Terry MacTavish

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

Terry MacTavish

MNZM
MacTavish on her investiture as MNZM in April 2019
Born
Terry Isobel MacTavish

1950 (age 72–73)
Taiwan
Occupation(s)Actor, drama teacher
EmployerQueen's High School, Dunedin
RelativesShona Dunlop MacTavish (mother)

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. "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. Gibb, John (23 February 2021). "Columba College alumnae honoured". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. "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.
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