The new EP from Olga Thomas is titled “For Susannah York – A Cinematic Suite (Shades of Screen).”
The pair first met during the stage production of “The Cherry Orchard.” Susannah was the leading actress, and Olga was the production’s composer. Olga shares that she had followed Susannah’s career, as the actress was one of her mother’s favorites. When they met, there was a mutual respect and camaraderie that led to a decades-long friendship.
Olga lovingly speaks of Susannah’s character. Despite being a renowned and celebrated actress, she had no airs or graces. Olga explains, “She was the easiest one to work with, the least carried away with anything… Once in the program… instead of putting her as a leading part, Ranevskaya, somebody made a mistake… she was put as the station master.” The part is on stage for barely two minutes. “She laughed so much about it, she found it hilarious, and that was that,” Olga says, explaining Susannah didn’t even ask for the program to be updated.
Susannah was an important figure in Olga’s career, encouraging and supporting her charitable endeavors. Olga shares that while many celebrities like to remind charities of how fortunate they are to have them, for Susannah, it was the opposite. “It was so organic, like it was her need to do it… almost like I was doing her the favor, letting her do something good for me, and that is an absolutely unique quality. As brilliant an actress as she was, she wasn’t faking it; it was genuine.”
Susannah was also the first person to encourage Olga in her literary pursuits. Although Olga finds inspiration in everyday moments, she also often uses plots and characters. Usually, these elements fall away, and only the music remains. However, with one story in particular, this was not the case. She wrote two songs, “Insecurity Alert” and “Inverted Snobbery,” but her desire to tell the story was not satisfied. “These songs came as a result of a certain plot that was running in my head… that was maybe the only case when the story, the plot, instead of disappearing, kept staying and insisting, and said, ‘I will not go away,’ and it kept turning into a story more and more. Eventually, the only person whom I dared to tell about it was Susannah. I told her absolutely everything—the plot, the story. And she said, ‘Well, we are doing it, and I’m playing such a part.’” It was the beginning of DejaVu Revisited: A Masquerade of Memory and Mystery.
Tragically, in 2011, Susannah passed away suddenly, leaving a huge loss for those who loved her. Olga had previously composed “Susannah’s Waltz” based on the theme of The Cherry Orchard. Now, however, there was a new theme that begged for notes. It started, in her words, as a sketch. “It is within me, but from the moment it was released, I had a little voice that was telling me, it is a sketch. It is a pencil sketch… and now your job is to do more with it, and I thought, one day I will do more with it.” Amidst the grief and busyness that followed, the composition brought comfort, but Olga knew it was not yet complete.
Fast forward to 2025: the story “DejaVu Revised,” which she had been encouraged to write, was published on Amazon and made the Hot 50 list in two categories. It was a surprise to Olga, who admits she’s shy about sharing this side of herself. She did no promotion for it and was amazed by the reviews she received. She has since been adapting the story into a television script.
As exciting as all of this was, she could hear Susannah’s voice clearly in her mind. “I am very much having Susan on my mind… I just feel her so strongly at the moment that maybe that stimulated it, because my love and admiration for her didn’t lessen through the years.” Her son, in fact, felt the same and shared with Olga that his mother was watching her from the clouds. “And I felt, mom from the cloud.” Olga felt an irresistible urge in her soul that now was the time to finish the theme she had created. “I could not resist it anymore. It sort of took a life of its own, and it said, I want to be done now. No more delays.”
Now, the simple reverie piece Olga originally composed has two more settings: “Shadows and Silk” and “She Remains,” a loving tribute to a friend and mentor. Olga says, “I did try to capture her character, her complexity, her many levels. That’s why, in a way, it’s shades of not only the screen, but shades of Susannah in all her complexity… For me, Susannah represents the light in the best sense of this word. She is the light. When people like that, even temporarily, come into our lives—sometimes longer, sometimes shorter—when we are given this gift of meeting and getting to know each other, this light will glow forever…. She’s a star, and we know that stars, even when they fall—but not in the real sense—we see the light for centuries after that. Susannah is one of those stars that will brighten and light our way, I think, forever. I want people to remember her… I want to make sure she is remembered and acknowledged properly, because she deserves it. She is a very special person, and she is with us. She remains.”