Mark Graham

GRAHAM, Mark (19**-) Actor, drama lecturer and award-winning director. Studied acting at the University of Cape Town and completed a B.Dram degree at the University of Stellenbosch. Acted for a variety of companies, e.g. for CAPAB in Measure for Measure, Maynardville (1987) and playing Bouller in Good (1990), before becoming a lecturer in the Department of Drama at the University of Stellenbosch (1991-199*). There he began to direct seriously and did inter alia acclaimed student productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream (199*) and Hello and Goodbye (19**). Also began to establish himself in the professional arena as a director. In 199* he left to follow a enormously profitable professional career, working for CAPAB, Pieter Toerien Productions and a number of other companies on a free-lance basis. Among his most notable productions are ***, ****, ***. Starting with the Rosalie van der Gucht Prize for New Directors in 1991 eh went on to win numerous Vita Awards and Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards as best director during the 90s. Some of his most prominent productions were **, In the late 1990s he also turned to directing for television and later became head of the television section of City Varsity in Cape Town.

GRAHAM, Mark. He manipulated puppets in Robert Hewett’s Gulls which Keith Grenville directed in 1987/1988. He directed I Was King for Pieter Toerien at the Richard Haines Theatre in 1992. He directed Hugh Whitemore’s The Best of Friends in 1993. He directed Bob Randall’s The Fan in 1994. He directed Giles Havergal’s Travels With My Aunt at the Leonard Rayne Theatre in August 1994.

GRAHAM, Mark. He began his career as an actor with CAPAB drama in 1983 and started directing in 1984. Since then he has directed many productions for various managements including The Lisbon Traviata and The Best of Friends for Pieter Toerien. As resident director at NAPAC he was responsible for productions such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Kvetch. He directed Almost the Sound of Music (CAPAB, 1994), Travels with my Aunt (National Arts Festival, 1994), and Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion! in 1996.

Sources

National Arts Festival programme, 1994 and 1996

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