Marjorie Gordon

(****-****). Actress. Performed in People are Living There, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds and as “the widow of Bath” in The Canterbury Tales. (SACD 1973)

GORDON, Marjorie. (1921?-1981) Actress, director and producer. Born in England, where she was an actress and comedian who enjoyed a successful career in London, largely in musical comedy. Invited to Australia where she starred in several musicals and had two world tours including New York. Came to South Africa in circa 1947 with her company to present four plays at The Standard Theatre in association with ACT ( including Coward's Design for Living). She then settled in South Africa and, besides her stage career, became very involved in South African radio and radio drama. In 1955 she went into partnership with actors Stuart Brown and Bruce Anderson to form The Company of Three. Fondly known as Maggie, she was a favourite with critics, audiences and colleagues alike. Prominent performances include roles in Leon Gluckman’s revue Xmas Box (1949), Private Lives (Johannesburg Reps, 1953), Third Person[?] (Company of Three, 1955), A Hatful of Rain (Company of Three, 1957), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (NTO, 1957), Basil Warner’s Try for White (Cockpit Players, 1958?), Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker (Cockpit Players, 1959), Clive Hirschhorn’s A State of Innocence (Library Theatre, 1960), Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party (1962?*), Tennessee Williams’s The Night of the Iguana (Cockpit Players, 1962), Athol Fugard’s People are Living There (CAPAB? Touring company, 196*), *.

GORDON, Marjorie. English born actress and comedian who enjoyed a successful career in London, largely in musical comedy; invited to Australia where she starred in several musicals; had two world tours including New York. She eventually made her home in South Africa. In association with ACT, Marjorie and her company presented four plays at The Standard Theatre circa 1947 including Coward's Design for Living. Starred in Leon Gluckman’s revue Xmas Box at the Library Theatre towards the end of 1949. Herbert Kretzmer composed five of the songs and cast included Johann Nell. She was very involved in South Africa’s radio drama scene. She starred in Noël Coward’s Private Lives which was directed by Minna Millsten for the Reps in 1953. She was also fondly known as Maggie and was a favourite with critics, audiences and colleagues. She died in 1981 at the age of sixty. She went into partnership with actors Stuart Brown and Bruce Anderson to form The Company of Three in 1955. Their first production was Third Person and was staged at the Reps Theatre. She starred in The Company of Three’s production of the hard-hitting American drama, A Hatful of Rain, which was directed by Stuart Brown and staged at the Library Theatre in 1957. Also starring Ivan Berold and Jenny Gratus. She starred in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, which was presented by The National Theatre at the Reps in 1957. It was directed by Leonard Schach, and was written by the Australian Ray Lawler. She starred in Leonard Schach’s Cockpit Players production of Basil Warner’s Try for White, which opened at the Pretoria Opera House before moving to the Intimate Theatre for the remainder of their highly successful run. It also starred Nigel Hawthorne, Zoë Randall, Michael Turner. Joyce Grant and Fiona Fraser replaced Minna Millsten and Heather Lloyd-Jones respectively, from the Cape Town cast.

She played the part of Dolly Levi in Thornton Wilder’s lively period-New York comedy, The Matchmaker, which was staged by Leonard Schach’s Cockpit Players in 1959. This enduring show, also starring John McKelvey, Nigel Hawthorne, Michael McGovern, Robert Haber and Heather Lloyd-Jones, became the musical Hello, Dolly! She starred in Clive Hirschhorn’s A State of Innocence which was staged at the Library Theatre in 1960. Ruth Oppenheim directed and it also starred Johann Nell. She starred in Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, followed by Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana which was staged at the Playhouse by the Cockpit Players in 1962. Leonard Schach directed, and in his company of actors for these plays were Michael McGovern, Margaret Inglis, Siegfried Mynhardt, Diane Wilson and Kerry Jordan. She replaced Joan Blake in Adam Leslie’s revue Strike it Rich at the Adam Leslie Theatre in 1967/8. It starred Leslie, Joan , Judy Layne and Goerge Korelin. She starred in Leonard Schach’s production of the Paul Zindel play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds, for PACT in 1971. It also starred Janice Honeyman. She starred in the Ben Travers farce, The Bed Before Yesterday, together with Leonard Whiting, Jean Kent, Naomi Buch, Graham Armitage and Gordon Mulholland. It was presented by Pieter Toerien in 1976.

GORDON, Marjorie, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (Australian comedy-drama)by Ray Lawler, presented by NTO, Edward Ogden & Bill Brewer. Frank Graves (décor), 1958. Later changes: Fiona Fraser, Joan Blake, Jane Fenn, Elspeth Bryce, Nigel Hawthorne, Eveline Garratt, Robert Cheetham, Doreen Graves (Costumes).

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