Edgar Metcalfe, (18 September 1933 – 13 September 2012) was an English-born actor, director and author, who widely contributed to theatre in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia.

Personal life

Edgar Metcalfe was born in 1933 in

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, Lancashire, United Kingdom. Edgar's father died before he was born and his mother before he was one year old. His aunt and uncle adopted him and he went to live on a farm in Lancashire. When Metcalfe was 10, his adoptive parents moved to the seaside town of Blackpool, where he gained a scholarship to the

Arnold House School Arnold House School is a preparatory school for boys in the St John's Wood district of Westminster, Greater London. It consists of a Junior School (Years 1-4) and Senior School (Years 5-8). History Arnold House School was founded in 1905 by Miss ...

, a local boys' grammar school. In 2010, Metcalfe returned to Blackpool, intending to retire there, but he soon returned to Perth, finding himself somewhat disillusioned with the differences between what he remembered and what he found.Stephen Bevis
"Old stager gives name to new playhouse"
''The West Australian – Arts'', 22 March 2011 He died in Perth, WA, on 13 September 2012.

Career

Actor

On leaving school, rather than go to drama school, Metcalfe went straight into acting in the British provincial repertory theatre system, which saw him work in troupes of actors touring the country – a training ground that offered the young actor a variety of plays in which to develop his talents. As an actor, Edgar Metcalfe has played many roles including Shakespearean roles as

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...

, Macbeth, Puck,

Prospero Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to se ...

Caliban Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell H ...

and Claudius along with leading roles in ''"

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetu ...

"'', ''"

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

"'', ''"

The Caine Mutiny Court Martial ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'' is a two-act play, of the courtroom drama type, that was dramatized for the stage by Herman Wouk, which he adapted from his own 1951 novel, ''The Caine Mutiny''. Wouk's novel covered a long stretch of time a ...

"'', ''" Quartet"'' and ''"Fagin and Daddy Warbucks"''. He also has a history of playing pantomime dames.Emily Dunn and Elicia Murray
"Queen mum spills the beans"
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 14 February 2008 In 2008, he portrayed

the Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

in ''Two Old Queens'' by John Senczuk at the Riverside Theatre in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

Director

In 1963 at the age of 29, after 12 years working in English repertory, Metcalfe moved to

, to take up the position of artistic director of the National Theatre Company of WA, at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

. He has been quoted as saying this was because he "thought the climate would be better for his asthma".Janine McDonald
"Metcalfe bids 'friendly' farewell"
''UWA News'', 11 June 2010Milne, Geoffrey. ''Theatre Australia (un)limited: Australian theatre since the 1950s'' Australian Playwrights, 2004 Whilst working as the artistic director for the National, Metcalfe coordinated a co-production of ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' between the National Theatre Inc. and the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

at the Dolphin Theatre."Audio Interview with Edgar Metcalfe"
/ref> Subsequently, he was artistic director at The Hole in the Wall Theatre in Leederville (successfully guiding the company through a fiscally difficult time), associate director at the Melbourne Theatre Company and frequently worked with the Effie Crump Theatre in Northbridge. Whilst he was associate director at

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

, he won the Melbourne Critics' Award for his production of ''" The Devils"'' and ''" What the Butler Saw."'' Metcalfe also directed four national tours in Australia: "

Doctor in Love ''Doctor in Love'' is a 1960 British comedy film, the fourth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series, starring James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt and Michael Craig as Dr Richard Hare. This was the first film in the series not t ...

" and " Night Mother" with

Jill Perryman Jill Perryman AM, MBE (born 30 May 1933) is an Australian former stage and screen actress and singer. Combining both her stage acting and her singing, she featured in numerous musical theatre roles, over eight decades and spanning 70 years of ...

and

June Salter June Marie Salter AM (22 June 193215 September 2001) was an Australian actress and author prominent in theatre and television, best known for her character roles. Biography June Salter was born in Bexley, New South Wales, the youngest of six ...

; and "The Nerd" and "Corpse" with the late

Gordon Chater Gordon Maitland Chater AM (6 April 1922 – 12 December 1999) was an English Australian comedian and actor, and recipient of the Gold Logie, he appeared in revue, theatre, radio, television and film, with a career spanning almost 50 years. Bio ...

. In Canberra in 1988 he directed plays including dinner-theatre production of Charles Dyer's Rattle of a Simple Man.

Author

As an author, Metcalfe's writing includes six plays, a collection of short stories set in the Perth hills, and three books, the most recent being a novel based on his play ''Alleycat Alice and Friends''.Ron Banks
"Edgar's packing up and going home"
''The West Australian – Arts'', 23 June 2010

Recognition

Metcalfe was named WA Citizen of the Year in 1976 for service to the performing arts. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

in the 1978 Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to the performing arts. In 2004 he was awarded an Honours Citation during the centenary celebrations for His Majesty's Theatre. In 2011 the renovated IMAX theatre in Perth was named the Metcalfe Playhouse, to honour the long-time artistic director at the Playhouse Theatre who did so much to secure the professional theatre industry in Perth. At the time, Metcalfe said it was a great compliment: "I'm particularly pleased that it's called the Metcalfe Playhouse because, of course, the Playhouse is where I began my Western Australian career in 1963 ... a long time ago!"Claire Nichols
"2012 a mixed year for WA arts"
''

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

News''ABC News
"Prominent theatre actor Edgar Metcalfe dies"
"ABC News", 13 September 2012"Edgar Metcalf – IMDB"
IMDB

Death

Metcalfe died on 13 September 2012 in

Menora, Western Australia Menora is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its local government area is the City of Stirling. In 1954, with the establishment of official suburban boundaries, the new offshoot from Mount Lawley was named Menora in honour of an old theat ...

. He was less than a week from his 79th birthday.

Filmography

Actor

Director

Plays and novels

*''Garden Party'' *''Vinegar and Brown Paper'' *''Homing Pigeon'' *''AlleyCat Alice and Friends'' *''A guy called Alice'' *''With Friends Like These...''

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe, Edgar 1933 births People educated at Arnold School English male stage actors English theatre directors English writers English emigrants to Australia Members of the Order of Australia 2012 deaths Australian theatre directors