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| − | FIRTH, Shirley. (19**-) Actor and producer. **** As an actress she appeared in Dodie Smith’s ''[[I Capture the Castle]]'' at the [[YMCA]] ([[Toerien-Firth Company]],1955), Kushlick-Gluckman’s revival of Clare Boothe’s ''[[The Women]]'' ([[Kushlick-Gluckman]], 1961), ''[[Pyjama Tops]]'' ([[Brian Brooke Company]], 1963).
| + | [[Shirley Firth]]. (1934-) Actor and producer. |
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| − | As a producer she initially worked with [[Pieter Toerien]] (1955 onwards) staging ''[[I Capture the Castle]]'' (1955), André Roussin’s comedy ''[[The Little Hut]]'' (195?*), Terrence Rattigan’s ''[[In Praise of Love]]''. In 1966 she worked for [[PACT]], then joined forces with actor-director [[Angus Neill]] and ventured back into management. They called themselves The [[Stage Company]], and took a two year lease at the [[Intimate Theatre]] where their first production was a revival of ''[[The Little Hut ]]'' (circa 1966) and ''[[The Creeper]]'' with [[Michael McCabe]] and [[John Hayter]] (1967). *** Later owned The [[Intimate Theatre]], a 235 seater, in partnership with [[Pieter Toerien]].
| + | == Biography == |
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| − | FIRTH, Shirley. Actor and producer. She starred in Dodie Smith’s romantic comedy ''[[I Capture the Castle]]'' at the [[YMCA]] in 1955. [[Jimmy Mentis]] produced and [[Anthony Farmer]] did sets. She was involved with this theatre as her own management and in partnership with [[Pieter Toerien]]. She staged the comedy ''[[The Little Hut]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre]]. She staged Rattigan’s ''[[In Praise of Love]]'' starring [[Robert Flemyng]], together with [[Pieter Toerien]]. She played the lead in [[Kushlick-Gluckman]]’s revival of Clare Boothe’s ''[[The Women]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in 1961. [[Anthony Farmer]] designed and [[Jenny Gratus]], [[Valerie Miller]] and [[Diane Wilson]] also played leads. She starred in [[Brian Brooke]]’s ''[[Pyjama Tops]]'', which was staged at the [[Playhouse]] in 1963. It also starred [[John Hayter]]. She was kept in steady employment by [[PACT]] in 1966 (See PACT). She joined forces with actor-director [[Angus Neill]] and ventured into management. They called themselves The [[Stage Company]], and took a two year lease at the [[Intimate Theatre]] where their first production was a revival of André Roussin’s comedy ''[[The Little Hut]]'' circa 1966. Together with [[Angus McNeill]] they staged a second production, ''[[The Creeper]]'', with [[Michael McCabe]] and [[John Hayter]] at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in 1967. Together with [[Angus Neill]] she staged ''[[Caste]]'', starring Neill, [[Adrian Egan]], [[Elaine Lee]] and [[Arthur Hall]] at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in 1967. Neill renamed the show ''[[True Hearts Are More Than Coronets]]''. Together with [[Pieter Toerien|Toerien]] and [[Basil Rubin|Rubin]] she stepped forward as new management of the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] in 1969. Their first co-production was ''[[The Secretary Bird]]'' which was directed by [[Kerry Jordan]] and starred [[Jeremy Hawk]], [[Shelagh Holliday]], [[Ivan Berold]] and Firth herself.
| + | === Youth === |
| | + | She was born in Johannesburg on 3 March 1934. |
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| − | Together with [[Pieter Toerien|Toerien]] and [[Basil Rubin|Rubin]] she staged Anthony Shaffer’s thriller ''[[Sleuth]]'', starring [[Ralph Michael]] and [[Nicholas Amer]], and directed by [[Warren Jenkins]] at the [[Intimate Theatre]] circa 1970. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] presented ''[[Who Killed Santa Claus?]]'' starring [[John Justin]] and [[Naomi Chance]], with direction by [[Anthony Sharp]] in 1971. They also staged ''[[Don't Start Without Me]]'', directed by [[Roger Redfarn]] and starring [[Jeremy Hawk]]; and ''[[No Sex Please, We're British]]'', directed by [[Allen Davis]] and starring [[Billy Boyle]] in 1971. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] presented ''[[Wait Until Dark]]'' starring [[Shirley Anne Field]] at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in 1972. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] presented the Francis Durbridge thriller ''[[Suddenly at Home]]'' and Royce Ryton’s ''[[Crown Matrimonial]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] in 1973. The latter starred [[Owen Holder]] and [[Peggy Thorpe-Bates]]. They also brought [[Libby Morris]] to star in ''[[Just Libby]]'' in December 1973. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] brought [[Muriel Pavlow]], [[Robert Flemyng]], [[Robert Beatty]] and [[Ron Smerczak]] to star at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in Terence Rattigan’s ''[[In Praise of Love]]'' in 1974. They also got [[John Fernald]] to direct [[Hildegard Neil]] in a revival of ''[[Private Lives]]'', and [[Heather Lloyd-Jones]] to star in [[Jerome Chodorov]]’s ''[[A Community of Two]], directed by Chodorov at the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] in 1974. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] brought [[Maxine Audley]] and [[Richard Huggett]] with director [[Laurier Lister]] from England for ''[[Not Bloody Likely]] at the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] and [[Jeremy Hawk]] and [[Elspeth March]] from England for ''[[The Payoff]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] in 1975. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] revived Tennessee Williams’ ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' with [[Michael McGovern]] and [[Anne Rogers]] in 1975. In 1976 [[Toerien-Firth Company]] brought back [[Owen Holder]] to star in [[Royce Ryton]]’s ''[[For the Woman I love]]''; [[Hywel Bennett]] starred in Simon Gray’s ''[[Otherwise Engaged]]'' together with [[Sandra Duncan]]; West End director [[Frith Banbury]] staged a revival of Frederick Lonsdale’s 1920s comedy ''[[On Approval]]'', starring [[Richard Todd]] and [[Moyra Fraser]].
| + | === Training === |
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| − | They took a lease on the [[Little Theatre]] and renamed it the [[Barnato Theatre]], after mining magnate [[Barney Barnato]]. Their opening production ''[[Caught in the Act]]'', devised and directed by England’s [[Charles Ross]] with [[Anna Quayle]] and [[Graham Armitage]] was staged in 1976. [[Royce Ryton]]’s ''[[The Other Side of the Swamp]]'' starring Ryton himself, together with [[Eckard Rabe]] under direction by [[Graham Armitage]] was staged at the [[Barnato Theatre|Barnato]] in 1976. It ran for a year. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] staged William Douglas Home’s ''[[The Kingfisher]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] in 1977 and ''[[The Monkey Walk]]'' starring [[Barbara Kinghorn]] and British actor [[Richard Warwick]], later replaced by [[Paul Jericco]] at the [[Barnato Theatre|Barnato]] in 1977. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] presented [[Anthony Marriott]] and John Chapmans’s ''[[Shut Your Eyes and Think of England]]'', directed by [[Roger Redfarn]] and starring [[Peter Blythe]] (later replaced by [[Simon Merrick]]). It ran at the [[Intimate Theatre]] from 1978 to January 1979. Together with [[Pieter Toerien]] she presented Terence Rattigan’s [[Cause Célèbre]], directed by [[Joan Kemp-Welch]] and starring [[Mary Millar]] and [[William Lucas]] in 1978. It ran at the [[André Huguenet Theatre]] for nine months. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] staged [[Royce Ryton]]’s ''[[The Unvarnished Truth]]'' with [[Michael Richard]], [[Anthony Fridjhon]], [[Nicholas Ellenbogen]] and [[Lynne White]] and directed by [[Joan Kemp-Welch]] at the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] in 1979. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] presented ''[[Sextet]]'' by Michael Pertwee at the [[André Huguenet Theatre]] in 1979. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] produced ''[[Mothers and Fathers]]'' with [[Clive Parnell]], [[Lesley Nott]], [[Elizabeth Rae]] and [[Ian Winter]] which was staged at the [[Barnato Theatre|Barnato]] in 1980. Together with [[Pieter Toerien|Toerien]] she staged Hugh Leonard’s ''[[A Life]]'' directed by [[Godfrey Quigley]] and starring Quigley and [[Margaret Inglis]] at the [[Brooke Theatre]] , Mark Camelotti’s ''[[Happy Birthday]]'' starring [[Clive Scott]] at the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]], and Simon Gray’s ''[[Stage Struck]]'' directed by [[Stephen Hollis]] and starring [[Michael McGovern]] and [[Kenneth Baker]] in 1980. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] staged Andrew Davies’s ''[[Rose]]'' starring [[Sandra Duncan]] at the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] in 1980/1981. [[Toerien-Firth Company]] staged their last joint production at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in 1982 namely the [[Baxter Theatre]] production of [[Robert Kirby]]’s [[It's a Boy!]] starring [[Dale Cutts]], [[Bo Petersen]] and [[James Irwin]] and directed by [[Keith Grenville]]. She produced Neil Simon’s ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]'' directed by [[Louis Burke]] at the [[André Huguenet Theatre]] in 1986. She presented Barry Creyton’s ''[[Double Act]]'' at the [[Windybrow Theatre]] in 1988. (Tucker, 1997)
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| − | Return to [[ESAT Personalities F]] | + | === Career === |
| | + | She was kept in steady employment by [[PACT]] until 1966. |
| | + | |
| | + | Towards the end of 1966 she ventured into management, joining forces with actor-director [[Angus Neill]], calling themselves The [[Stage Company]]. They took a long lease on the [[Intimate Theatre]], where their first production was a revival of ''[[The Little Hut]]''. |
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| | + | The [[Stage Company]] did only three productions in two years but Shirley held onto the lease of the theatre. This led to her association with [[Pieter Toerien]], operating as the [[Toerien-Firth Company]]. |
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| | + | Shirley did freelance writing on various topics for, inter alia, ''[[Business Day]]'' in the 1990s. |
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| | + | ==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance== |
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| | + | As an actress she appeared in Dodie Smith’s ''[[I Capture the Castle]]'' at the [[YMCA]] in 1955, Kushlick-Gluckman’s revival of Clare Boothe’s ''[[The Women]]'' (1961), ''[[Pyjama Tops]]'' ([[Brian Brooke Company]] at the [[Playhouse]], 1963). She appeared in ''[[The Secretary Bird]]'' in 1969, for the first and last time in a play for which she was also the management. |
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| | + | == As Manager == |
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| | + | She staged the comedy ''[[The Little Hut]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre]], 1966. |
| | + | In 1967 The [[Stage Company]] put on ''[[The Creeper]]'' and their final production ''[[Caste]]'', renamed ''[[True Hearts are more than Coronets]]'', 1968. |
| | + | |
| | + | Together with [[Pieter Toerien|Toerien]] and [[Basil Rubin|Rubin]] she stepped forward as new management of the [[Intimate Theatre|Intimate]] in 1969. Their first co-production was ''[[The Secretary Bird]]'' which was directed by [[Kerry Jordan]] and starred [[Jeremy Hawk]], [[Shelagh Holliday]], [[Ivan Berold]] and Firth herself. They also presented ''[[Sleuth]]'' circa 1970. T.268 |
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| | + | So what about love?, directed by Patrick Tucker. Rubin-Toerien-Firth. |
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| | + | The [[Toerien-Firth Company]] presented many productions, starting with ''[[Who Killed Santa Claus?]]'' in 1971. Their last joint production at the [[Intimate Theatre]] was in 1982, namely the [[Baxter Theatre]] production of [[Robert Kirby]]’s [[It's a Boy!]]. |
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| | + | See [[Toerien-Firth Company]] for more information about their productions. |
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| | + | 449: She produced Neil Simon’s ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]'' directed by [[Louis Burke]] at the [[André Huguenet Theatre]] in February 1986. |
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| | + | She returned briefly to the management scene when she presented Barry Creyton’s ''[[Double Act]]'' at the [[Windybrow Theatre]] in 1988. |
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| | + | == Awards, etc == |
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| | + | == Sources == |
| | + | [[ESAT Bibliography Tra-Tz|Tucker]], 1997. |
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| | + | Various entries in the [[NELM]] catalogue. |
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| | + | Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]] |
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| | + | == Return to == |
| | + | |
| | + | Return to [[ESAT Personalities F]] |
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| | Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities|South African Theatre Personalities]] | | Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities|South African Theatre Personalities]] |
| | + | |
| | + | Return to [[The ESAT Entries]] |
| | | | |
| | Return to [[Main Page]] | | Return to [[Main Page]] |
Shirley Firth. (1934-) Actor and producer.
Biography
Youth
She was born in Johannesburg on 3 March 1934.
Training
Career
She was kept in steady employment by PACT until 1966.
Towards the end of 1966 she ventured into management, joining forces with actor-director Angus Neill, calling themselves The Stage Company. They took a long lease on the Intimate Theatre, where their first production was a revival of The Little Hut.
The Stage Company did only three productions in two years but Shirley held onto the lease of the theatre. This led to her association with Pieter Toerien, operating as the Toerien-Firth Company.
Shirley did freelance writing on various topics for, inter alia, Business Day in the 1990s.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
As an actress she appeared in Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle at the YMCA in 1955, Kushlick-Gluckman’s revival of Clare Boothe’s The Women (1961), Pyjama Tops (Brian Brooke Company at the Playhouse, 1963). She appeared in The Secretary Bird in 1969, for the first and last time in a play for which she was also the management.
As Manager
She staged the comedy The Little Hut at the Intimate Theatre, 1966.
In 1967 The Stage Company put on The Creeper and their final production Caste, renamed True Hearts are more than Coronets, 1968.
Together with Toerien and Rubin she stepped forward as new management of the Intimate in 1969. Their first co-production was The Secretary Bird which was directed by Kerry Jordan and starred Jeremy Hawk, Shelagh Holliday, Ivan Berold and Firth herself. They also presented Sleuth circa 1970. T.268
So what about love?, directed by Patrick Tucker. Rubin-Toerien-Firth.
The Toerien-Firth Company presented many productions, starting with Who Killed Santa Claus? in 1971. Their last joint production at the Intimate Theatre was in 1982, namely the Baxter Theatre production of Robert Kirby’s It's a Boy!.
See Toerien-Firth Company for more information about their productions.
449: She produced Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs directed by Louis Burke at the André Huguenet Theatre in February 1986.
She returned briefly to the management scene when she presented Barry Creyton’s Double Act at the Windybrow Theatre in 1988.
Awards, etc
Sources
Tucker, 1997.
Various entries in the NELM catalogue.
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to ESAT Personalities F
Return to South African Theatre Personalities
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page
