William Takaku (died 3 January 2011) was a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

theatre 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 (theatre), stage. The performe ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He was also a

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and a former

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Career

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he travelled far from his birthplace on the island of Bougainville, as a storyteller and spokesperson for his people. They had recently expelled from the island copper mining operations which had been polluting the river they depended upon. In June 1991, he was a guest speaker and storyteller at the International Gathering of Mother Earth's People, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Education

In 1975, as a celebration of Independence, William and a PNG colleague, Matalau, were chosen by the director of NIDA (Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, in Sydney) to undertake a year-long special Acting Course. He studied under Alexander Hay with other teachers including Keith Bain, Jicky Martin and Aubrey Mellor. Other students in their cohort were

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both List of Judy Davis performances, screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses ...

and

Steve Bisley Steve Bisley (born 26 December 1951) is an Australian writer, film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Mad Max'' (1979) and ''The Great Gatsby'' (2013). On television, some of his better-known roles include Dete ...

. He acted roles in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), The Tempest (Caliban) and Chekhov’s Swan Song (Svetlovidov). In 1981, William returned to NIDA to complete the Dilploma in Directing. In the Directing Course he studied along with Gale Edwards, Mark Gaal and Musa bin Musa. He was for a time director of the

National Theatre Company The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

in Papua New Guinea. He co-wrote, with Albert Toro, and directed the television

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

Warriors in Transit A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been pr ...

'' (1992).Thompson, Liz (18 October 2000)
"Warriors in Transit: Theatre in Papua New Guinea"
arTok – Pacific Arts Online ("an

ABC Online The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the Australian Government, federal government and is administered by a government ...

Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

initiative"), hosted on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's website. Accessed 20 January 2010. Takaku has also directed the Milne Bay Provincial Theatre Group. As an actor, he co-starred as

Man Friday Friday is one of the main characters of Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel ''Robinson Crusoe'' and its sequel '' The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe''. Robinson Crusoe names the man Friday, with whom he cannot at first communicate, because they fir ...

alongside

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

in the film ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

'' (1997) and he appeared as Magnus in the television miniseries ''

The Violent Earth ''The Violent Earth'' is a 1998 French-Australian mini series set in New Caledonia from 1888 to 1977.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford University Press, 1996 p247 Cast * Karina Lombard : Anna Temaru * Claud ...

'' (1998).

Unpublished Plays by William Takaku

1980, Eberia. 1985, Medea. A Dream for Melanesia. For Our Tomorrow. Gilgamesh. The Jawsharp Mosquitoes. Judgement of the Birds. On Coughs, Colds and Pneumonia. On Tuberculosis. Pekato bilong Man, (adaptation of Fall of Man by Ulli Beier) The Principal. The Rain Tree. Tru Tru Man.

Plays by Takaku performed in the National Theatre Repertoire 1974-1982

Eberia Musical Legend 1980 Flying Fox Skit – with Golila Pepe Gilgamesh One Act Play National Puppet Show With Oliver Sublette Olpela Akta Two-hander based on Chekhov’s Swan Song Pekato Bilong Man Social comedy adapted from Ulli Beier The Principal Social Issue Drama The Rain Tree Environmental play Painim Rot: Making New Roads. The Published Plays of Papua New Guinea. Stonehouse, Gary. NIDA Conversion 2001.

Filmography

References

6. * Painim Rot: Making New Roads. The Published Plays of Papua New Guinea. Stonehouse, Gary. NIDA Conversion 2001.

External links

* Year of birth missing 2011 deaths Papua New Guinean actors People from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville {{screen-actor-stub