Ron Fenton
Ron Fenton (1935-) is an actor, playwright and theatre personality, best known for his contribution to South African theatre.
Contents
Biography
Born Ronald Edgar Fenton to in Hounslow, Middlesex UK, in 1935. As a child during the 2nd World War, Ron admits he found it an exciting time, fighter planes, air warden drills, and Soldiers in his village. He also said he remembers riding his bike over the Heath, before it became Heathrow Airport. And it was when watching his parents act during the war, that inspired Ron to act himself.
Ron joined the Merchant Navy in 1956. Thus given him the opportunity to travel to far and exotic countries. He also took part in Merchant Navy Training videos.
It was while working as an engineer on the Ship "The Winchester Castle"[1] that Ron met Moreen Walker, who was a passenger travelling back from Rhodesia to UK. They got married in Helensborough, Scotland, on the 1st April 1961. In the same year he left the Merchant Navy to start in a boat yard in Shandon, Scotland, doing general boat repairs.
In 1962 he and Moreen went to settle in Cape Town, South Africa, and lived in Retreat. Hed initially worked in the Internal Combustion Workshop of the Dock Yard in Simons Town, and afterwards in Planning. The couple had three children, Scott, Ross and Frazer. It was in this period that he became actively engaged in Cape Town amateur and professional theatre.
The family went back to England in 1980, where he got a job in planning, and generally lived a conventional life. Initially he did not participate in theatrical activities, but after two years he gradually started writing again and participating in local drama groups, though never again to the extent that he had done in South Africa.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
He began his acting career in South Africa in 1966, and worked extensively with the Maynardville Open-air Shakespeare Theatre, Cape Town (1966 -1975), the Masque Theatre, Muizenberg (1972 - 1979, Bergvliet Dramatic Society (1975), and the Space Theatre, Cape Town (1972 - 1979).
As actor:
His roles for the Maynardville open-air theatre included "Cornwall's servant" (King Lear 1966); "Sergeant" (Macbeth, 1967), "Pistol" (Merry Wives of Windsor, 1969), "Senators, Offices, Messenger and Attendents" (Othello, 1970), "Messenger" (Antony and Cleopatra, 1972), "First Gravedigger" (Hamlet,”
For the Masque Theatre he appeared as "Martin Eppingham" in My Giddy Aunt (Cooney and Chapman, 1972), "George Riley" in Enter a Free Man (Stoppard, 1973), "Edward Robinson" in Naked in the Fountain (Ron Fenton, 1976), "Phil Hogan" in A Moon for the Misbegotten (Eugene O’Neill, for The Sons of England Dramatic Society, 1977), "Basher Bates" in Don't Utter A Note (Anton Delmar, 1979).
For the Space Theatre he had roles in The Slab Boys (John Byrne, 1979), Three Thoroughly Offensive Plays for Mother Grundies (1979), In Two Minds (David Mercerat, 1979)
For the Bergvliet Dramatic Society he played the "Burgomaster" in Laughing Dandino (1975), while his son Ross Fenton played "Eric", one of the children.
For Imps Drama he played the lead in their first production, As Long As Forever Is, a programme of songs, poems and prose by Dylan Thomas, devised by Henry Goodman, Glynn Day and Lynn Banner, (1976)
At Fish Hoek Drama Festival he presented two of his plays, performing in them as well: The Invalid (1974), The Hostage Voluntary (1976).
For Glynn Day Productions he played "Harry Rabinowitz" in Mr McConkey’s Suitcase (Geraldine Aron, 1977), "Bill J Mortimer" in The Chess Mistress (Tony Robinson, 1978)
As director
Directed inter alia his own play The Invalid (Fish Hoek Drama Festival, 1974),
As playwright
He wrote the plays Naked in the Fountain, The Invalid (1974), and The Hostage Voluntary (1976).
Awards, accolades, etc
His acting in Stoppard's Enter a Free Man received high accolades from critic Jill Fletcher (1973): "Ron Fenton as the Free man was excellent. Apart from having to learn a monumental part, (he was hardly ever off the stage) he touched the heart of everyone who has leapt off this dry and dusty earth, missed the stars and crashed back to earth again".
Sources
E-mail correspondence from Frazer Fenton (April, 2016)
Jill Fletcher. 1973. Review of Enter a Free Man, Cape Times, April 1973.
Geoffrey Tansley. 1974. Review of the 1974 Fish Hoek Drama Festival, Cape Times.
Fiona Chisholm 1975. Review of the Maynardville production of Hamlet, the Cape Times, 8th January.
Owen Williams. 1975. Review of the Maynardville production of Hamlet, The Argus, 8th January.
Geoffrey Tansley, 1976. Review of the Imps Drama production of As Long As Forever Is, Cape Times , March.
Anonymous reviewer. Review of The Hostage Voluntary, The Fish Hoek Echo (March, 1976: page 7).
Geoffrey Tansley. 1976. Review of Naked in the Fountain, Cape Times.
Geoffrey Tansley, 1977. Review of A Moon for the Misbegotten'', Cape Times.
Owen Williams 1977. Review of Mr McConkey’s Suitcase, The Argus (26th October, 1977).
Elaine Durbach. 1978. Review of The Chess Mistress, The Argus (21 April 1978: p.7.)
Anonymous reviewer. 1978. Review of The Chess Mistress, Cape Times (5 April 1978) Reviewer unknown
Cast list: Laughing Dandino (courtesy of Frazer Fenton)[2]
Cast list: Don't Utter a Note (courtesy of Frazer Fenton)[3]
Cast list: The Hostage Voluntary (courtesy of Frazer Fenton)[4]
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
