Difference between revisions of "Anthony Farmer"

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He first came to South Africa as part of the Ivor Novello company with ''[[Perchance to Dream]]'' (1947). In 1953, he was stage manager, understudy and small-part player in Ivor Novello's ''[[King's Rhapsody]]''. Whilst he was here, he was interviewed by the [[Johannesburg Repertory Company]] to take the position of Resident Director. They staged their plays at the [[Reps Theatre]] in Braamfontein (later called the [[Alexander]]).
 
He first came to South Africa as part of the Ivor Novello company with ''[[Perchance to Dream]]'' (1947). In 1953, he was stage manager, understudy and small-part player in Ivor Novello's ''[[King's Rhapsody]]''. Whilst he was here, he was interviewed by the [[Johannesburg Repertory Company]] to take the position of Resident Director. They staged their plays at the [[Reps Theatre]] in Braamfontein (later called the [[Alexander]]).
  
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He returned in January 1954 to work with the [[Johannesburg REPS]]. In 1956 he returned to England for a while, after his father fell ill,  cutting short his contract with the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Johannesburg REPS]]. On his return he went into a flourishing new phase of his career as a freelance practitioner, working for the many companies, including the  [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Johannesburg REPS]], [[East Rand Theatre Club]], [[Children's Theatre]], [[Johannesburg Operatic and Dramatic Society]], [[Adam Leslie]], [[Brian Brooke]].
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He returned in January 1954 to work with the [[Johannesburg REPS]] and the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] turned fully professional in 1954 with Farmer in charge. In 1956 he returned to England for a while, after his father fell ill,  cutting short his contract with the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Johannesburg REPS]]. On his return he went into a flourishing new phase of his career as a freelance practitioner, working for the many companies, including the  [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Johannesburg REPS]], [[East Rand Theatre Club]], [[Children's Theatre]], [[Johannesburg Operatic and Dramatic Society]], [[Adam Leslie]], [[Brian Brooke]].
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Over the years Farmer was greatly involved with the industry, e.g. an active founding member of the [[South African Association of Theatre Managements]] for the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Johannesburg REPS]] (from 1956) and the [[South African Institute of Theatre Technology]] (1969). Besides his theatrical work, he also he started and worked with the company [[International Advertising]].  
  
 
===As an actor===
 
===As an actor===
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As designer only, his work includes:
 
As designer only, his work includes:
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1955: ''[[I Capture the Castle]]'' ([[Johannesburg Reps]])
  
 
1958: ''[[Janus]]'' ([[Brooke Theatre]])  
 
1958: ''[[Janus]]'' ([[Brooke Theatre]])  
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1955: ''[[Larger than Life]]'' ([[Johannesburg Reps]])
 
1955: ''[[Larger than Life]]'' ([[Johannesburg Reps]])
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1955: ''[[I Capture the Castle]]'' ([[Johannesburg Reps]])
 
  
 
1956: ''[[Dead on Nine]]'' ([[Johannesburg Reps]])
 
1956: ''[[Dead on Nine]]'' ([[Johannesburg Reps]])
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1957: ''[[Peter Pan]]'' ([[Children's Theatre]])  
 
1957: ''[[Peter Pan]]'' ([[Children's Theatre]])  
  
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1958: ''[[Odd Man In]]''
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1958: ''[[Odd Man In]]'' [[Anthony Farmer Productions]]
  
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1958/1959: ''[[Ever Since Eve]]''
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1958/1959: ''[[Ever Since Eve]]'' [[Anthony Farmer Productions]]
  
 
1961:  ''[[The Dancing Years]]'' ([[JODS]])  
 
1961:  ''[[The Dancing Years]]'' ([[JODS]])  
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1964:  ''[[Show Boat]]'' ([[JODS]])
 
1964:  ''[[Show Boat]]'' ([[JODS]])
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1964: ''[[The Moulin Rouge Show]]'' (for [[ACT]] at the [[Empire Theatre]])
  
 
1965: ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'' ([[JODS]])  
 
1965: ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'' ([[JODS]])  
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1984/1985: ''[[Show Boat]]'' ([[PACT]])
 
1984/1985: ''[[Show Boat]]'' ([[PACT]])
  
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As impressario he staged the ''[[Moulin Rouge show from Paris]]'' ([[ACT]], 1964), and later became resident producer of revues and extravaganzas at [[Sun City]] , including **,  ''[[Sexy]]'' (1995)
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1995: ''[[Sexy]]'' ([[Sun City]])
  
 
===As playwright/show-maker===
 
===As playwright/show-maker===
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He co-wrote, with [[Ken Hooper]], the book for the musical, ''[[Ever Since Eve]]'', with music and lyrics by [[Ralph Trewhela]] (1958).
 
He co-wrote, with [[Ken Hooper]], the book for the musical, ''[[Ever Since Eve]]'', with music and lyrics by [[Ralph Trewhela]] (1958).
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He joined forces with [[Adam Leslie]] and composer [[Ralph Trewhela]] to create the satirical revue ''[[I Spy]]'' (1959).
  
 
Together with [[Nick Navarro]] and [[Adolpho Waitzman]] he created the extravaganza called ''[[Stars]]'' at the [[Sun City]] Theatre in 1984.   
 
Together with [[Nick Navarro]] and [[Adolpho Waitzman]] he created the extravaganza called ''[[Stars]]'' at the [[Sun City]] Theatre in 1984.   
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===As producer===
 
===As producer===
  
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1958/1959: ''[[Ever Since Eve]]'' (in association with [[Howard Hooper (Pty) Ltd]])
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1958: ''[[Odd Man In]]'' [[Anthony Farmer Productions]]
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=== Phase two of his South African career ===
 
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''As freelance director/designer''
 
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With [[Ralph Trewhela]] and [[Adam Leslie]], co-wrote and produced a series of revues  (''[[Sextet]]'', 1957  and ''[[I Spy]]'', 1959) and musicals (''[[Ever Since Eve]]'', 1958), and began to specialise in directing musicals.
 
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=== Involvement in the theatre industry ===
 
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'''TO BE EDITED AND ADDED'''
 
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FARMER, Anthony. Theatre director and designer. He was part of the Ivor Novell company which did Perchance to Dream in 1947. Directed a production for the [[East Rand Theatre Club]]. Starred in Novello's ''[[King's Rhapsody]]'' in South Africa in 1953 together with [[Barry Sinclair]], [[Olive Gilbert]], [[Zena Dare]] and [[Muriel Barron]]. He was the stage manager, understudy and small-part player and during this production he was offered the position of resident producer and stage manager of the [[Johannesburg Repertory Theatre|Reps Theatre]] from January 1954. He directed and designed the set for Agatha Christie’s ''[[Witness for the Prosecution]]''. The set was a replica of the Old Bailey. [[Robert Griffiths]] and [[Sadie Festenstein]] played in this sell out show. He designed the sets for Dodie Smith’s romantic comedy ''[[I Capture the Castle]]'' which was staged at the [[YMCA]] in 1955. [[Jimmy Mentis]] produced and the cast included [[Shirley Firth]]. The [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] turned fully prosfessional in 1954 with Farmer in charge. He brought out English actor [[John Boulter]] for the British comedy ''[[My Three Angels]]'' which was staged at the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] in 1955. He secured all the rights for Agatha Christie’s plays and directed ''[[The Spider's Web]]'' which starred [[Yolande Turnbill]] for the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] in 1955. He staged Agatha Christie’s ''[[Bus Stop]]'' at the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] in 1955, starring [[Brian Bell]]. He did a production of ''[[Larger than Life]]'' for the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] in 1955. It was based on the novel ''Theatre'' by Somerset Maugham, and dramatised by the author with [[Guy Bolton]], with a guest appearance by British star [[Jessie Matthews]]. He attended the first meeting of  the [[South African Association of Theatre Managements]] for the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] in 1956. He directed the thriller, ''[[Dead on Nine]]'' for the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] in March 1956, and followed this with ''[[The Remarkable Mr Pennypacker]]''. He then left for England after his father fell ill, cutting short his contract with the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]], and went into a new phase of a career that flourished on his return. He devised and wrote the review ''[[Sextet]]'', with music by [[Ralph Trewhela]]. [[Adam Leslie]] contributed material to the show. Starring [[Olive Wright]], [[Olive King]], [[Norma Vorster]], [[Dennis Hale]], [[Jimmy Mentis]] and [[Tommy Tucker]] in 1957. He directed and also designed the set for [[Children's Theatre]] Christmas show of 1957, J.M. Barrie’s ''[[Peter Pan]]'', which was stage at the [[Johannesburg Repertory Society|Reps]] and starred the boyish [[Evadne Kohler-Baker]] in the title role. He designed the sets for ''[[Janus]]'', a comedy, at the [[Brooke Theatre]] in 1958. [[Brian Brooke]] directed this play which starred [[Gordon Mulholland]] and [[Margaret Inglis]]. He wrote the musical ''[[Ever Since Eve]]'' which received rave reviews when it was staged at the [[YMCA]] in 1958. This [[Anthony Farmer Productions]]’ offering starred [[Olive Wright]], [[Maureen Adair]], [[John Boulter]], and newcomer [[Patrick O’Byrne|Patrick ‘Paddy’ O’Byrne]]. He joined forces with [[Adam Leslie]] and composer [[Ralph Trewhela]] to create the satirical revue ''[[I Spy]]'' in 1959. He was designer for [[Kushlick-Gluckman]]’s revival of Clare Boothe’s ''[[The Women]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre]] with [[Shirley Firth]], [[Jenny Gratus]], [[Valerie Miller]] and [[Diane Wilson]] in the lead roles in 1961. He directed Ivor Novello’s ''[[The Dancing Years]]'' and ''[[Naughty Marietta]]'' for the [[JODS]] in 1961.
 
  
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He started the company [[International Advertising]]. He staged the Moulin Rouge show from Paris for [[ACT]] at the [[Empire Theatre]] in 1964, and designed the sets.
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1958/1959: ''[[Ever Since Eve]]'' [[Anthony Farmer Productions]] (in association with [[Howard Hooper (Pty) Ltd]])
  
 
== Sources ==
 
== Sources ==

Revision as of 09:55, 5 August 2025

(1953-2006) Actor, stage and set designer, director and entrepreneur.

CURRENTLY BEING EDITED

Biography

Anthony Farmer was born in Leamington Spa in England, and from an early age did a lot of acting in his early youth. After school, he trained as a draughtsman and engineer. During the 2nd World War, he worked on aircraft engine manufacturing, which enabled him to apply his aptitude for designing and creating.

After the war ended, Anthony worked in the British Film Industry, where his talents were used in the set construction department at the Rank Organisation studios. He later studied acting and production, during which time his enormous talent for stage design came to the fore. He never had any formal training but his talents were recognised and he was asked to work on the set design for the film of Great Expectations which starred John Mills, Martita Hunt and Jean Simmons. Later when he went to work in the West End where he stage managed the hit show Fifty Glorious Years starring Anna Neagle as Queen Victoria.

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

He first came to South Africa as part of the Ivor Novello company with Perchance to Dream (1947). In 1953, he was stage manager, understudy and small-part player in Ivor Novello's King's Rhapsody. Whilst he was here, he was interviewed by the Johannesburg Repertory Company to take the position of Resident Director. They staged their plays at the Reps Theatre in Braamfontein (later called the Alexander).

He returned in January 1954 to work with the Johannesburg REPS and the Reps turned fully professional in 1954 with Farmer in charge. In 1956 he returned to England for a while, after his father fell ill, cutting short his contract with the Johannesburg REPS. On his return he went into a flourishing new phase of his career as a freelance practitioner, working for the many companies, including the Johannesburg REPS, East Rand Theatre Club, Children's Theatre, Johannesburg Operatic and Dramatic Society, Adam Leslie, Brian Brooke.

Over the years Farmer was greatly involved with the industry, e.g. an active founding member of the South African Association of Theatre Managements for the Johannesburg REPS (from 1956) and the South African Institute of Theatre Technology (1969). Besides his theatrical work, he also he started and worked with the company International Advertising.

As an actor

As a designer

As designer only, his work includes:

1955: I Capture the Castle (Johannesburg Reps)

1958: Janus (Brooke Theatre)

1961: The Women (Kushlick-Gluckman)

1962: Wait a Minim! (Leon Gluckman)

1969: Cabaret (Taubie Kushlick)

1970: West Side Story Academy

1971: Applause (JODS)

1976: Comedians (The Company)

1977: Absurd Person Singular (The Company)

1992: A Touch of Webber...A Taste of Rice (Richard Loring)

1999: African Footprint (Richard Loring)

Izidumo (Muzworks SA, date unknown)

As theatre designer

He designed the theatre and the opening production at Sol Kerzner’s Sun City (1979).

In circa 1984, he designed an intimate dinner theatre, La Parisienne, in the place of the old Siegfried Mynhardt Theatre which had been ravaged by fire.

As a director/designer

Farmer designed the sets for the majority of the productions he himself directed.

1954: Figure of Fun (Johannesburg Reps)

1954: Witness for the Prosecution (Johannesburg Reps)

1955: My Three Angels (Johannesburg Reps)

1955: The Wooden Dish (Johannesburg Reps)

1955: Spider's Web (Johannesburg Reps)

1955: Dear Charles (Johannesburg Reps)

1955: Bus Stop (Johannesburg Reps)

1955: Larger than Life (Johannesburg Reps)

1956: Dead on Nine (Johannesburg Reps)

1956: The Remarkable Mr Pennypacker (Johannesburg Reps)

1957: Sextet

1957: Peter Pan (Children's Theatre)

1958: Odd Man In Anthony Farmer Productions

1958/1959: Ever Since Eve Anthony Farmer Productions

1961: The Dancing Years (JODS)

1961: Naughty Marietta (JODS)

1961: Beauty and the Beast (Children's Theatre)

1962: The Most Happy Fella (JODS)

1963: Show Boat (JODS)

1964: Show Boat (JODS)

1964: The Moulin Rouge Show (for ACT at the Empire Theatre)

1965: Guys and Dolls (JODS)

1966: Around the World in 80 Days JODS

1967: Eureka (Civic Theatre)

1967: Music Hall Revue Adam Leslie

1973: Kismet (PACT)

1977: A Night to Remember (the opening production of the Alhambra Theatre, now owned by JODS, on 17 April 1977).

1978: New Faces of 1978 (JODS), with choreography by Wendy de la Harpe at the Alhambra Theatre in 1978.

1979: The opening production of the Sun City Theatre, with choreography by Nick Navarro, costume design by Neels Hansen and Adolpho Waitzman leading the musical team. It opened on the 15 December 1979.

1981: Applause (an opening production for the Pretoria State Theatre)

1984/1985: Show Boat (PACT)

1995: Sexy (Sun City)

As playwright/show-maker

He co-wrote Sextet, a South African revue, with music by Ralph Trewhela and additional material by Adam Leslie (1957).

He co-wrote, with Ken Hooper, the book for the musical, Ever Since Eve, with music and lyrics by Ralph Trewhela (1958).

He joined forces with Adam Leslie and composer Ralph Trewhela to create the satirical revue I Spy (1959).

Together with Nick Navarro and Adolpho Waitzman he created the extravaganza called Stars at the Sun City Theatre in 1984.

As producer

1958: Odd Man In Anthony Farmer Productions

1958/1959: Ever Since Eve Anthony Farmer Productions (in association with Howard Hooper (Pty) Ltd)

Sources

Obituary: Beeld 26 May 2006.

Du Toit, 1988

Tucker, 1997

Percy Tucker. 'Who was Anthony Farmer?' https://www.iloveza.com/blogs/news/the-anthony-farmer-oakfields-college-trust

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