Robert Trotter (7 March 1930 – 12 August 2013) was a Scottish actor, director, and photographer.
Biography
Robert Trotter was born in
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, on 7 March 1930. After completing
national service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
in the 1950s, he became an English teacher at
Bellahouston Academy
Bellahouston Academy is a non-denominational state-run secondary school in Bellahouston, south-west Glasgow, Scotland.
History
Bellahouston Academy first opened in 1876 as a private school run by Alexander Sim. It was taken over by the Govan ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. Following his departure from the academy, he was a lecturer in drama at
Glasgow University
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
from 1964 to 1971.
Trotter played an active role in the Scottish arts in the 1960s, working on stage, radio, and television. His work reached a worldwide audience when he joined the cast of the long-running TV drama ''
Take the High Road
''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV network daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the ficti ...
'' in 1982.
In the 1990s, he started to pursue his lifelong interest in photography. In 2001, he published a collection of photographs from Glasgow and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
called ''Sing the City''. The archive at
Glasgow School of Art
The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...
contains 300 of his photos, where they are currently on display to the public.
Theatre
Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London
*'' Bright Scene Fading '' - Tom Gallacher
King's Head Theatre Club, London
*''Recital'' - Tom Gallacher
Traverse Theatre
The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco.
The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary pla ...
, Edinburgh
*''The Gay Gorbals '' - Hector MacMillan
*''Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'' - Tom Stoppard
Pitlochry Festival Theatre
*'' A Midsummer Night's Dream '' - Shakespeare
*''Hobson's Choice ''- Harold Brighouse
*''Babes in the Wood '' - James Bridie
![Robert Trotter in Something in it for Cordelia Dundee Rep](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Robert_Trotter_in_Something_in_it_for_Cordelia_Dundee_Rep.jpg)
Dundee Repertory Company
*'' The Deep Blue Sea'' - Rattigan
*''The Winslow Boy '' - Rattigan
*''Getting On'' - Alan Bennett
*''Travesties '' - Tom Stoppard
*''A Delicate Balance'' - Edward Albee
*''Wise Child '' - Simon Gray
*''I Have Been Here Before'' - J. B. Priestley
*''The Boy Friend'' - Sandy Wilson
Perth Repertory Theatre
*'' What Every Woman Knows'' - J. M. Barrie
*''The Odd Couple '' - Neil Simon
*''The Government Inspector '' - Gogol
*''She Stoops to Conquer '' - Goldsmith
Bedlam Theatre
Bedlam Theatre is a theatre in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The building was completed in 1848 for the New North Free Church. After closing as a church in 1941, the building served as a chaplaincy centre and then a store for the Universi ...
*''The Jungle Book '' - Kipling / Stephen MacDonald
![Robert Trotter with Deirdre Murray in Uncle Vanya1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Robert_Trotter_with_Deirdre_Murray_in_Uncle_Vanya1.jpg)
Theatremakers, Stirling
*''Waiting for Godot'' - Samuel Beckett
Stage Company (Scotland)
*''The Fall of Kelvin Walker '' - Alasdair Gray
Arts Theatre, Glasgow University - 1965–1972
*''The Restoration of Arnold McMillan'' - David Storey
*''The Changeling '' - Middleton & Rowley
*''The Forrigan Reel '' - James Bridie
*''The Man of Mode '' - Etherege
*''The Entertainer '' - Osborne
*''Entertaining Mr Sloane '' - Orton
*''The Cocktail Party '' - Eliot
*''The Shadow of a Gunman '' - O'Casey
*''Play with a Tiger '' - Doris Lessing
*''Uncle Vanya '' - Chekhov
Selected plays directed
*Scottish Theatre Company - ''The Man of the World'' - (Macklin)
*Pitlochry Festival Theatre - ''Translations'' - (Brian Friel), ''Deadline'' - (David Huthison)
*Dundee Repertory Theatre - ''Gigi'' - (Colette/Loos), ''Too true to be Good'' - (Shaw), ''The Father'' - (Strindberg), ''Last of the Red Hot Lovers'' - (Neil Simon), ''Sleuth'' - (Schaffer)
*Tron Theatre, Glasgow - ''Josef and Maria'' - (Peter Turrini)
*Arts Theatre, Glasgow University - ''Tango''- (Mrozek), ''Shelley'' - (Ann Jellicoe), ''Macbeth'' and New Plays by Eric MacDonald and Joan Ure
Selected filmography
*''Clay, Smeddum and Greenden'' (
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
) - (dir. Moira Armstrong)
*''Annals of the Parish'' (BBC) - (dir. Tom Cotter)
*''The Chiel Amang Us'' (BBC) - (dir. Tom Cotter & Gordon Menzies)
*''The Haggard Falcon'' (BBC) - (dir. Mike Vardy)
*''
The Omega Factor
''The Omega Factor'' (stylized as ''The Ωmega Factor'') is a British television series produced by BBC Scotland in 1979. It was created by Jack Gerson and produced by George Gallaccio, and transmitted in ten weekly episodes between 13 June an ...
'' (BBC) - (dir. George Gallaccio)
*''Burgh Life'' (BBC) - (dir. Tom Cotter)
*''Badger by Owl Light'' (BBC) - (dir. Bob McIntosh)
*''The Fetch''
Scottish Television
Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...
- (dir. Iain Dalgleish)
*''City Sugar'' (STV) - (dir. Mike Vardy)
*''
Take the High Road
''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV network daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the ficti ...
'' (STV) (1982–1995)
Selected radio
![Robert Trotter Sing GLA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Robert_Trotter_Sing_GLA.jpg)
*''The Doctor's Dilemma'' - (Shaw) - dir.
John Tydeman
John Peter Tydeman OBE (30 March 1936 – 1 April 2020) was an English producer of radio and director of theatre plays. He was responsible for commissioning and directing the early plays of Caryl Churchill, Joe Orton, Tom Stoppard and Sue Towns ...
*''The Knocker'' - (Alan Melville) - dir. John Tydeman
*''The Idiot'' - (Doestoevsky) - dir. Kay Patrick
*''The Beautiful Garden'' - dir. Jane Morgan
*''Peer Gynt'' - (Ibsen) dir. Jane Morgan
*''For the Whale'' - dir. John Theocharis
*''Nunaga'' - dir. John Theocharis
*''Tusitala and Swift Cloud'' - dir. Christopher Venning
*''Hatter's Castle'' (Cronin) - dir. Stewart Conn
*''They've taken the Swings Away'' (Eric MacDonald)- dir. Stewart Conn
*''Putting it Right'' - (Eric MacDonald) - dir. Stewart Conn
*''Annie S. Swan, The People's Friend'' - dir. Marilyn Imrie
*'' The Bride of Lammermoor'' - (Scott) - dir. Marilyn Imrie
*''Strathinver'' - (Robin Bell) - dir. John Arnott - Winner of Sony Award 1985
*''The Bell in the Tree'' - (Story of Glasgow) - dir. Hamish Wilson
*''The Horror at Bly'' - (as Henry James) - dir. Maurice Leitch
*''Eden Scenes on Chrystal Jed'' - (as Robert Burns) - dir. Alec Reid
*''Deacon Brodie'' - dir. Hamish Wilson
* Audio Books - Scottish and English Classics published by Schiltron and Canongate Books
Photography
''Sing the City'', published in 2001, is a collection of Trotter's photographs. They were taken in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
between 1995 and 1999 and depict the people of both cities. This publication resulted in an exhibition at the Glasgow School of Art in 2004.
Exhibition of Photographs at Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow Evening Times 20 July 2004 and the acquisition of much of his work by them and the Scottish National Photography Collection held within the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...
in Edinburgh.
*
References
External links
*
University of Glasgow Scottish Theatre Archive
''Sing the City''
Most Popular People Born in Dumbarton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trotter, Robert
1930 births
2013 deaths
People from Dumbarton
Academics of the University of Glasgow
Scottish male stage actors
Scottish male television actors
Scottish male voice actors
20th-century Scottish male actors
21st-century Scottish male actors