John Hussey

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(****-****). Actor and director. Associate Director and Drama Consultant for PACT (1973), PACT director of English Drama (from 19** to 19**). Won Durban Critics Circle Award Best Actor 1979. Performed in The Merchant of Venice (as “Shylock” with NAPAC), The Gin Game (as “Weller Martin”), Present Laughter (as “Gary Essendine” with PACT), A Midsummer Night's Dream (as “Bottom” with NAPAC in 1980), The School for Scandal (as “Sir Peter Teazle” with PACT in 1980) Royal Hunt of the Sun (with PACT), Jumpers (with the Durban Theatre Foundation)

Directed Relatively Speaking (with The Company), Rebecca (with NAPAC), Present Laughter (with PACT), Rookery Nook (with PACT), Child Spell. (SACD 1979/80) (SACD 1980/81) (SACD 1981/82)

HUSSEY, John. (19**-) Actor and director, stage and screen. ***Actor and director for the National Theatre Organisation, for which he did *** Later became a member of the PACT English company for many years ***. Plays directed include ***, ** The Taming of the Shrew (Maynardville, 1984 - Fleur du Cap Best Director), Film credits include the 1974 Roger Moore film, Gold. Starred in Love in Idleness with Margaret Inglis who also produced the production at the Library Theatre in 1955. He directed Peter Shaffer’s double bill Black Comedy and White Liars with Ruth Oppenheim and Eckard Rabe for PACT/TRUK at the Alexander Theatre in 1972. He directed Kauffman and Hart’s You Can’t Take It With You, starring Brian Brooke and James White at the Brooke Theatre in 1972. His production of A Man and His Wife starring Stuart Brown was also staged at the Brooke in 1972. He directed and starred in Noël Coward’s Hay Fever together with Shelagh Holliday, and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida with Eckard Rabe, Annelisa Weiland, James White and Siegfried Mynhardt for PACT in 1974. He also directed the PACT production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, choreographed by Geoffrey Sutherland and starring Richard Loring, Bruce Millar and Alvon Collison at the Alexander in 1974. He directed Thornton Wilder’s Our Town starring Diane Wilson, Danny Keogh and Michael McCabe for PACT at the Alexander in 1976. Together with Mannie Manim he co-directed The Company’s production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Absurd Person Singular, designed by Anthony Farmer and starring Diane Appleby, Graham Armitage, Naomi Buch, Wilson Dunster, Kerry Jordan and Gay Lambert at the Market Theatre in November 1977. He directed Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy Relatively Speaking starring himself, Helen Jessop, Andre Hattingh and John Rogers at The Market Theatre in 1978. He starred in John Pank’s Windmills of the Mind with Michael McCabe, Kerry Jordan and Bobby Heaney with direction by François Swart for PACT in 1979. He directed and starred in a revival of Coward’s Present Laughter for PACT in 1979. It also starred Shelagh Holliday and Erica Rogers. He starred in Roy Sargeant’s production of Sheridan’s The School for Scandal together with Erica Rogers, Richard Haines and Bobby Heaney for PACT at the Alexander in 1980. He starred in PACT’s production of Peter Shaffer’s Shrivings together with Joe Stewardson with direction by [[Roy Sargeant] in 1982. He directed Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest starring Ralph Lawson, Andrew Buckland, Dorothy-Ann Gould, Gabrielle Lomberg and Shelagh Holliday for PACT in 1982. He starred in PACT’s production of Sheridan’s The Rivals together with Pauline Bailey, Wilson Dunster, James White, Pamela Gien and John Lesley directed by Michael Atkinson at the State Theatre in March 1983. He starred in Lerner and Louwe’s Gigi at the Pretoria State Theatre in 1992. He starred in Hugh Whitemore’s The Best of Friends in 1993. *** (Tucker, 1997); [also in Durban, McMurtry]

HUSSEY, John (dir). The Taming of the Shrew, Maynardville, 1983. The Rivals, 1983, PACT. Michael Atkinson, John Hussey, James Borthwick, Wilson Dunster, Susan Gehr. As You Like It, (dir) Maynardville, 1984, Dorothy-Ann Gould, John Whitely.

Quoted from the programme of Two Into One 1986: 'John was born in London. Already a well-established theatrical personality he came to South Africa in 1952 and for the next five years was heavily involved in acting and directing. Returning to England in 1958 he worked extensively in all the entertainment media including including a large selection of prestige plays for TV and film and 6 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1971 John returned to South Africa to play in productions of The Case of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Much Ado About Nothing. A highly respected and versatile actor, his leading roles include Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Philip in Relatively Speaking, Sir Anthony Absolute in The Rivals, Shylock in Merchant of Venice, the title role in Julius Caeser, Beckett in Murder in the Cathedral, the title role in King Lear and the father in Billy Liar. TV roles include Gerald Dingley in The Dingleys, Duncan in Macbeth, the headmaster in Brent House and the inspector in Kiss the Girls Goodbye. He has directed numerous productions including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Child's Play, Rebecca, The Entertainer and the Maynardville productions of The Taming of the Shrew and As you like it.'

Sources

Two Into One programme notes, 1986.


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