Ralph Lawson

Ralph Lawson (194*-) is a South African actor and director.

Not to be confused with the British DJ by this name[1]

Biography

He was born and grew up in Cape Town, studied at the University of Cape Town Drama Department and the Central School for Speech and Drama, London.

Contribution to South African theatre, film, media and performance

In a career that spans more than four decades, Lawson's contribution has been significant, including landmark roles as writer, actor and director, working with most theatre managements in the country, as well as lecturing and actively involving himself in a number of drama development programmes, inter alia in in Cape Town and Durban.

As a stage actor

He made his professional debut as "Ariel" in the PACOFS production of The Tempest under the direction of Leslie French in 1968.

After 11 years of working in theatre and television in England, Ralph returned to South Africa in 1981 to play the role of "Mozart" in Pieter Toerien's production of Amadeus, thereafter becoming a freelance actor/director, working for most theatre managements, including the various arts councils - CAPAB (Artscape), NAPAC PACOFS and PACT, as well as the Market Theatre, Pieter Toerien Productions, the Baxter Theatre and others.

The numerous roles played over the four decades of his career have included appearances in "Mozart" in Amadeus (1981), The Importance of Being Earnest (1982), The Dining Room (1983), Noises Off (1983), Measure for Measure (Maynardville, 1987), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1988), Shakespeare's Macbeth by Heiner Müller in 1989,Richard II (1990), Good (as "Halder", 1990), Hamlet (1992 and 2007), Into the Woods (1997), Race (2011), Ubuntu Bill (2022)

As director

He began directing in the late 1980s, pieces including Panorama (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1988), Rearranging the Deckchairs on the SA Bothatanic (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1987), A Long Day's Journey into Night (Eugene O'Neill, CAPAB, 1989), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Maynardville, 1993), The Shakespeare Revue (1997), Annie, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Masterclass Master Class and Cinderella, Hello & Goodbye (Artscape, 2000/2001), Atkinson at 80: The Importance of Being Michael (2007), Hello and Goodbye (co-directed with Pedro Kruger, 2008) and For Your Ears Only (2008/2015).

He also directed plays for the Stellenbosch Drama Department on occasion, including The Government Inspector (Gogol), Prometheus (Dehaeck), A Trip to Scarborough (Sheridan),

As playwright

He co-wrote A Voice I Cannot Silence with Greg Homann, and performed the piece throughout the country.

TV and film

He has appeared in numerous South African and international films, TV dramas and TV series, including The Tomorrow People (1978), Love in a Cold Climate (1980), The Touch of Pink (1982), 1922 (1984), Two Weeks in Paradise (1985), Professional Foul (1986), That Englishwoman: An Account of the Life of Emily Hobhouse (1990), Young Survivors (1990), The Visual Bible: Acts (1994), Kalahari Harry (1994), The Gates of Cleveland Road (2000), Rent a Baby (2001), Madam & Eve (2002), Flood (2007), The Devil's Whore (2008) and The Mauritanian (2021).

Awards

Fleur du Cap Theatre Award - Best Supporting Actor: "Mozart" in Amadeus (1981), Richard II (1990),

Fleur du Cap Theatre Award: Best director: A Long Day's Journey into Night (1989)

Durban Theatre Awards: My Fair Lady (Best Director and Best Actor in a Musical) Masterclass (director), Cinderella (director) Annie (director), The Sound of Music (director).

Naledi Awards: A Voice I Cannot Silence (Best Lead Performance In A Play and Best New SA Script)

The Rosalie van der Gucht Prize for New Directors: Panorama (1988).

Vita Awards "Sigmund Freud" in Hysteria (Best actor).

Sources

CAPAB Brochure, Aug-Nov 1989.

Biography in Felicity Hand (Ed.). 2020. Durban Dialogues Dissected. An Analysis of Ashwin Singh's Plays. Stellenbosch: Sun Press.

Tucker, Percy 1997. Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1668540/

http://48hours.co.za/2016/05/25/actor-focus-ralph-lawson/

Go to the ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to ESAT Personalities L

Return to South African Theatre Personalities

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page