Malcolm Terrey

Malcolm Terrey (19*-2020). British-born actor, director, playwright and designer.

Biography

Born and educated in Bournemouth, England, he began his career as a cabaret artist, before appearing in many musical comedies, plays, variety shows, T.V. shows and radio plays. He spent three years in repertory theatre and seven consecutive years playing Dame in pantomime. Then followed a year of taking his clothes off in Oh, Calcutta!.

Terrey initially moved to Lesotho and then on to South Africa in 1982, ultimately settling in Johannesburg.

A diabetic, he passed away in Johannesburg on 2 December, 2020, after period of illness.

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

In South Africa made a successful career as a performer, writer and designer , being involved with numerous musical comedies, plays, variety shows, T.V. shows, radio plays and films.

His stage performances

Terrey appeared in numerous stage shows, including musicals and operettas, touring South Africa and/or internationally with a number of them. He is closely identified with Pieter Toerien's productions, having worked with Toerien for over 30 years. Among the many productions featuring Terry have been leading roles in:

Jeeves Takes Charge (in 1984 and 1993), the various incarnations of the Jo'burg Follies (from 1986 onwards), Peril at End House (in 1987), Funny Peculiar (in 1987), Cahoots (in 1988), We All Fall Down (1988), Who Goes Bare? (in 1989), Tom Foolery (in 1989 and 2010), Move Over Mrs. Markham (in 1990), Grin and Bare It (in 1990?), Uproar in the House (in 1992),My Fat Friend (in 1995), Shear Madness (in 1997), Absurd Person Singular (1998), The Mystery of Irma Vep (in 2000/2001), The Other Side of the Swamp (2001), The Mousetrap (in 2002-2003), Damsels in Distress (2003), Show Boat (in 2005), Ying Tong (in 2005, Theatre on the Bay and Montecasino), We Will Rock You (in 2006), The Merry Widow (State Theatre, 2007), The Phantom of the Opera (in 2011-12?), Dirty Dancing - the Classic Story on Stage (in 2012/13), The Sound of Music (in 2014), Cinderella (Joburg Theatre, 2017?), and Kinky Boots (in 2019) (as the shoe factory manager). Also listed in some sources are unspecified productions of Canterbury Tales and Dear Liar.

Film and TV

Has had roles in the film Hoodlum & Son (2003)[1] and the TV series Leonardo (2011)[2].

As designer/costumier

Malcolm designed costumes for From Door to Door, Honour, The Judas Kiss, My Fat Friend, Absurd Person Singular, The Other Side of the Swamp, We All Fall Down.

As director

He co-directed Shear Madness (1997) and directed The Unexpected Guest (2007), Damsels in Distress (2003),

As playwright and playmaker

He created and co-starred with Kevin Feather in Jo'burg Follies (opening at the Black Sun in Berea in 1986) and all the sequels of this annual show, wrote the scripts for A Handful of Keys (1994) and Spoof Full of Sugar (2009).

He also adapted the play Shear Madness for South African performance (1997),

Awards

He was nominated for a Fleur du Cap Best Actor for Jeeves Takes Charge, award year 1985.

Nominated for a Gauteng regional Vita Award 2000/2001) for Best Performance in a Comedy by a Male for The Mystery of Irma Vep.

Sources

A Handful of Keys programme notes, 1994.

http://www.artistconnection.co.za/artists/236/cv.pdf

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3006373/

Tucker, 1997.

Beeld Plus, 2 June 2001.

Laetitia Pople, 2020. "Malcolm Terrey 'n 'class act' " (Obituary), Die Burger, 3 December, 2020: p.8.

Theatre Lives [3].

Various entries in the NELM catalogue.

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