Michael Haigh

Michael Haigh (1935 – 31 October 1993) was a New Zealand actor, narrator and teacher.[1][2][3]

Michael Haigh
Haigh in 1984
Born1935
Died31 October 1993
Occupation(s)Actor, teacher
Years active1950s–1993

Early life

Haigh grew up in Wellington, New Zealand. His parents separated when he was 10 years old. Haigh was estranged from his father, an actor, and his mother, Dorothy, a radio broadcaster, raised him.[4][5]

Career
doorway from the outside of the building taken from an angle, the doors are open. white wood and red painted brick and stone work. a sign above the door says Circa Theatre
Circa Theatre entrance, Wellington

Haigh grew interested in theatre while attending Rongotai College. After leaving school he considered going into either journalism or teaching, but he settled on teaching and attended Wellington Teachers’ Training College in the 1950s. During this time, Haigh was active with The Thespians and Unity Theatre in Wellington.[4]

Haigh was a teacher for 15 years. For the last seven of those years, Haigh, his wife, and two children were based in the far north of New Zealand, where he was teaching.[4] In the 1960s he moved back to Wellington, as he had decided to become an actor as he no longer wanted to work in teaching.[6]

His first television role was playing an officer in Gone up North for a While in 1972. In 1976 he was one of the founding members of Circa Theatre in Wellington, along with Ray Henwood, Grant Tilly, Susan Wilson, Jean Betts and others.[7] The idea was conjured at a dinner party at Haigh's house in Miramar. It was the second professional theatre in Wellington, after Downstage.[8][9][3]

The first play he directed was Roger Hall's Middle Age Spread at Circa Theatre in 1977.[3][9]

Haigh went on to act in more television drama with Landfall: A Film About Ourselves, Moynihan and Close to Home.[10][11]

His final role was in the 1992 New Zealand film Absent Without Leave.[12] Haigh died in Wellington on 31 October 1993.[4]

Filmography [4]

References
  1. Smythe, John (2004). Downstage Upfront: The First 40 Years of New Zealand's Longest-running Professional Theatre. Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-0-86473-489-1.
  2. Martin, Helen; Edwards, Sam (1997). New Zealand Film, 1912-1996. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-558336-6.
  3. Nicolaidi, Mike (1978). "Circa Theatre at the Crossroads?". Art New Zealand. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  4. "Michael Haigh". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  5. Wenley, James (18 October 2020). Aotearoa New Zealand in the Global Theatre Marketplace: Travelling Theatre. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-57513-6.
  6. "Haigh, Michael, 1935–1993". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  7. specified, Not (1 January 1982). "Michael Haigh". Michael Haigh | Items | National Library of New Zealand | National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  8. "Wellington's Circa Theatre celebrates the "Big Four-O"". Stuff. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  9. Circa 1976-1996. John Reid, Ruth Jeffrey, Council of Circa Theatre. Wellington [N.Z.]: The Council of Circa Theatre. 1996. ISBN 0-473-04155-3. OCLC 37434951.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. "Glide Time a smash hit and sell out show". Stuff. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  11. Screen, NZ On. "Credits | Landfall - A Film about Ourselves | Television | NZ On Screen". www.nzonscreen.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  12. "Michael Haigh". IMDb. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
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