Raymond Benjamin Thomas Hawthorne (3 May 1936 – 5 April 2025) was a New Zealand theatre director, regarded as one of the country's most senior performing arts practitioners. Based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, he was founder of theatre company Theatre Corporate, director of the

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

for seven years and influential in as a teacher and director over the many decades of his career.

Background

Hawthorne grew up in

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

. He used to ride a horse to his schooling at Pakipaki School (now Te Kura Pakipaki) and Hastings High School. At age five, he won a primary school singing competition judged by Emma Natzke, the mother of Russian New Zealand opera singer

Oscar Natzka Oscar Natzka (15 June 1912 – 4 November 1951) was a New Zealand operatic singer. Early life Born as Franz Oscar Natzke (as he was sometimes credited earlier in his career) at Wharepuhunga, North Island, New Zealand, he was the son of August N ...

. He also performed with Hawke's Bay community opera and theatrical companies.

Career

In 1955, Hawthorne became a member of the

New Zealand Players The New Zealand Players were one of New Zealand's first professional theatre companies, active between 1952 and 1960. The company's director was Richard Campion, who with his wife and co-founder Edith Campion were former members of the New Zeala ...

, the nation's first major professional theatre company. It was directed by Richard Campion, father of filmmaker

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and ''The Power of the Dog (film), The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for ...

. Granted a government bursary in 1957, Hawthorne studied at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

in London. Following graduation he pursued a career as a performer but his interest moved towards directing and teaching. Returning to New Zealand in 1971, he joined the

in Auckland under the directorship of Anthony Richardson. Hawthorne founded

Theatre Corporate Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...

in 1974, a professional theatre company based in Auckland. The company helped bring to prominence artists as

Jennifer Ward-Lealand Jennifer Cecily Ward-Lealand (born 8 November 1962) is a New Zealand theatre and film actor, director, teacher and intimacy coordinator. She has worked for 40 years, appearing in over 120 theatre performances: Greek, Shakespeare, drama, comedy ...

and

Michael Hurst Michael Eric Hurst New Zealand Order of Merit, ONZM (born 20 September 1957) is a New Zealand actor, director and writer. He acted in the television programs ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and companion series ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' ...

. Hawthorne remained director of the company until 1981. Theatre Corporate wound up in 1986. Theatre Corporate had a

theatre in education Theatre in education (TIE), originating in Britain in 1965, is the use of theatre for purposes beyond entertainment. It involves trained actors/educators performing for students or communities, with the intention of changing knowledge, attitudes, ...

arm called Story Theatre that toured Auckland and North Island primary and secondary schools. In 1985, Hawthorne was appointed director of the Mercury Theatre, a position he retained for seven years. During his tenure he directed numerous operas, musicals and plays. Hawthorne established an acting studio, The Actor's Space, in 1992. The same year, he also directed the first

Auckland Theatre Company Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) is a professional theatre company in Auckland. It was founded in 1992 and since 2016 has been based in ASB Waterfront Theatre in the Wynyard Quarter in central Auckland. History Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) wa ...

production, ''Lovelock's Dream Run'' by

David Geary David Geary (born 1963) is a Māori writer from New Zealand who is known for his plays ''The Learners Stand, Lovelocks Dream Run'' and ''Pack of Girls.'' For television he has written for New Zealand series Shortland Street and Jackson's Wharf. ...

out of the ashes of the Mercury Theatre. Hawthorne directed many plays with Theatre Corporate including: ''The Fantastiks'' by Tom Jones, music by Harvey L Schmidt (1977); ''The Two Tigers'' by Brian McNeill (1977); ''Pygmalion'' by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

(1978); ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...

'' by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

(1979); ''Cabaret'' by

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

; and

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...

(1984). In 1982, Hawthorne became director of the National Opera of New Zealand. He directed

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

/ Weill's ''

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny ''Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' () is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed on 9 March 1930 at the in Leipzig. Some interpreters have viewed the play as a ...

'' and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

's ''The Turn of the Screw'', but the company financially failed and finished soon after. In 1997, Hawthorne became the head of the 'Directing and Writing for Theatre and Screen' major at

Unitec Institute of Technology Unitec ( Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka) is the largest institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. 16,844 students study programmes from certificate to postgraduate degree level (levels 1 to 9) across a range of subjects. The main c ...

. He was appointed head of the School of Performing and Screen Arts in 2003. Hawthorne acted in and directed Auckland Theatre Company productions including: ''

Someone Who'll Watch Over Me ''Someone Who'll Watch over Me'' is a play written by Irish dramatist Frank McGuinness. The play focuses on the trials and tribulations of an Irishman, an Englishman and an American (Edward, Michael, and Adam) who are kidnapped and held hostag ...

''; ''

Travels With My Aunt ''Travels with My Aunt'' (1969) is a novel written by English author Graham Greene. The novel follows the travels of Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, and his eccentric Aunt Augusta as they find their way across Europe, and eventually ev ...

''; ''The Judas Kiss''; ''

Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...

''; ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''; ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

''; and Roger Hall's ''Who Wants to be 100?''. In 2011, Hawthorne directed the inaugural production at

's Q Theatre, ''Raise the Titanics''. His other directing credits include ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a 1991 American two-part Play (theatre), play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The two parts of the play, ''Millennium Approaches'' and ''Perestroika'', may be presented separate ...

'', ''

Three Tall Women ''Three Tall Women'' is a two-act play by Edward Albee that premiered at Vienna's English Theatre in 1991. The three unnamed women, one in her 90s, one in her 50s, and one in her 20s, are referred to in the script as A, B, and C. The character ...

'', ''

The Herbal Bed ''The Herbal Bed'' (1996) is a play by Peter Whelan, written specifically for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The play is set in the year 1613 and is about Susanna Hall, daughter of William Shakespeare, who is accused of adultery with local habe ...

'', ''Julius Caesar'', ''Cabaret'', ''Into the Woods'', ''

Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. It centres on the figure of Henry Wilfred Carr, Henry Carr, an old man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during World War I, the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he w ...

'', ''High Society'', ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' and ''Guys and Dolls''. He acted in film and television projects including '' Children of the Dog Star'', ''

Mortimer's Patch ''Mortimer's Patch'' was a popular TVNZ police drama from the early 1980s. It depicted detective and police work in the fictional town of 'Cobham'. It was filmed in and around Helensville, New Zealand..The series was New Zealand’s first polic ...

'', ''

Bread and Roses "Bread and Roses" is a political slogan associated with women's suffrage and the labor movement, as well as an associated poem and song. It originated in a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen Todd; a line in that speech ab ...

'', ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

'' and '' As Dreams Are Made On''.

Death and legacy

Hawthorne died at a retirement village in the Auckland suburb of Hillsborough on 5 April 2025, at the age of 88. Married to

Elizabeth Hawthorne Elizabeth Hawthorne (born 30 April 1947) is a New Zealand actress who is known for her role as Mrs. Macready in the 2005 film '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' and the Peter Jackson supernatural comedy ''Th ...

, he was the father of actresses

Emmeline Hawthorne Emmeline Hawthorne (born 1980) is a New Zealand actress. She is known for her role as Anne Greenlaw on the long running New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. An acclaimed stage and screen actress, she played Hannah Priest in the televisio ...

and

Sophia Hawthorne Sophia Amelia Hawthorne ( Peabody; September 21, 1809 – February 26, 1871) was an American painter and illustrator as well as the wife of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. She also published her journals and various articles. Life Early life S ...

Honours and awards

In the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hawthorne was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to the theatre.

References

External links

*
Raymond Hawthorne at Oxford Reference

Raymond Hawthorne at Playmarket

Raymond Hawthorne at Auckland Theatre Company

Q Theatre

Auckland Theatre Company
* McNeill, Michael

Art New Zealand 9, February–April 1978 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawthorne, Raymond 1936 births 2025 deaths New Zealand male stage actors New Zealand male film actors New Zealand theatre directors Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit 20th-century New Zealand male actors 21st-century New Zealand male actors People educated at Hastings Boys' High School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art