Ralph Lawson

Ralph Lawson (194*-) is an actor and director.

TO BE EDITED

He was born and grew up in Cape Town, studied at the University of Cape Town Drama Department and the Central School for Speech and Drama, London.

Contribution to South African theatre, film, media and performance

In a career that spans more than four decades, Lawson's contribution has been significant, including landmark roles as writer, actor and director, working with most theatre managements in the country, as well as lecturing and actively involving himself in a number of drama development programmes, inter alia in in Cape Town and Durban.

As an actor

He made his professional debut as "Ariel" in the PACOFS production of The Tempest under the direction of Leslie French in 1968.

After 11 years of working in theatre and television in England, Ralph returned to South Africa in 1981 to play the role of "Mozart" in Pieter Toerien's production of Amadeus, thereafter becoming a freelance actor/director, working for most theatre managements, including the various arts councils - CAPAB (Artscape), NAPAC PACOFS and PACT, as well as the Market Theatre, Pieter Toerien Productions, the Baxter Theatre and others.

The numerous roles played over the four decades of his career have included appearances in "Mozart" in Amadeus (1981), The Importance of Being Earnest (1982), The Dining Room (1983), Noises Off (1983), Measure for Measure (Maynardville, 1987), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1988), Richard II (1990), Good (as "Halder", 1990), Hamlet (1992 and 2007), Into the Woods (1997), Race (2011)

As director

He began directing in the late 1980s, pieces including Panorama (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1988), Rearranging the Deckchairs on the SA Bothatanic (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1987), A Long Day's Journey into Night (Eugene O'Neill, CAPAB, 1989), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Maynardville, 1993), The Shakespeare Revue (1997), Annie, The Sound Of Music, My Fair Lady, Masterclass and Cinderella, Hello & Goodbye (Artscape, 2000/2001), Hello and Goodbye (co-directed with Pedro Kruger, 2008)

South African director, Ralph Lawson, is well known to audiences for his award-winning work both as an actor and a director. His career spans four decades, with landmark roles ranging from Shakespeare's Hamlet to Mozart in Shaffer's Amadeus and the Narrator in Sondheim's Into The Woods. Over the years he has worked with most theatre managements, from the Market to Pieter Toerien Productions, the Baxter Theatre and Artscape, has taught widely and been active in drama development programmes in Cape Town and Durban. Lawson has enjoyed a long and illustrious association with The Playhouse having directed the musicals Annie and The Sound Of Music, My Fair Lady (Durban Theatre Award – Best Director), Masterclass (Durban Theatre Award - Best Director) and most recently Cinderella (Durban Theatre Award – Best Director), where he followed his acclaimed performance as Prof. Higgins in My Fair Lady (Durban Theatre Award – Best Actor in a Musical) with an appearance in David Mamet's Race.

He directed

As playwright

Work in TV and film

He has appeared in the television series The Principal.

Awards

Fleur du Cap Theatre Award - Best Supporting Actor: "Mozart" in Amadeus (1981), Richard II (1990),

Fleur du Cap Theatre Award: Best director: A Long Day's Journey into Night (1989)

Durban Theatre Awards: My Fair Lady (Best Director and Best Actor in a Musical) Masterclass (director), Cinderella (director) Annie (director), The Sound of Music (director).

The Rosalie van der Gucht Prize for New Directors: Panorama (1988).

Vita Awards "Sigmund Freud" in Hysteria (Best actor).

Sources

Biography in Felicity Hand (Ed.). 2020. Durban Dialogues Dissected. An Analysis of Ashwin Singh's Plays. Stellenbosch: Sun Press.

Tucker, Percy 1997. Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.

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