Peter Terry

Peter Terry (19**-) Actor, dramatist, poet and theatre administrator.

Biography

Born on 22 November 1950, he grew up in Grahamstown and trained at Rhodes University Drama Department. He was married to Patricia Ann Terry for a number of years.

best known for starring as nasty neighbour "Nige" in a long-running television commercial campaign for CTM (Ceramic Tile Market), from 1996-2006.

Terry was educated at St Andrew's Preparatory School and St Andrew's College, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, matriculating in 1967. He received a Bachelor of Arts (English and Speech & Drama) from Rhodes University in 1971 and later did a BA (Honours) in Theory of Drama at the University of Pretoria, in 1980.

He entered professional theatre in 1972 as a freelance actor and worked for the Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB) and the Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal (PACT), as actor and assistant stage manager. In 1973 he was contracted to PACT Drama and performed in a wide variety of English and Afrikaans plays in repertory theatre.

Peter later worked simultaneously as an administrator at PACT, first as assistant director of the PACT Drama Theatre-in-Education company (1978-1980) and later as Literary Adviser to PACT Drama, from 1980-1983. He researched, compiled and edited programmes for virtually all of PACT Drama's productions in the period 1981-1988.

As a fulltime member of PACT Drama's company of actors he appeared in many plays in both English and Afrikaans and was nominated for a Vita Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role of Don in Athol Fugard's Daar Leef Mense Daar, in 1985. He was also awarded the Hanekom Bursary for outstanding service to PACT Drama in 1988.

From 1989-1994 he held the post of Assistant Artistic Director of PACT Drama. His responsibilities included collaboration in all planning and artistic policy-making. In conjunction with the Artistic Director, he was responsible for all artistic and technical aspects of what was, for many years, the largest theatre company in South Africa.

He was also involved in annual audition tours, countrywide, to establish and engage emerging new talent; and made three overseas visits (in 1989, 1992 and 1994) on behalf of PACT Drama, to meet the major theatre agents in London and New York and to establish working relationships with these people in order to facilitate bidding for major new theatrical properties.

Terry directed the pantomime Sneeuwitjie En Die Sewe Dwergies, which subsequently transferred to the Wild Coast Sun, in English, in 1993. He also directed a Theatre-in-Education programme for High Schools, for PACT Drama in 1996 and was awarded a gold watch for 20 years' unbroken service to PACT at the end of 1992.

From 1994-1996 he was Administrative Head of PACT Drama and from 1997-2000 he was Artistic & Administrative Head of Drama, following restructuring of the company, which was renamed the State Theatre.

He was written a number of stage plays including Teer-en-veer: The Lamont Case, a documentary play produced by PACT Drama in 1974; Rapid Eye Movements, produced by PACT Drama in 1987, by the UCT Drama School in 1989 and the Wits University Drama School in 1990; Danny & The Desert Girl, a play for children about cross-cultural understanding, produced by PACT Drama in 1987; Evadne, White Princess of The Kurumbu, a satirical play about the rise of colonial racism, produced by PACT Drama in 1992; and Next of Kin, completed in August 1994.

Peter has appeared in a large number of feature films, television dramas, television commercials, corporate videos and radio plays; and has been very active for many years as a voice artist for hundreds of radio and television commercials, documentaries, magazine programmes and corporate videos.

He narrated the documentary film Lions of the Kalahari, which was accepted for exhibition at the 12th International Festival of the Ornithologique Film of Menigoute in France, and the 100th Anniversary Video for the Kruger Park, which won a gold medal at a Documentary Video Festival in the USA.

He also recorded two 13-part wildlife documentary series for Discovery and National Geographic.

Television series he has acted in include Generations, Project Fame, Scandal!, Justice for All, Erfsondes, Isidingo, The Bill, One Foot in the Grave, The Devil's Whore, Wild at Heart, Egoli, Home Affairs, Laugh Out Loud, Rockville, After 9 and The Wild, among others.

Feature films he has acted in include The Evil Below, Project Shadowchaser II, The Challenger Disaster and Shotgun Garfunkel.

Originally from Grahamstown, Peter currently resides in Johannesburg.

Career

After a brief spell at CAPAB, he joined PACT in 1972. Joined the PACT Youth Company as performer and later writer-director, taking over as head of PACT Playwork from Alwyn Swart in 1988*?. Gradually moved into management, eventually becoming the Head of Drama at PACT in 19**. In 2000 he left PACT to become a freelance actor, voice artist and dramatist. (??**).

Administrative head of Drama at the State Theatre, 2006.

Broadcaster on Classic FM, 2017.

Became nationally known as "Nige" in the tile advert

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Performed in a number of the PACT Company’s plays in the 1980s. His plays include **, **. As director he did Romeo and Juliet (PACT Playwork, 197*), **.

As actor he appeared in the PACT production of The State Theatre Overflow Show together with James White, Pamela Gien and Michael McCabe with direction by Nigel Vermaas at the Arena Bistro in 1981.

He had roles in Alive and Kicking, Daar Leef Mense Daar, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Lady from Dubuque, Die Emigrante, Wild Honey, Tom Jones. The Princess of Kurumbu, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, Die Opstand van die Narre, The Comedy of Errors, Animal Farm, Translations, The Playboy of the Western World (1971), Richard Gush of Salem, Echoes of Anger, Pantagleize, The Exception and the Rule, The Crucible, Dream of the Dog (2007).