Mervyn Thompson
Encyclopedia
Mervyn Garfield Thompson (1936 - 1992) was a prominent New Zealand
playwright
and theatre director. He was one of the founders of Court Theatre in Christchurch
, an artistic director of Downstage Theatre
in Wellington and Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury
. His theatrical writing championed the downtrodden and featured a revival and refinement of the genre of songspiel. He is regarded as one of New Zealand's most significant and controversial playwrights.
in South Otago
. His family moved to the West Coast where he variously lived in mining towns such as Reefton and Runanga. he left school at the age of 15 and spent 5 years working as a coal miner. during this period he first became involved in amateur dramatics.
He attended Canterbury University in his twenties, studying English, and came under the influence of Ngaio Marsh
. He played the role of Proculeius in her 1959 production of Antony and Cleopatra
, from which he earned the nickname 'Proc' which stuck for the rest of his life.
Graduating with an MA in 1964, he became a university lecturer in 1965.
Thompson died of throat cancer in 1991. He had one son, who is autistic.
. Uncle Scrim refers to broadcaster Colin Scrimgeour
. First produced at Downstage Theatre, Wellington, 11 March 1976. The play was revived and extensively reworked for a Christchurch production in 1989.
and Richard Pearse
meet in the afterlife.
. Premiere 1991, Court II, Christchurch.
A solo performance which was a personal journey through the history of New Zealand theatre, including excerpts from his own work and that of Bruce Mason
and others. Passing Through played for three separate seasons in Christchurch and toured to Wellington, Dunedin and Auckland. A planned small town tour was cancelled due to Thompson's declining health
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and theatre director. He was one of the founders of Court Theatre in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, an artistic director of Downstage Theatre
Downstage Theatre
The Downstage Theatre is a theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, and the country's longest running professional theatre, established in 1964.The founders at the inaugural meeting in the Wellington Public Library on 15 May 1964 were actors Peter Bland, Tim Elliott and Martyn Sanderson, with...
in Wellington and Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
. His theatrical writing championed the downtrodden and featured a revival and refinement of the genre of songspiel. He is regarded as one of New Zealand's most significant and controversial playwrights.
Life
Thompson was born in the small mining town of KaitangataKaitangata
Kaitangata can mean the following:*Kaitangata, New Zealand, a small town near the coast of South Otago in New Zealand*Kaitangata , a character in Māori mythology...
in South Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
. His family moved to the West Coast where he variously lived in mining towns such as Reefton and Runanga. he left school at the age of 15 and spent 5 years working as a coal miner. during this period he first became involved in amateur dramatics.
He attended Canterbury University in his twenties, studying English, and came under the influence of Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...
. He played the role of Proculeius in her 1959 production of Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
, from which he earned the nickname 'Proc' which stuck for the rest of his life.
Graduating with an MA in 1964, he became a university lecturer in 1965.
Thompson died of throat cancer in 1991. He had one son, who is autistic.
Theatre
In 1970, Thompson and Yvette Bromley proposed the founding of a professional theatre in Christchurch, following the earlier establishment of Downstage in Wellington and Mercury Theatre in Auckland. .Controversy
In February 1984, Thompson, then a lecturer at Auckland University, was abducted, threatened to have his penis cut off, and left tied to a tree in an Auckland park wearing a sign labelling him a rapist. The abduction was allegedly staged by a feminist action group based at the University following an accusation by one of his students. Thompson vigorously denied the accusation, admitting he had an affair with the student but claiming it was consensual. The abduction imitates the plot of a stage play Setting the Table by Renee, a friend of Thompson's. Thompson had acted as dramaturg at the workshopping of the play. The incident made headlines for some time and had a major impact on Thompson's career, with protests at many performances of his solo show Coaltown Blues.Songs to Uncle Scrim
A songplay about the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Uncle Scrim refers to broadcaster Colin Scrimgeour
Colin Scrimgeour
Rev. Colin Graham Scrimgeour, known as Uncle Scrim or Scrim was a New Zealand Methodist Minister and Broadcaster....
. First produced at Downstage Theatre, Wellington, 11 March 1976. The play was revived and extensively reworked for a Christchurch production in 1989.
The New Zealand Truth Show
Covers 50 years of New Zealand history as seen through the filter of the tabloid newspaper "Truth". New Independent Theatre, Auckland, 1982Coaltown Blues
Probably Thompson's best-known work, a solo show which played 114 performances in main centres and small towns. - 1984Jean and Richard
Initially a radio play which won a Mobil Radio Award, it was adapted for the stage and premiered at Court Theatre in 1990. The play is a fantasy in which Jean BattenJean Batten
Jean Gardner Batten CBE OSC was a New Zealand aviatrix. Born in Rotorua, she became the best-known New Zealander of the 1930s, internationally, by taking a number of record-breaking solo flights across the world....
and Richard Pearse
Richard Pearse
Richard William Pearse , son of Cornish immigrants from St Columb near Newquay, a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering experiments in aviation....
meet in the afterlife.
Lovebirds
1990 A semi-autobiographical drama on the theme of sexual addiction. Wagner's 'Tristan and Isolde" is interwoven with the story of the tempestuous affair between a sculptor and his lover.Passing Through
Directed by Stuart DevenieStuart Devenie
Stuart Forbes Devenie is an actor and theatre director in New Zealand whose career spans three decades on stage and screen. He has performed in theatre productions nationally and internationally. In the 1980s, he was the Artistic Director of Centrepoint Theatre in Palmerston North and has been a...
. Premiere 1991, Court II, Christchurch.
A solo performance which was a personal journey through the history of New Zealand theatre, including excerpts from his own work and that of Bruce Mason
Bruce Mason
Bruce Edward George Mason, CBE was a significant playwright in New Zealand who wrote 34 plays and influenced the cultural landscape of the country through his contribution to theatre. In 1980, he was awarded the prestigious CBE.The Bruce Mason Award, one of the most important playwrighting...
and others. Passing Through played for three separate seasons in Christchurch and toured to Wellington, Dunedin and Auckland. A planned small town tour was cancelled due to Thompson's declining health
External links
- Te Ara streaming audio of Thompson singing the title song from Coaltown Blues
- Playmarket NZ bio