Terry MacTavish

Actor and drama teacher in New Zealand

  • Shona Dunlop MacTavish (mother)
  • Bonar Dunlop (uncle)
  • Jocelyn Ryburn (aunt)

Terry Isobel MacTavish MNZM (born 1950) is an actor and teacher from Dunedin, New Zealand.[1]

Early life and family

MacTavish was born in Taiwan in 1950, where her parents MacDonald MacTavish, a Scottish Free Church minister, and Shona Dunlop MacTavish, were working at the English Presbyterian Church Mission in Tainan.[2][3] Her mother taught English and ballet to the local children.[3] The family later moved to South Africa, where MacTavish's parents worked as missionaries: her father died there in 1957, and she returned to New Zealand with her mother and two siblings to live in Dunedin.[4]

Career

MacTavish's acting career started with the Southern Players at age 18. She went on to perform in productions at the Globe Theatre and the Fortune Theatre.[5]

For 47 years MacTavish taught at Queen’s High School, Dunedin, including being head of drama.[5][6] She was part of the educational group that developed drama in a new arts curriculum in New Zealand including establishing drama as an NCEA subject.[6]

MacTavish was also part of Allen Hall at the University of Otago in the 1960s.[7]

In 2008, MacTavish and Ross Johnston revived a play they had performed in 1975 at the Fortune Theatre, Pinter's Old Times, directed by Lisa Warrington.[8] MacTavish's 1975 performance had been described as "dark, textured and petulant", while her 2008 interpretation of Anna was "sophisticated and mysterious".[9]

In 2011, she played the "flamboyant medium" Madame Arcati, in Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit at the Globe Theatre, Dunedin.[10]

In May 2013, MacTavish and Emerita Professor Jocelyn Harris presented Women Behaving Badly, a selection of readings from Jane Austen, at the Globe. [11]

One reviewer called MacTavish's performance as Elizabeth I in Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart at the Globe in 2016 "mesmerising".[12]

Honours and awards

In the 2019 New Year Honours, MacTavish was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to theatre and education.[13] In 2021, she was recognised as a distinguished alumna of Columba College.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Such Wickedness: Theatre in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park". University of Otago. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. ^ "MacTavish, Terry Isobel, 1950-". Tiaki. National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Missionary's wife ran a dance class". Australian Women's Weekly. 20 May 1950. p. 35. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Shona Dunlop MacTavish, Dunedin dance pioneer, dies aged 99". RNZ News. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Gibb, John (23 February 2021). "Columba College alumnae honoured". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. ^ a b "New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews - Theatreview". Theatreview. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  7. ^ Warrington, Lisa (2014). Allen Hall 100 years, 100+ voices. Alison Finigan, University of Otago. Theatre Studies. Dunedin, New Zealand. ISBN 978-0-473-29737-4. OCLC 894037442.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Benson, Nigel (26 June 2008). "Testing the truth of memories". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Old Times - A seriously good drama". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  10. ^ Smith, Charmian (8 December 2011). "Getting into the spirit". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  11. ^ Smith, Charmian (16 May 2013). "The worst of Jane Austen". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  12. ^ "MARY STUART - Intimacy adds to immediacy". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  13. ^ "New Year honours list 2019". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2021.