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. Biography One of nine children, her parents were Jewish immigrants who moved from Wilno, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania) to Glasgow at the end of the 19th century. Ida attended Abbotsford Primary School in the Gorbals. Ida's older sister, Ray, married Avrom Greenbaum, who founded the Glasgow Jewish Institute Players, and her brother, Leon Schuster, was production manager for GJIP, and, later, when it merged with other groups, Glasgow Unity Theatre. Ida began acting at the age of 15, and was a prominent member of both theatre troupes. 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.” 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. 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. The couple had two children, Howard and Peter. Schuster died on 9 April 2020, at the age of 101. Theatrical productions The Dybbuk - first major role, as part of The Festival of Jewish Arts at Glasgow's McLellan Galleries, which responded to, and coincided with the Festival of Britain (4-25 February 1951) Blood Wedding (18-29 November 1952) - A GJIP production, with Schuster playing the role of The Mother Morning Star (1959) - GJIP's revival of the Sylvia Regan play Various productions as part of the Citizens' Theatre (Season 1962-63): A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams The Good Woman of Setzuan by Bertolt Brecht (première of new translation by John Willett) Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw