Raymond Hawthorne.
Photo: Provided Theater Company / Auckland
The actor and theater director Raymond Hawthorne died at the age of 88.
Hawthorne became a member of the first major professional theater company in the country – New Zealand players – in 1955 and two years later he received a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
He founded Auckland’s Theater Corporation in 1974 and was appointed director of Mercury Theater in 1985, where he directed many pieces, operas and musicals.
Subsequently, he acted and directed several productions from the Auckland Theater Company.
Hawthorne was appointed head of the Unitec Performance and Screen School of Performance and Screen in 2003.
He also had passages directing Opera New Zealand and was appointed official of the New Zealand Order of Merit for theater services.
One of Aotearoa’s main actors said death is a great loss.
Actor and director Jennifer Ward-Lealand said it is a sad day for many.
She said Hawthorne was a theater titan, who informs her performance and teaching to this day.
He was honored today by many of his fellow actors.
In an Instagram post, Mark Hadlow said Hawthorne was an inspiration to many and “defined the bar so high that we had to reach and continue to challenge and achieve.”
“You were an amazing teacher, friend and mentor, encouraging and demanding our own skills to grow.”
Simon Prast said on Facebook that Hawthorne’s “immeasurable contribution lives in the work of many of us who taught and in the memories of all who saw him act or a piece he has directed.”
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