Norman Coombes
Norman Coombes (b. Durban, 04/07/1922 – d. Johannesburg, 11/05/2004) was an actor, dramatist and stage director.
Biography
When Norman Eric Coombes was born to Edward Coombes and Florence May Tiley, his father was a salesman and the family lived in Durban. During World War II he saw service in Northern Africa and Italy and afterwards travelled to London, where he studied the violin. On returning to South Africa, Joan Brickhill persuaded him to act in an amateur production. He then joined the Intimate Theatre in Durban as a stage manager, but found himself acting instead, eventually becoming director of the company. During this time he also tried his hand at directing and continued to combine the two throughout his career, adding his skills as a playwright for good measure. During the 1960s he worked for CAPAB for three years and in 1969 he became company manager for NAPAC. After that he went to Johannesburg, freelanced for a while and then joined PACT, first as part of PACT’s permanent English company and then of the Arena Theatre Company under the direction of Ken Leach. In 1980 he served on the panel for the Amstel Playwright of the Year Award, together with Janice Honeyman & Tobie Cronje.
A popular, committed and prolific performer, he was at home on stage, in film and in television and, when called upon to do so by Graham Weir and Christine Weir, played the violin in some of their productions. He was also noted for his unstinting support of theatrical newcomers, amongst them the then unknown playwrights Damon Galgut and Henry Rootenberg. In 1982 he was nominated for the Durban Critics Circle Award for his performance in The Lady's not for Burning. Towards the end of his life he developed glaucoma and spent the last 18 months of his life in a home run by the Johannesburg Society for the Blind.
Theatre Credits (Actor)
1955 – As Long As They’re Happy (Director: Norman Coombes), 1965 – The Three-Cornered Hat (Choreographer: Frank Staff), 1965 – Satin and Tweed (Director: Malcolm Woolfson), 1966 – The Years of the Locust (Director: David Bloomberg), 1967 – Heartbreak House (Director: Frank Shelley), 1967 – The Beaux' Stratagem (Director: Roy Sargeant), 1968 – The Chalk Garden (Director: Simon Swindell), 1968 – Cape Charade or Kaatjie Kekkelbek (Director: Roy Sargeant), 1968 – The Seven Ages, 1968 – The Cavern (Director: Pieter Scholtz), 1970 – King John (director: Francois Swart), 1970 – Stand By Your Bedouin (Director: Dennis Ramsden), 1971 – In the Case of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Director: Leonard Schach), 1971 – Much Ado About Nothing (Director: Francois Swart), 1971 – Child's Play (Director: John Hussey), 1971 – Lock Up Your Daughters (Producers: Joan Brickhill & Louis Burke), 1972 – Marching Song (Director: Francois Swart), 1972 – As I Was Green (Directors: Ken Leach & Norman Coombes), 1972 – Faustus (Director: Ken Leach), 1972 – Alice’s Adventures Underground (Director: Nigel Vermaas), 1972 – The Magnolia Tree (Director: Ken Leach), 1972 – Richard III (Director: Ken Leach), 1973 – Charley’s Aunt (Director: Frank Shelley), 1973 – Tartuffe (Director: Francois Swart), 1973 – The Trial (Director: Ken Leach), 1974 – An Enquiry into the Voyage of the Santiago as Performed by the Survivors (Director: Ken Leach), 1974 – Troilus and Cressida (Director: John Hussey), 1974 – Tug o’ War (06/1974) (Director: Ken Leach), 1974 – Seppuku (Director: Robert Mohr), 1974 – Sis! (Director: Nigel Vermaas), 1975 – Major Barbara (Director: Frank Shelley), 1975 – Death of a salesman (Director: Ken Leach), 1975 – The Crucible (Director: Barney Simon), 1975 – The Story of an African Farm (Director: Ken Leach), 1976 – Our Town (Director: John Hussey), 1976 – A Flea in her Ear (Director: Ken Leach), 1976 – Conspiracy (Director: Frank Shelley), 1976 – The Rape of the Belt (Director: Francois Swart), 1977 – The Director of the Opera (Director: Taubie Kushlick for PACT), 1977 – London Assurance (Director: Michael Atkinson), 1977 – Murder Among Friends (Director: Roger Redfarn), 1978 – The Bed Sitting Room (Director: Nigel Vermaas), 1978 – Cause Celebre (Director: Joan Kemp-Welch), 1978 – Annie (Producers: Joan Brickhill & Louis Burke), 1980 – Vincent van Gogh – The Lark and the Crow (voice only) (Director: Norman Coombes), 1980 – Send for Dolly (Director: Victor Melleney), 1980 – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Director: Barney Simon), 1981 – Jimmy Righteous (Director: Denis Hutchinson), 1981 – A Matter of Policy (Director: Nicholas Ellenbogen), 1981 – The Adventures of Basher and his Time Converter (Directors: Joyce Levinsohn & Jill Girard), 1981 – After the Fall (Director: Leonard Schach), 1981 – Canterbury Tales (Director: Norman Coombes), 1981 – The Unexpected Guest (Director: Charles Hickman), 1982 – The Lady’s Not for Burning (Director: Michael Atkinson), 1982 – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Director: Aubrey Berg), 1982 – Savages (Director: Francois Swart), 1982 – The Importance of Being Earnest (Director: John Hussey), 1983 – Tom Jones (Director: Janice Honeyman), 1983 – The Night of the Iguana (Director: William Egan), 1984 – Vereeniging, Vereniging (Director: Louis van Niekerk), 1984 – Woyzeck (Director: Dieter Reible), 1984 – Tons of Money (Director: Michael McCabe), 1985 – Happy Days (Director: Marc Colli), 1985 – Equus (Directors: Rex Garner & Robert Whitehead), 1986 – The Student Prince, 1988 – We All Fall Down (Director: Gerrit Schoonhoven), 1989 – Snake in the Garden (Director: Chris Weare), 1989 – Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Director: Marthinus Basson), 1990 – Thark (Director: Keith Grenville), 1991 – Shadowlands (Director: Janice Honeyman), 1992 – The Rocky Horror Show, 1998 – Yelena (Director: Marthinus Basson).
Theatre Credits (Producer)
1955 – As Long As They’re Happy, 1972 – As I Was Green, 1972 – The Nuns, 1973 – Investigation into the Death of a Greek, 1974 – L’Amante Anglaise (credited as production supervisor), 1975 – Shadow of Heroes, 1976 – A Flea in her Ear (credited as assistant director) (Director: Ken Leach), 1977 – Journey’s End, 1979 – Vincent van Gogh - The Lark and the Crow, 1980 – The Promontory, 1980 – Zeyda, or The Pedlar’s Progress, 1981 – I Spy, 1981 – Canterbury Tales, 1982 – Animal Farm, 1983 – Echoes of Anger 1983 – Twelfth Night, 1983 – No Visa to Curacao is Required / In This Court, 1983 – The Diary of Iris Vaughn, 1984 – The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, 1984 – Alive and Kicking, 1984 – Letters from Uncle Barney, 1985 – Robin van der Merwe of Knysna Forest, 1986 – In the war, 1990 – Blitzbreeker and the Chicken from Hell.
Writer (Stage & Film)
1971 – Summer Is Forever (short film) (written with Cedric Sundström), 1979 – Vincent van Gogh - The Lark and the Crow (play) (written with Christopher Consani), 1983 – Song and Dance Man (TV movie) (written with Cedric Sundström), 1983 – The Diary of Iris Vaughn (play), 1984 – The Russian Dwarf Story (monologue), 1984 – The Bicycle Riders (one-act play), 1985 – Robin van der Merwe of Knysna Forest (play), 1986 – In the War (play), 1989 – A Snake in the Garden (play).
Film Credits (Actor)
1971 – Gold Squad (Director: Ivan Hall), 1971 – Summer Is Forever (short) (Director: Cedric Sundström), 1972 – The Winners (Directors: Emil Nofal & Roy Sargeant), 1972 – Sperrgebiet: Diamandgebied No. 1 (uncredited) (Director: Elmo de Witt), 1973 – Dog Squad (Director: Tim Spring), 1973 – The Hunter (short) (voice only – uncredited) (Director: Cedric Sundström), 1974 – Bait (Director: Mario Schiess), 1974 – Gold (Director: Peter Hunt), 1974 – Funeral for an Assassin (Director: Ivan Hall), 1975 – Ter Wille van Christine (Director: Elmo de Witt), 1976 – Karate Olympia / Kill or Be Killed / Karate Killer (Director: Ivan Hall), 1977 – Mister Deathman (Director: Michael D. Moore), 1978 – Billy Boy (Director: Tim Spring), 1979 – Follow That Rainbow (Director: Louis Burke), 1985 – Magic Is Alive, My Friends (Director: Jan Scholtz), 1985 – The Lion’s Share (uncredited) (Director: Norman Cohen), 1986 – Place of Weeping (Director: Darrell Roodt), 1987 – Tenth of a Second (Director: Darrell Roodt), 1987 – City of Blood (Director: Darrell Roodt) (12/05/1987), 1989 – The House of Usher (Director: Alan Birkinshaw), 1989 – Jobman (Director: Darrell Roodt), 1989 – That Englishwoman: an Account of the Life of Emily Hobhouse (Director: Dirk de Villiers), 1990 – Oh Schucks…! Here Comes U.N.T.A.G / Kwagga Strikes Back (Director: David Lister), 1992 – Lethal Ninja (Director: Yossi Wein), 1994 – The Visual Bible: Acts (Director: Regardt van den Bergh), 1994 – Cyborg Cop II (Director: Sam Firstenberg), 1994 – Never Say Die (Director: Yossi Wein), 1994 – The Mangler (Director: Tobe Hooper), 1995 – Hearts & Minds (Director: Ralph Ziman), 1996 – Orion’s Key (Director: Mark Roper), 1997 – Operation Delta Force 2: Mayday / Mayday (Director: Yossi Wein), 1998 – Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target (uncredited) (Director: Mark Roper), 2000 – Merlin: the Return (Director: Paul Matthews), 2003 – Hey Boy (Director: Andre Odendaal).
Television Credits (Actor)
1975 – A World of Difference (TV documentary series) (presenter) (Directors: Alex Learmont & Edgar Bold), 1977 – Frontiers of Science (TV documentary series – shooting started in 1974) (presenter) (Director: Peter Grossett), 1977 – Call me Kelly (TV series) (Episode: The Hostages) (Directors: Bernard Buys, Percival Rubens & David Shreeve), 1980 – The Flow (TV movie) (Director: Edgar Bold), 1980 – The Wind Blew Her Away (TV movie) (Director: Douglas Bristow), 1980 – The Settlers (TV series) (Director: Elmo de Witt), 1981 – Westgate (TV series) (Director: Edgar Bold), 1983 – Song and Dance Man (TV movie) (Director: Cedric Sundström), 1983 – Hamlet: Prince of Denmark (TV drama) (Director: Ken Leach), 1984 – 1922 (TV series) (Director: Edgar Bold), 1986 – Die Mannheim-Sage (TV series) (Director: Koos Roets), 1986 – Thicker Than Water (narrator – uncredited) (TV movie) (Director: Gray Hofmeyr), 1988 – Patrys-hulle (TV series) (Director: Alwyn Swart), 1993 – Sweating Bullets / Tropical Heat (TV series) (Episode: Deal of a Lifetime) (Director: Billy Ruth), 1994 – MMG Engineers (TV series – two episodes) (Director: Bobby Heaney), 1994 – The Line (TV mini-series) (Director: Brian Tilley), 1995 – The Uninvited Guest (TV series) (Director: Ben Nomoyi), 1996 – Legend of the Hidden City (TV series) (Director: David Lister), 1996 – Rhodes (TV series) (Episode 4) (Director: David Drury), 1997 – Joburg Blues (TV series) (Directors: Craig Gardner & Peter Se-Puma).
Awards
He was the winner of the Fleur du Cap Award for Best New Indigenous Script (1988) for A Snake in the Garden and received the Amstel Playwright of the Year Award in 1993 for Episodes in Light and Dark.
Sources
https://www.artlink.co.za/news_article.htm?contentID=20465
https://www.iol.co.za/entertainment/whats-on/joburg/sad-goodbye-to-a-theatre-great-921250
SACD 1973, 1974.
Tucker, 1997. 83, 344, 433.
Star, 17 May 2004.
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