Lionel Newton

Lionel Newton (1965-2026 ). Actor and mime artist.

Biography

Born and raised in Alberton on the Witwatersrand, but was sent to a Catholic School in Kimberley for his schooling. Trained at the University of Cape Town Drama Department.

Married to South African stage director and playwright Lara Foot. The couple separated and Lionel moved to Johannesburg in 2010, after seven years in Cape Town.

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

Theatre

Stage productions include: Savages (1984); Liefdeskringloop (1985); Oliver! (1985); Personal Column (1985); Anatomie Titus Fall of Rome (1986); The Wizard of Oz (1986); Measure for Measure (1987); Macbeth; Rodney Gets His Gun; Romeo and Juliet; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Thina Bantu - We People (1988); Hamlet; The Seagull (1987); Silent Movie (directed by Barney Simon, 1992); Reggie’s Roaring Roadshow (1993); Victoria Almost Falls (1994); Hello and Goodbye (1994); Khaya in the Sky (1995); Shooting Billy the Kid (director, 1996); Keely and Du (1997); Ma-Gents (1997); Endgame (1997); Closer (1998): Waiting for Godot (2001); Gums and Noses (2001); Hear and Now (2005); It's Just Not Fez (2007), The Tempest (2009); Antony and Cleopatra (2010); The Miser (2012); Pale Natives (2014); Truth in Translation; The Return of Elvis du Pisanie (2014); Eat Me!;

In the 1990s he began working with Andrew Buckland, and together they performed many of Buckland’s plays, under the direction of either Janet Buckland or Lara Foot-Newton. These include Bloodstream (1992 & 1994); Feedback (from 1994); The Well Being (1999).

Film

Roles in feature films and made-for-TV movies include: Rage to Kill (1987); Billy in An African Dream (1987); The Good Fascist (1992); Yankee Zulu (1993); Jump the Gun (1997); Sgt. Smit in Stander (2003); Luke in Forgiveness (2004); Country of my Skull (2004); Dave in Gums & Noses (film) (2004) ; Crossing the Line (2005); John D. Daragon in Mama Jack (2005); Coup! (2006); Treppie Benade in Triomf (2008); Martin in Jozi (2010); Rhythm City (2010); Paradise Stop (2011); John Wraith in Sleeper's Wake (2012); Jack Hodgeson in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013); Donald in Nothing for Mahala (2013); Kite (2014); While You Weren't Looking (2015); Schuks! Pay Back the Money! (2015); The Chemo Club (2016); Heart AKA Four Minutes (2017); Die Rebellie van Lafras Verwey (2017); Pop, Lock 'n Roll (2017); Hole in the Wall (2017); Farewell Ella Bella (2018); Mia and the White Lion (2018); The Banana Spilts Movie (2019); Somerkersfees (2019); The Last Days of American Crime (2020); Boy Kills World (2023); Breathing In (2023).

Television

Television credits include: Barney Barnato (1989); To the Ends of the Earth (2005); Sorted (2005-2006); You be the Judge; Life Begins at Forty; Soul Buddyz; Isidingo; Crossing the Line; Rhythm City; End Game; Bulletproof (2021); Abraham Lincoln (2022).

Awards, etc

Lionel Newton has won many acting awards in South Africa, including:

Evening Post Showtime Awards, 1994, for Bloodstream (best supporting actor - professional).

Vita Award (Cape Town region) 1998 Best Support Actor, Feedback.

Vita Award (Gauteng region) 1999, Best supporting actor, The Well Being.

The Vita Award for Best Lead Actor for his role as Estragon in Waiting for Godot (2002).

Sources

Tucker, 1997.

Various entries in the NELM catalogue.

Rapport, 16 December 2007.

TVSA [1].

IMDb [2].

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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