Difference between revisions of "Lena Farugia"

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FARUGIA, Lena. ((19*-) Actress, model, TV personality.  
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[[Lena Farugia]] (1949 – 2019) was an actress, editor, television producer and playwright.
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Also credited as '''[[Nicolena Farugia]]'''.
  
 
== Biography ==
 
== Biography ==
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Born in New York City in the United States, she has been living and working in South Africa since 1977, the year she married a South African.
 
  
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== Training ==
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Born Nicolina Elizabeth Farruggia in New York on 19 October, 1949. Her father Giuseppe Farruggia was a supervisor for the Penn Central railroad company and her mother, Grazia (Grace) Grassi, a designer with a fashion house.  She grew up in Westchester County north of New York City, studied dance, obtained a BA at Fordham University and then an MA in history at Columbia University.  She is said to acted in various university productions, studied briefly with Lee Strasberg and then with Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof.  She also followed courses in film editing at the New School in Greenwich Village and acted in off-off-Broadway and dinner theatre productions.
  
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Trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Lee Strasberg Institute and the Herbert Berghof Studio.
 
  
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== Career ==
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In 1976 she was offered a role in a French television series entitled ''Les Diamants du Président'' to be filmed in Nelspruit. The following year she returned to South Africa to act in the film ''Sharpies'' (released as ''[[Mister Deathman]]'').
  
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Quoted from the programme of ''[[Agnes of God]]'' wherein she played the role of Agnes in 1983: 'Off-off Broadway and dinner theatre productions included ''[[House of Bernarda Alba]]'', ''Bedtime Story'', ''Lovers and Other Strangers''. Bit and feature parts in film shot in and around New York followed, including ''Prince of Central Park'' for television, and ''Baron Wolfgang von Trapp''. A featured role in a film entitled ''Seen Dimly Before Dawn'' led to co-starring in a French television series with Michel Constantine, ''Les Aventures Africaines''. At this time Lena married a South African and came to live in Cape Town.'
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She met the South African actor [[Robert Davies]] on the set of the French series and married him in 1977. They were subsequently divorced, but then remarried on 28 August 1996.)
  
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==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
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Ferugia died in South Africa on 18 January, 2019.
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She starred in [[Aubrey Berg]]’s production of Tennessee Williams’ ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]'' together with [[Ron Smerczak]] and[[ Victor Winding]] for [[PACT]] in 1982. This play opened at the [[State Theatre]] before moving to the [[Alexander Theatre]]. She starred in [[Pieter Toerien]]’s production of ''[[Agnes of God]]'' together with [[Pauline Bailey]] and [[Fiona Ramsay]] which was directed by [[Nikolas Simmonds]] at the [[Baxter Theatre]] and the [[Alhambra Theatre]] in 1983. She starred in Mastrosimone’s ''[[Extremities]]'' together with [[Michael Richard]] with direction by [[Hugh Wooldridge]] for [[Pieter Toerien]] in 1984. She wrote and starred in ''[[We and Them]]'' at the [[Leonard Rayne]] in 1989. **
 
  
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For television she acted in ''The Fiddler'' and ''The Bear''. On film she appeared in ''The Sandgrass People''. In 1987 she co-produced and edited the screen version of ''[[Saturday Night at the Palace]]''.
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==Contribution to South African theatre, film, media and performance==
  
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Continued quote from ''[[Agnes of God]]'''s programme: 'Apart from her appearance in the locally produced feature film ''[[Sharpies]]'', she didn't act for almost three years and worked instead on film production mainly as a film editor and screen writer. She wrote and edited a six-part series for SATV entitled ''Land of the Thirst King'', as well as ''So Reg Na My Smaak'' hosted by [[Pieter-Dirk Uys]], for which she was nominated for a best script award that year. She returned to acting with ''Westgate'' for SATV for which she won a 1982 Tonight Award. She most recently starred in [[PACT]]'s ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]''.'
 
  
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== Awards, etc ==
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Together Davies and Ferugia formed a production company called [[Davnic Productions]] that made a number of films and documentaries, primarily for television, though their most prestigious production, a version of [[Paul Slabolepszy]] award-winning drama ''[[Saturday Night at the Palace]]'' (1987) directed by Davies, was released in the cinemas.
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Amongst her best-known appearances as an actress were in [[Jamie Uys]]’s film ''[[The Gods Must Be Crazy II]]'' (1989) and the first two seasons of the television series [[Westgate]], directed by [[Edgar Bold]].  Also highly regarded was the documentary called ''[[An African in Paris]]'' (2005), about the painter Gerard Sekoto, which she scripted, directed and edited and which was photographed by her husband. 
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The plays in which she appeared included ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]'' (1982), ''[[Agnes of God]]'' (1983) and ''[[Extremities]]'' (1984). 
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In addition she wrote and starred in ''[[We and Them]]'' (1989), the story of Mrs. Wallis Simpson and her relationship with the Duke of Windsor.  This was a two-hander, with [[Robert Davies]] playing her taciturn and faithful butler in a 2010 revival at the Old Mutual [[Theatre on the Square]].  In 2009 it also has a successful run at the Finborough Theatre in London.
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== List of credits ==
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'''Theatre'''
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1982 – ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]'' (actress) (Directed by [[Aubrey Berg]] for [[PACT]] at the [[State Theatre]] in Pretoria and the [[Alexander Theatre]] in Johannesburg),
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1983 – ''[[Agnes of God]]'' (actress) (Directed by [[Nikolas Simmonds]] for [[Pieter Toerien]] at the [[Baxter Theatre]] in Cape Town, the [[Alhambra Theatre]] in Johannesburg, the [[National Arts Festival]] in Grahamstown and the [[Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre]] in Durban),
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1984 – ''[[Extremities]]'' (actress) (Produced by [[Hugh Wooldridge]] for [[Pieter Toerien]] at the [[Alhambra Theatre]] in Johannesburg and the [[Baxter Theatre]] in Cape Town),
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1989 – ''[[We and Them]]'' (playwright & actress) (Directed by [[Ingrid Sonnichson]] for [[Davnic Productions]] in association with [[Pieter Toerien]]  at the [[Leonard Rayne Theatre]] in Johannesburg and the [[Theatre on the Bay]] in Cape Town),
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1995 – ''[[The Sisters Rosensweig]]'' (actress) (Directed by [[Alan Swerdlow]] for [[Pieter Toerien]] at the [[Alhambra Theatre]] in Johannesburg and the [[Theatre on the Bay]] in Cape Town).
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'''Film'''
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1977 – ''[[Mister Deathman]]'' / ''Sharpies'' (actress) (Director: Michael D. Moore),
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1978 – ''The Pawn'' (adapted from the TV series ''Les Diamants du Président'') (actress) (Director: Claude Boissol),
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1987 – ''[[Saturday Night at the Palace]]'' (associate producer + supervising editor) (Director: [[Robert Davies]]),
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1989 – ''[[The Gods Must Be Crazy II]]'' (actress) (Director: [[Jamie Uys]]),
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1990 – ''[[The Sandgrass People]]'' (actress) (Director: [[Koos Roets]]).
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'''Television'''
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1977 – ''Les Diamants du Président'' (French TV series) (actress) (Director: Claude Boissol),
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1979 – ''[[Land of the Thirst King]]'' (TV documentary series) (writer & editor) (Director: [[Robert Davies]]),
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1981 – ''[[Westgate]]'' (TV series) (actress) (Director: [[Edgar Bold]]),
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1981 – ''[[So Reg na my Smaak]]'' (TV documentary) (hosted by [[Pieter-Dirk Uys]]),
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1982 – ''[[Westgate II]]'' (TV series) (actress) (Director: [[Edgar Bold]]),
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1986 – ''[[The Fiddler]]'' (TV series) (actress) (Director: [[Ken Leach]]),
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1988 – ''[[Double Shift]]'' (TV series) (producer with [[Nomsa Nene]]) (Director: [[Robert Davies]]),
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1993 – ''Tropical Heat'' / ''Sweating Bullets'' (Canadian/American TV series – Episode: May Divorce Be with You) (actress) (Director: Clay Borris),
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1995 – ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination'' (TV series – Episode: The Oval Portrait) (actress) (Director: Bill Hays),
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1996 – ''Tarzan: the Epic Adventures'' (TV series – Episode: Tarzan and the Reflections in an Evil Eye) (actress) (Director: George Keith),
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2000 – ''[[Brothers, Sisters and Strangers]]'' (TV documentary) (director & editor),
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2000 – ''[[Jika Jika]]'' (TV series) (writer with [[David Newton John]]) (Director: [[Robert Davies]]),
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2004 – ''[[Faith in Resistance]]'' (TV documentary series) (director, editor & scriptwriter with Seth Mazibuko),
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2005 – [[An African in Paris]] (TV documentary) (director, script & editor),
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2008 – ''Diamonds'' (TV movie) (actress) (Director: Andy Wilson).
  
 
== Sources ==
 
== Sources ==
  
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Programme notes of ''[[Agnes of God]]'' in 1983.
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''[[Agnes of God]]'' programme notes, 1983.
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''[[We and Them]]'' programme notes, 1989.
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''[[Rand Daily Mail]]'', 26 August 1982 (and other issues)
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''[[The Star]]'', 28 September 2010.
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''[[Die Burger]]'', 22 January 2019.
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https://www.thesouthafrican.com/backstage-with-lena-farugia/
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http://janiallan.com/2019/01/29/lena-farugia-taken-young/
  
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''We and Them'' programme notes, 1989.
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https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268602/
  
 
Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography]]
 
Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography]]

Latest revision as of 07:18, 29 March 2023

Lena Farugia (1949 – 2019) was an actress, editor, television producer and playwright.

Also credited as Nicolena Farugia.

Biography

Born Nicolina Elizabeth Farruggia in New York on 19 October, 1949. Her father Giuseppe Farruggia was a supervisor for the Penn Central railroad company and her mother, Grazia (Grace) Grassi, a designer with a fashion house. She grew up in Westchester County north of New York City, studied dance, obtained a BA at Fordham University and then an MA in history at Columbia University. She is said to acted in various university productions, studied briefly with Lee Strasberg and then with Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof. She also followed courses in film editing at the New School in Greenwich Village and acted in off-off-Broadway and dinner theatre productions.


In 1976 she was offered a role in a French television series entitled Les Diamants du Président to be filmed in Nelspruit. The following year she returned to South Africa to act in the film Sharpies (released as Mister Deathman).

She met the South African actor Robert Davies on the set of the French series and married him in 1977. They were subsequently divorced, but then remarried on 28 August 1996.)

Ferugia died in South Africa on 18 January, 2019.

Contribution to South African theatre, film, media and performance

Together Davies and Ferugia formed a production company called Davnic Productions that made a number of films and documentaries, primarily for television, though their most prestigious production, a version of Paul Slabolepszy award-winning drama Saturday Night at the Palace (1987) directed by Davies, was released in the cinemas.

Amongst her best-known appearances as an actress were in Jamie Uys’s film The Gods Must Be Crazy II (1989) and the first two seasons of the television series Westgate, directed by Edgar Bold. Also highly regarded was the documentary called An African in Paris (2005), about the painter Gerard Sekoto, which she scripted, directed and edited and which was photographed by her husband.

The plays in which she appeared included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1982), Agnes of God (1983) and Extremities (1984).

In addition she wrote and starred in We and Them (1989), the story of Mrs. Wallis Simpson and her relationship with the Duke of Windsor. This was a two-hander, with Robert Davies playing her taciturn and faithful butler in a 2010 revival at the Old Mutual Theatre on the Square. In 2009 it also has a successful run at the Finborough Theatre in London.

List of credits

Theatre

1982 – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (actress) (Directed by Aubrey Berg for PACT at the State Theatre in Pretoria and the Alexander Theatre in Johannesburg), 1983 – Agnes of God (actress) (Directed by Nikolas Simmonds for Pieter Toerien at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, the Alhambra Theatre in Johannesburg, the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban), 1984 – Extremities (actress) (Produced by Hugh Wooldridge for Pieter Toerien at the Alhambra Theatre in Johannesburg and the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town), 1989 – We and Them (playwright & actress) (Directed by Ingrid Sonnichson for Davnic Productions in association with Pieter Toerien at the Leonard Rayne Theatre in Johannesburg and the Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town), 1995 – The Sisters Rosensweig (actress) (Directed by Alan Swerdlow for Pieter Toerien at the Alhambra Theatre in Johannesburg and the Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town).

Film

1977 – Mister Deathman / Sharpies (actress) (Director: Michael D. Moore), 1978 – The Pawn (adapted from the TV series Les Diamants du Président) (actress) (Director: Claude Boissol), 1987 – Saturday Night at the Palace (associate producer + supervising editor) (Director: Robert Davies), 1989 – The Gods Must Be Crazy II (actress) (Director: Jamie Uys), 1990 – The Sandgrass People (actress) (Director: Koos Roets).

Television

1977 – Les Diamants du Président (French TV series) (actress) (Director: Claude Boissol), 1979 – Land of the Thirst King (TV documentary series) (writer & editor) (Director: Robert Davies), 1981 – Westgate (TV series) (actress) (Director: Edgar Bold), 1981 – So Reg na my Smaak (TV documentary) (hosted by Pieter-Dirk Uys), 1982 – Westgate II (TV series) (actress) (Director: Edgar Bold), 1986 – The Fiddler (TV series) (actress) (Director: Ken Leach), 1988 – Double Shift (TV series) (producer with Nomsa Nene) (Director: Robert Davies), 1993 – Tropical Heat / Sweating Bullets (Canadian/American TV series – Episode: May Divorce Be with You) (actress) (Director: Clay Borris), 1995 – Tales of Mystery and Imagination (TV series – Episode: The Oval Portrait) (actress) (Director: Bill Hays), 1996 – Tarzan: the Epic Adventures (TV series – Episode: Tarzan and the Reflections in an Evil Eye) (actress) (Director: George Keith), 2000 – Brothers, Sisters and Strangers (TV documentary) (director & editor), 2000 – Jika Jika (TV series) (writer with David Newton John) (Director: Robert Davies), 2004 – Faith in Resistance (TV documentary series) (director, editor & scriptwriter with Seth Mazibuko), 2005 – An African in Paris (TV documentary) (director, script & editor), 2008 – Diamonds (TV movie) (actress) (Director: Andy Wilson).

Sources

Agnes of God programme notes, 1983.

We and Them programme notes, 1989.

Rand Daily Mail, 26 August 1982 (and other issues)

The Star, 28 September 2010.

Die Burger, 22 January 2019.

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/backstage-with-lena-farugia/

http://janiallan.com/2019/01/29/lena-farugia-taken-young/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268602/

Go to South African Theatre/Bibliography

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