James Borthwick

James Borthwick (1948-) is a bilingual (Afrikaans and English) actor.

THIS ENTRY BEING EDITED

Biography

Born in Durban on 12 November 1948, he studied Speech and Drama at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg( 1971 – 1973) and in 1974 joined the Performing Arts Council of the Orange Free State (PACOFS) as an assistant stage manager and starting his acting career later the same year. He spent 1976 at PACT, before returning to PACOFS until 1978, when he became freelance for a number of years, before joining PACT again in 1983.

He also turned to film and TV in the the mid 1970s, and from 1996 onwards tended to do more of his work in those media forms, though still active on stage as well - particularly in musical theatre in the latter period.

Married to actress Rika Sennett and father of Kate Borthwick and Hannah Borthwick.

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

As stage actor

1974-1978

He started his professional acting career with PACOFS (1974-1978), appearing as various characters in the Free State touring schools programme and library programme, as well as playing "Green Eyes" in Jean Genet's Deathwatch and various characters in Brecht's Die Goeie Mens van Setzuan in the first year. His initial PACOFS period (1974-1975) went on to include appearances in "Theodore" in Chekhov's The Wood Demon, "Bottom" in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, "Tommy" in Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?, "El Gallo" in The Fantasticks, "Mariechen", the cat in The Dragon and "Choobukov" in Chekhov's The Proposal.

In 1976 he had a brief period acting for PACT, playing "Jim" in The Rainmaker (Nash), various roles in Jabberwocky Hopscotch (Elaine Davie), various roles in Witwater se Mense (M. I. Murray and Poon Meyer), "Brer Terrapin" in Brer Rabbit (John English), "Pooh" in Winnie the Pooh (A. A. Milne)

In 1977 he returned to PACOFS for two more years. In 1977 he played "Orgon" in Die Huigelaar (Afrikaans version of Tartuffe by Moliere), "Pseudolus" in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Larry Gelbart and Bert Shevelove), "Artie" in The House of Blue Leaves (John Guare), "Lopakhin" in The Cherry Orchard (Chekhov), "The Musician" Kinkels Innie Kabel (Brink) and "Tybalt" in Romeo and Juliet. In 1978 his roles included "Sir Frances Chesney" in Charley's Aunt (Brandon Thomas), "Pepe Hernandez" El Grande de Coca Cola (John Neville et al.), "Toby Belch" in Twelfth Night, "Andrey" in Three Sisters (Chekhov) and "Don" in People are Living There (Fugard). In this year he was received the Piers Nicholson Award for his contribution to theatre in the Orange Free State Province as well as the André Huguenet Prize as Best Actor.

1979-1997

He then moved to the Transvaal to do most of his stage work for PACT for years (1979-1997). Roles in this period included:

'n Maand op die Platteland (Turgenev, 1979), "The Porter" in Macbeth (Shakespeare, 1980), "Salinas" The Royal Hunt of the Sun (Shaffer, 1981), "Tom Snout" in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare, 1981), "Crossley" in Murder by Proxy (Leslie Darbon. The World Premiere at the Intimate Theatre, Johannesburg, 1981), "Julien" in As die Turksvy Blom (1982).

He then did two shows for CAPAB in 1982, namely "Bussy" in The Spare Room and "Caliban" in The Tempest, before returning to PACT.

1983: For PACT: "Bob Acres" The Rivals, "Everyman" in Everyman (A. C. Crawley), "Murat" in The Rise and Fall of the First Empress Bonaparte (P.D. Uys), "Flash Harry" in Dry Rot (John Chapman), "Jake Latta" in The Night of the Iguana (Tennessee Williams) and "The Pirate Captain" in Robinson Crusoe. A Christmas Pantomime (John Moss).

1984 For PACT he appeared in "Jan" in Brothers (Victor Graham), "Pistorius" in Die Hand Vol Vere (A.P. Brink) and Brothers of the Head (Brian W. Aldiss, various roles), and for PACOFS he did Don Dinges met die Groen Broek (as "Don Martin").

1985 For PACT: "Eddie Vosper" in Sufficient Carbohydrate (Dennis Potter), "Vanya" in Uncle Vanya (Dalro Award Best Actor Nomination), "Stanislavski" in Chekhov in Yalta (John Driver and Jeffrey Haddow) and "Corky" and "Charlie" in Under the Oaks and Over the Hill (Double Bill by Paul Slabolepszy).

1986 For PACT: "Jim Casey" The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck, Dalro Award for Best Supporting Actor), "Alec" in Comrades (Victor Gordon), "Petrin" in Wild Honey (Frayn) and "Truscott" in Loot (Orton)

1987 For PACT: Looking-Glass (Sutton and Mandelberg), "Petrucio" in The Taming of the Shrew, Die Prys (Wilson and De Lancey), Strider (Rozovsky), Social Security (Bergman) and "Dame Snapdragon" in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Honeyman).

1988 For PACT: "Richard" in The Lion in Winter (Goldman), "Polixenes" in A Winter's Tale, Travelling Shots (Slabolepszy) and "Captain Wilder" in The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury).

1989 For PACT: Summer with Monika (60’s Songs and Poetry), The Car (Barrett), "Oscar Hubbard" in The Little Foxes (Hellman), "Oliver" in As You Like It, "Kerner" in Hapgood (Stoppard), "Corky" and "Charley" in Under the Oaks and Over the Hill (Slabolepszy).

1990 For PACT: "Die Mens" in Koue Oorlog (Jozef Van Hoek), "Dorin" in The Seagull (Chekhov), God's Country (Steven Dietz), "Brady" in Inherit the Wind (Lawrence and Lee) and "Sir Poensface Ponce-a-lot" in Sleeping Beauty (Honeyman).

1991 For NAPAC: "Salieri" in Amadeus (Schaffer, Natal Vita Award for Best Actor). For PACT: "Dr Prentice" in What the Butler Saw (Orton), "Neels" in Watercolour Days (Kalmer) and "Lucky" in Waiting for Godot (Beckett)

1992 For PACT: "Sarel" in As die Kat Weg Is (Mortimer and Cook), "Aston" in The Caretaker (Pinter), "Vershinin" in The Three Sisters (Chekhov), Die Tragedie van Cymbeline (Shakespeare, Various Roles) and "Klapperdop" in Doringrosie (Honeyman).

1993 For PACT: "Sellers" in Tsamphumph (Ian Roberts), "Sarel" in As die Kat Weg Is, "Kloppitieklop" in Snow White (Honeyman)

1994 For PACT: "Sarel" in Is die Muis Baas? (Yeldham and Churchill), "Salvatore" in Victoria Almost Falls (Slabolepszy),

1995 "Gordon" in Neville’s Island (Firth), "Corky" in Tickle To Fine Leg (Slabolepszy, Vita Award as Best Actor in Natal)

1996 All in the Timing (Ives. Various roles), "Ernest De Farge" in A Tale of Two Cities (adapted by Janice Honeyman)

1997 -2010

From 1997 till 2010 Borthwick's main focus began shifting to film and TV, though he still did some freelance stage work in this period.

Among the roles he played were "Papa Louw" in The Dead Wait (Paul Herzberg, 1997), "Corky" in Life's a Pitch (Slabolepszy, 1999. Co-Winner of the award for Best Actor in a Comedy, with Graham Hopkins), "Gregory de Witt" in Crashing the Night (Slabolepszy, 2000), "Corky" in It's Just Not Cricket (Slabolepszy, 2003), "Steve du Toit" in Whole in One (Slabolepszy, 2003), "Astrov" Uncle Vanya (2004 , in [Afrikaans]] and English; Fleur Du Cap Award For Best Supporting Actor), "Barry Sutherland" in King Of Laughter (Craig Freimond, 2004), "Tolchakov" in A Tragic Role (Chekhov, 2004), "Baron Platsak" in Cinderella (Honeyman, 2004), 2005, "Sarel" in As die Kat Weg Is... (2005), "Sarel" in Is die Muis Baas? (2006), "Willy" in Willy's Ark]] (Collocott, 2007), Scrooge The Trial Of Ebenezer Scrooge (Mark Brown, 2007)

From 2011 onwards

In 2010 Borthwick played "Juan Peron" in Evita, receiving both a Naledi Award and a Fleur du Cap Award for Best Performance in a Musical. With this his stage career shifted again, with musical theatre becoming a major focus alongside continuing TV and film work.

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2000 Gregory De Witt In Paul Slabolepszy’s Crashing The Night

         (Vita Nomination For Best Actor In A Comedy) 
          Scoop In The Tv Sit-Com Scoop Choombie

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2001 Scoop In Tv Sit-Com Scoop Schoombie

2005 Sarel In As Die Kat Weg Is

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2006 Sarel In Is Die Muis Baas?

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2007 Willy In Jenine Collocott’s Willy’s Ark

         Scrooge In Mark Brown’s The Trial Of Ebenezer Scrooge
         Scandal (Tv Soap)
         Hansie (Feature Film)
         Erfsondes (Tv Series)

---

2008 Molokov In Rice Et Al’s Chess***

         (Naledi Nomination For Best Supporting Actor)
         Markus In Andries Vrey’s Markus 16
         Graham Chapman In Roy Smiles’ Pythonesque
          Ronald Shaw In Rhythm City (Tv Soap)
          Dewey In Feast Of The Uninvited (Tv Series)
          Hillside (Tv Series)

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2009 Rhythm City (Cont)

         Konsternasie Oppie Stasie (Tv Sitcom)
         Wild At Heart (Hallmark)
         In A Time Without Love (Student Film)
         Pool In Opentoe By Schalk Schoombie

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2010 Rhythm City (Cont)

         Father Stubbs In Biko.
         Juan Peron In Evita***
         (Naledi And Fleur Du Cap Awards For Best Performance In A Musical)

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2011 Rhythm City (Cont)

        Corporate One Man Performance For Sasol, Produced By Jumping Dust Productions
        Evita Continued To April
        Various Roles In Gilbert And Sullivan’s The Pirates Of Penzance
        (Naledi Award Nomination For Best Performance In A Comedy)
        (Naledi Award For Best Ensemble)
        Firmin In The Phantom Of The Opera

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2012 Rhythm City (Cont)

         Phantom Of The Opera (Cont)
         Willy In The Comedy Series On The Couch 
         Mtn Corporate Roadshow
         Phantom Of The Opera  Tour To The Philippines And South Korea

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2013 Phantom Of The Opera In Seoul

        Rhythm City (Cont)
        Max Von Mayerling In Sunset Boulevard***
        (Fleur Du Cap Nomination For Best Supporting Actor In A Musical)
        (Naledi Nomination For Best Performance In A Musical)

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2014 Max Detweiler In The Sound Of Music (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xingdao, Chongqing, New Zealand)

        (Fleur Du Cap Nomination For Best Supporting Actor In A Musical)
        Rhythm City (Cont)

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2015 R. F. Simpson In Singin’ In The Rain (Tour To New Zealand, Singapore, Manila And Hong Kong)

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2016 Singin’ In The Rain Continued (Cape Town, Johannesburg)

         Ferdie Kruger In Kyknet Tv Series Hotel
         (Safta Nomination For Best Actor In A Tv Comedy Series)
         (Safta Award For Best Actor In A Tv Comedy Series)
          De Wet Nel In Us Tv Series Madiba 
          Brezhnev In British Netflix Series Crown
          Santa Claus In Tv Commercial For Ok

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2017 Bob In Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, Johannesburg, Cape Town And Hong Kong

        Mike In 7de Laan (Sabc)
        Ferdie Kruger In Kyknet Tv, Series 2 Of Hotel
        (Safta Nomination For Best Actor In A Tv Comedy Series) 
        Ackers In The Feature Film, Ander Mens.

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2018 Doc In West Side Story, Cape Town

        Ferdie Kruger In Kyknet Series 3 Of Hotel

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2019 Firmin In Phantom Of The Opera (World Tour….Philippines, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Busan: S. Korea).

        Ferdie Kruger In Kyknet Series 4 Of Hotel.

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2020 Firmin In Phantom Of The Opera (World Tour, Cont. Seoul, Daegu, Taipei (Taiwan)

2021 Frank In Little Big Mouth (Feature Film For Netflix, Directed By Gray And Ziggy Hofmeyr).

(Safta Nomination For Best Actor In A Comedy Series For Ongoing Broadcast Of Hotel) (Safta Award For Best Actor In A Comedy Series For Ferdie Kruger In Hotel)

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2022 Dirk In Christelle Vd Bergh Se Aangetroud

        Dad In Do Your Worst
        Leon In Telenovela Diepe Waters

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2023 .... Venter.In Taktiek, Afrikaans Comedy Series

              Leon In Diepe Waters
              Holiday Couple In Safari Romance For Hallmark.
              Worsie Ferreira In Diamond Status For Amazon Prime

(Safta Nomination For Ferdi In Hotel 5) (Safta Award For Ferdi In Hotel 5)

               Henry Hartman In A Marry Little Christmas For The Market Theatre.

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2024 Some Van Twee, Afrikaans Feature Film.

              Firmin In Phantom Of The Opera, World Tour, (China, India And Singapore) 
            (Silwerskerm Nomination For Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series For
Taktiek)
           (Silwerskerm Nomination For Best Actor In A Feature Film For Som Van Twee))
           (Silwerskerm Award For Best Actor In A Feature Film For Som Van Twee).

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2025 Firmin In Phantom Of The Opera (Cont).

He worked for PACT for a number of years in the 1980s, appearing in numerous stage productions, including Murder by Proxy (Intimate Theatre, 1981); The Rivals (1983), Terrence Shank’s stage adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath; Chekhov in Yalta and Uncle Vanya (1986); Loot (1986), The Winter's Tale for PACT in 1988, Hapgood (1989).

He later appeared in a number of plays by Paul Slabolepszy, including Travelling Shots (which includes the monolgue Abnormal Load), Tickle to Fine Leg, Life's a Pitch (1998), Crashing the Night (2000).

Other plays include The Dead Wait (1997), Blackage (1997), Craig Freimond’s The King of Laughter (2006), Evita (2011), Sunset Boulevard (2013), Priscilla Queen of the Desert (2017).

Film/television

He made his first appearance in films and on TV in 1976, with a role in Kobus Louw's popular TV series Dokter, Dokter and Athol Fugard's film The Guest/Die Besoeker.

Other TV work:

Drie Susters (as "Tusenbach", 1984), Tv Sitcom Senor Smith (1985), Tv Series Die Mannheim Sage (1985), Homeland (Series, 1986), The Fourth Reich (TV Series and Feature Film, 1988), Going Up (1993), "Brigham De Jager" in Mmg Engineers (1994), Gabriël, Hillside, Konsternasie Oppie Stasie, Scoop Schoombie (2001-2004), Erfsondes (2007-), On the Couch (2008-), Van der Walt's Fault, "Kerner" in Hapgood (Stoppard), "Rockbottom" in Rockbottom and Co (Beynon), Going Up (1997), Buang, Let’s Talk (Educational TV, 1997), Going Up (1998), Isidingo (1998), "Scoop" in Scoop Schoombie (2000-2001),

Other film work:

His film career has included roles in The Guest/Die Besoeker (1976), Skollie (the feature film, 1984), Magic Is Alive My Friends (1985), Wie Laaste Lag (1986), Sweet and Short (Leon Schuster, 1993), Old Wive's Tale (1998, Avanti Award as Best Actor)

As director

He directed Aladdin (in Sjiena) in 1994.

Awards, etc.

Among many awards he was was nominated for over the years, he was awarded a DALRO Award and Piers Nicholson Award 1978, a Fleur du Cap Award as best actor for Evita (in 2011)

Sources

CV of James Borthwick, submitted to ESAT by Borthwick on 24 September, 2025.

Profile of James Borthwick in the 1985 programme of the Standard Bank National Arts Festival, p.29.

https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Borthwick

Limelight 1979/80.

Rapport-Tydskrif, 22 May 1988.

Various entries in the NELM catalogue.

https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?role=nm1338489

See ESAT Bibliography

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