Peter Land
Encyclopedia
Peter Land is a New Zealand actor and singer known for his classical acting with the Royal National Theatre
and the Royal Shakespeare Company
as well as appearances in many musicals.
, he is the third child of Dr. Allan Neil White, made M.N.Z.M. for services to Medicine and the Community in the New Zealand New Year Honours 2007
and Molly Louise Copeland, whose maiden name provided Land with his last name. Educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School
, Victoria University of Wellington
(graduating from the Drama Department) and Toi Whakaari
: New Zealand Drama School, he achieved notable stage success after moving to England in October 1977.
musical debut was as Freddy in My Fair Lady
followed by seasons at the Royal National Theatre
in Life of Galileo
with Sir Michael Gambon
and the Royal Shakespeare Company
in The Winter's Tale
with Patrick Stewart
, Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona
and All's Well That Ends Well
with Dame Peggy Ashcroft. Equally at home in musicals with roles such as Cliff in Cabaret
, Andre in The Phantom of the Opera
, Snodgrass in Pickwick
, Savory in One Touch of Venus
and in 2007 as Captain Hook
in a new adaptation of J. M. Barrie
's Peter Pan
. In this production, he sang the first stage performance of "Captain Hook's Soliloquy", composed by Leonard Bernstein in 1950 and given its world premiere in concert by baritone Lawrence Tibbett
.
In 1985, he appeared in a season 1 episode of The New Twilight Zone
, called Wish Bank
as a "dream broker".
In summer 2008 Land appeared successfully as Rene Auberjonois
's brother Beralde in Molière
's The Imaginary Invalid, the season's hit at the Shakespeare Theatre Company
in Washington D.C. directed by Keith Baxter
.
In 2010/11 Land was back at The King's Head Theatre (renamed London's Little Opera House) debuting as The Bonze in OperaUpClose's radical reinterpretation of Puccini's Madam Butterfly directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher
, and in Now or Never - his one-man show directed by Gillian Lynne
, and dedicated to the victims of the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake in New Zealand.
in 1980.
: Kelly Hunter, Caroline O'Connor, Toyah Willcox
and Kalli Greenwood. Cast change and sickness made for this unusual occurrence possibly a West End
record .
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
and the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
as well as appearances in many musicals.
Early life
Born Peter Oliver White in TaihapeTaihape
Taihape is the Northern gateway town of the Rangitikei District, located near the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. It services a large rural community and lies on State Highway 1, which runs through the centre of the North Island.- Economy :...
, he is the third child of Dr. Allan Neil White, made M.N.Z.M. for services to Medicine and the Community in the New Zealand New Year Honours 2007
New Year Honours 2007
The New Year Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 30 December 2006, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2007....
and Molly Louise Copeland, whose maiden name provided Land with his last name. Educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School
Palmerston North Boys' High School
Palmerston North Boys' High School is a state secondary school for boys located in Palmerston North, New Zealand.-Location:Palmerston North Boys' High School is located on Featherston Street, between the intersections of Rangitikei Street and North Street....
, Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
(graduating from the Drama Department) and Toi Whakaari
Toi Whakaari
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is New Zealand's National Drama School. It is located in Wellington, New Zealand Toi Whakaari offers training in Acting, Directing, Costume Construction, Entertainment Technology, Performing Arts Management and Design for Stage & Screen.The School offers the following...
: New Zealand Drama School, he achieved notable stage success after moving to England in October 1977.
Career
His West EndWest 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...
musical debut was as Freddy in My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
followed by seasons at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in Life of Galileo
Life of Galileo
Life of Galileo , also known as Galileo, is a play by the twentieth-century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht. The first version of the play was written between 1937 and 1939; the second version was written between 1945–1947, in collaboration with Charles Laughton...
with Sir Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
and the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
in The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
with Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
, Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
and All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
with Dame Peggy Ashcroft. Equally at home in musicals with roles such as Cliff in Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
, Andre in The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
, Snodgrass in Pickwick
Pickwick (musical)
Pickwick is a musical with a book by Wolf Mankowitz, music by Cyril Ornadel, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Based on The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, it is set in and around London and Rochester in 1828....
, Savory in One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus is a musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the novella The Tinted Venus by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygmalion myth. The show satirizes contemporary American suburban values,...
and in 2007 as Captain Hook
Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and its various adaptations. The character is a villainous pirate captain of the Jolly Roger brig, and lord of the pirate village/harbour in Neverland, where he is widely feared. Most...
in a new adaptation of J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
's Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
. In this production, he sang the first stage performance of "Captain Hook's Soliloquy", composed by Leonard Bernstein in 1950 and given its world premiere in concert by baritone Lawrence Tibbett
Lawrence Tibbett
Lawrence Mervil Tibbett was a great American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone, he sang with the New York Metropolitan Opera company more than 600 times from 1923 to 1950...
.
In 1985, he appeared in a season 1 episode of The New Twilight Zone
The New Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.-Series history:...
, called Wish Bank
Wish Bank (The Twilight Zone)
Wish Bank is the second segment of the fourth episode from the first season of the television series The New Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:...
as a "dream broker".
In summer 2008 Land appeared successfully as Rene Auberjonois
Rene Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Chef Louis in The Little...
's brother Beralde in Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's The Imaginary Invalid, the season's hit at the Shakespeare Theatre Company
Shakespeare Theatre Company
The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. Their self professed mission "is to present classic theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights’ language and intentions while viewing their...
in Washington D.C. directed by Keith Baxter
Keith Baxter (actor)
Keith Baxter is a Welsh theatre, film and television actor.- Early years & RADA :Born in Newport, Wales in 1933. Baxter was educated at Newport High School and Barry Grammar School, Baxter studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, during which period he shared a flat with classmate Alan...
.
In 2010/11 Land was back at The King's Head Theatre (renamed London's Little Opera House) debuting as The Bonze in OperaUpClose's radical reinterpretation of Puccini's Madam Butterfly directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher
Adam Spreadbury-Maher
Adam Spreadbury-Maher is a multi-award winning Australian/Irish theatre artistic director, producer and translator. He is the founding Artistic Director of London's Cock Tavern Theatre from January 2009 until the venues closure in April 2011. He became Artistic Director of the Kings Head Theatre...
, and in Now or Never - his one-man show directed by Gillian Lynne
Gillian Lynne
Gillian Barbara Lynne , CBE, born , is a British ballerina, dancer, actor, theatre director, television director and choreographer noted for her popular theatre choreography associated with the iconic musicals Cats and the current longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.-...
, and dedicated to the victims of the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake in New Zealand.
Personal life
Land married the well-known director and choreographer Gillian LynneGillian Lynne
Gillian Barbara Lynne , CBE, born , is a British ballerina, dancer, actor, theatre director, television director and choreographer noted for her popular theatre choreography associated with the iconic musicals Cats and the current longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.-...
in 1980.
Trivia
During the week 10 to 17 January 1987 Land as Cliff Bradshaw 'fell in love' with four different Sally Bowles in the West End revival of CabaretCabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
: Kelly Hunter, Caroline O'Connor, Toyah Willcox
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows...
and Kalli Greenwood. Cast change and sickness made for this unusual occurrence possibly a 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...
record .