Anton Phillips
Encyclopedia
Anton Phillips is an actor who found success appearing in British
television
. He remains best known for his role as Dr. Bob Mathias
in the science fiction
series Space 1999.
where he graduated from high school. He then moved to the United Kingdom
in the 1960s and attended Rose Bruford College
drama school, whose Jamaican students also included Trevor Rhone and Yvonne Brewster
.
, The Saint
, The Bill
, and becoming best known as a cast member of Space 1999.
His professional life has been dedicated to the promotion of black theatre and to that end Phillips started a number of projects that significantly changed the profile of black and Asian theatre in Britain. Those included the Carib Theatre Company, the Black Theatre Season, and the Black Theatre Forum, companies that were responsible for giving opportunities to many black and Asian writers, actors and theatre technicians.
Under his direction, Carib Theatre’s production of The Amen Corner by James Baldwin
, was the first black-produced and directed play to transfer to the West End
of London, an important theatre area. Major productions have included Remembrance by Derek Walcott
, and Sitting in Limbo — a play written by his wife, actress Judy Hepburn, about Phyllis Coard and the Grenada
revolution which played in London and toured to Jamaica. Carib Theatre also specialized in theatre in education, and toured schools across London for several years, playing to some 30,000 children.
The Black Theatre Season significantly changed the profile of black and Asian theater in Britain. Before the first season, which started in 1983 at the Arts Theatre
in London’s West End, black theatre was largely relegated to drafty church halls and rooms in community centers on the outskirts of cities. However, now black and Asian plays were presented in legitimate theatres with all their facilities of sound, light and comfort. As season followed season for seven years, companies, writers and actors were accorded prominence and respect within the profession and the wider society.
Anton Phillips has also worked for the British Council
in Ghana
, where he directed Trevor Rhone's Old Story Time as the first major production at the newly built National Theatre
. He also lectured at the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana
and for three years was a consultant for the British Council on a special project in Tanzania
to create a company of performers and teach them the principals and practice of theatre in education. He has directed in Germany
, The Netherlands, and France
. He has also managed a 60-strong company of singers, dancers, and musicians from South Africa
on a touring tribute to Oliver Tambo
that was presented at the Barbican Centre
in London and at Salisbury Cathedral
, England
.
Inspired by the Area Youth Foundation of Kingston, Jamaica, Anton Phillips founded the Stonebridge Area Youth Project (SAY), a performance-based project for disaffected young people between the ages of 14 and 24 based in Stonebridge
, a London housing estate
. Through performing arts workshops, SAY encouraged youths to re-engage with society by going back into education and learning life-skills to help them into employment. This project lasted for four years. He also directed Oliver Samuels
, a Jamaican comic actor, in London's Blue Mountain Theatre
for three years of plays that drew audiences of up to 3,000 at the Hammersmith Apollo
theatre.
As well as being an actor, director and producer, Anton Phillips has contributed to magazines and newspapers, usually writing about the state of black arts in the UK. He has also produced a film, the documentary Home sweet Harlesden, a collection of interviews with the first Caribbean
immigrants to Britain.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He remains best known for his role as Dr. Bob Mathias
Bob Mathias (Space: 1999)
Bob Mathias is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. He is played by actor Anton Phillips.-Character Biography:...
in the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Space 1999.
Early life and education
Phillips attended Manchester High before his family moved to Washington DC in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he graduated from high school. He then moved to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the 1960s and attended Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College
Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance is a British drama school, offering university-level and professional vocational training for theatre and performance and the BA and MA degrees, based in Sidcup, Southeast London.-History:Founded in 1950, Rose Bruford "pioneered the first acting degree...
drama school, whose Jamaican students also included Trevor Rhone and Yvonne Brewster
Yvonne Brewster
Yvonne Brewster, O.B.E. is a stage director, teacher and writer.Born in Jamaica, Yvonne Brewster went to the UK to study drama in the mid-fifties at the Rose Bruford College and the Royal Academy of Music...
.
Work
After drama school Anton Phillips began an acting career in Britain that broke many racial barriers, appearing as the first black actor in many TV series including General HospitalGeneral Hospital (UK TV series)
General Hospital is a British daytime soap opera produced by ATV which ran on ITV from 1972 to 1979. It was modelled after the American drama of the same name....
, The Saint
The Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, and becoming best known as a cast member of Space 1999.
His professional life has been dedicated to the promotion of black theatre and to that end Phillips started a number of projects that significantly changed the profile of black and Asian theatre in Britain. Those included the Carib Theatre Company, the Black Theatre Season, and the Black Theatre Forum, companies that were responsible for giving opportunities to many black and Asian writers, actors and theatre technicians.
Under his direction, Carib Theatre’s production of The Amen Corner by James Baldwin
James Baldwin
James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist and civil rights activist.James Baldwin may also refer to:-Writers:*James Baldwin , American educator, writer and administrator...
, was the first black-produced and directed play to transfer to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
of London, an important theatre area. Major productions have included Remembrance by Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott
Derek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...
, and Sitting in Limbo — a play written by his wife, actress Judy Hepburn, about Phyllis Coard and the Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
revolution which played in London and toured to Jamaica. Carib Theatre also specialized in theatre in education, and toured schools across London for several years, playing to some 30,000 children.
The Black Theatre Season significantly changed the profile of black and Asian theater in Britain. Before the first season, which started in 1983 at the Arts Theatre
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
in London’s West End, black theatre was largely relegated to drafty church halls and rooms in community centers on the outskirts of cities. However, now black and Asian plays were presented in legitimate theatres with all their facilities of sound, light and comfort. As season followed season for seven years, companies, writers and actors were accorded prominence and respect within the profession and the wider society.
Anton Phillips has also worked for the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, where he directed Trevor Rhone's Old Story Time as the first major production at the newly built National Theatre
National Theatre (Accra)
The National Theatre, opened in 1992 and located in the Victoriaborg district of Accra, Ghana, was built by the Chinese and offered as a gift to Ghana....
. He also lectured at the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana
University of Ghana
The University of Ghana is the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian universities and tertiary institutions. It is one of the best universities in Africa and by far the most prestigious in West Africa...
and for three years was a consultant for the British Council on a special project in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
to create a company of performers and teach them the principals and practice of theatre in education. He has directed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, The Netherlands, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He has also managed a 60-strong company of singers, dancers, and musicians from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on a touring tribute to Oliver Tambo
Oliver Tambo
Oliver Reginald Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and a central figure in the African National Congress .-Biography:Oliver Tambo was born in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now Eastern Cape...
that was presented at the Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
in London and at Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Inspired by the Area Youth Foundation of Kingston, Jamaica, Anton Phillips founded the Stonebridge Area Youth Project (SAY), a performance-based project for disaffected young people between the ages of 14 and 24 based in Stonebridge
Stonebridge, London
-See also:* Harlesden* Harlesden station* The nearby Dudding Hill Line in Craven Park...
, a London housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
. Through performing arts workshops, SAY encouraged youths to re-engage with society by going back into education and learning life-skills to help them into employment. This project lasted for four years. He also directed Oliver Samuels
Oliver Samuels
Oliver Adolphus Samuels is a Jamaican comedian and actor. He is often described as the Jamaican "King of Comedy" performing both stand up and comic theatre.-Career:...
, a Jamaican comic actor, in London's Blue Mountain Theatre
Blue Mountain Theatre
Blue Mountain Theatre is a theatre company created in London in 1989 to provide theatre pieces for black British audiences.Influenced by the thriving theatrical community in Jamaica, the group attempted to perform pieces that would serves as a social event rather than what they viewed as...
for three years of plays that drew audiences of up to 3,000 at the Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
theatre.
As well as being an actor, director and producer, Anton Phillips has contributed to magazines and newspapers, usually writing about the state of black arts in the UK. He has also produced a film, the documentary Home sweet Harlesden, a collection of interviews with the first Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
immigrants to Britain.