, 1950.
I am honoured to be a reader at a Choral Concert celebrating the 80th anniversary of the United Nations at the beautiful baroque church of King Charles The Martyr in Tunbridge Wells, an event which will unite historic achievements with the urgency of promoting peace, human rights and social progress, including access to healthcare and education, in the world now. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/choral-concert-with-una-tunbridge-wells-wealden-tickets-1630087398289
Photo of Pippa Rathborne by Martin Hübscher © 2025
Pippa Rathborne in Appointment With A Predator,
a one-act adaptation of an unpublished play by Susannah Corwin,
performed at Food For Thought, Tunbridge Wells on 4 June, 2025
Giacomo Serpotta (1656 – 1732), “Fortitude” 1710 – 17 White stucco and gilding, height 200 cm
Oratorio del Rosario di San Domenico, Palermo
She’s Selfie ready. Dressed for the life she wants,
wearing her favourite high-heeled shoes,
breastplate bodice and plumed headdress,
a young woman leans her elbow on the pillar of patience.
She’s overacting nonchalance a bit, perhaps,
but we must review her bravado performance in the context of war,
pestilence, fire and flood while all she loves is being destroyed.
She quietly points her finger at oppressors everywhere.
In a great classical tradition, this stylishly dressed warrior
poses like “Patience on a monument, smiling at grief”.
She never gives up.
She’s made of stucco, cement plaster,
which is more lightweight and flexible than stone.
She makes no apology for her beauty or her fashion choices.
She’s feminine and cute and she’s not a victim.
Tyrants and misogynists (can you be one without being the other?) will never defeat her.
She’s got a strategy.
Her gaze is fixed on the longest battle.
She doesn’t like what she sees, but she will never give in;
she will never betray her brand by going into denial or accepting defeat.
When other people make snarky remarks about her
posing in a Rococo niche,
wearing non-sensible FU shoes,
she knows her footwear is empowering and enviable,
ridiculous and gorgeous, feminist and irrepressibly feminine.
She exemplifies the moral courage of sticking to her post
“because it is noble to do so, or because it is disgraceful not to do so.”
(Aristotle talking about warfare.)
She is Fortitude.
We should all follow her example by helping Ukraine win and defending innocent victims of dictators everywhere.
This photograph was an attempt to capture a sublime moment overlooking the deceptively calm Baltic sea during a break from filming in Helsinki on an exciting project with an outstanding Finnish director, producer and crew.
NDA conditions so no more details until 2026!
A very happy job in a great city built by people who protect nature and truth.
Celebrate the magical romance of Christmas by listening to the stories of the late Barbara Metzger, available on Audible, narrated by Pippa Rathborne.
Metzger imbued the Regency romance genre with mischievous wit, slapstick comedy
and the redemptive powers of fantasy and family.
Listen to a sample and download AN ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS in USA
Listen to a sample and download AN ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS in UK
Listen to a sample and download FATHER CHRISTMAS in UK
Listen to a sample and download FATHER CHRISTMAS in USA
Listen to a sample and download GREETINGS OF THE SEASON in UK
Listen to a sample and download GREETINGS OF THE SEASON in USA
Pippa Rathborne 