Tony Johnson Read more about Tony Johnson.

Tony Johnson Actor: RolePlay; Much Ado About Nothing; Arsenic And Old Lace; The Vortex; Dark of the Moon; The Importance of Being Earnest, Barefoot in the Park. Over the past forty years, Tony has appeared in more than 50 Plays, often in leading roles and twice winning Best Actor awards. Since joining Canterbury Players in 1990, he has appeared in many of our Productions and  made his Shakespeare debut with us, as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night" and later as Leanato in Much Ado About Nothing. Since then, he has played the homicidal maniac Jonathan in Arsenic And Old Lace, the elderly 'maiden gentleman' in Noel Coward's The Vortex, the hog-farmer Mr Allen in Dark of the Moon and more recently, the judge in the opening scene of Night Must Fall.

Although comedy is essential, if only to put bums on seats, the plays I remember most are the strong dramas; "A Man For All Seasons", "The Crucible", "The Heiress", "The Diary of Anne Frank" and others, which stuff perhaps better suits my limitations.

Having belonged to several dramatic societies over the years, it was the Canterbury Players, in 2005, who offered me my first Skakespearean role - as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night" and aided by a spendid cast, I hope I didn't disgrace myself.

Now well past my twenties (isn't make-up wonderful) I hope I can still be wheeled out from time to time, when a play requires a cantankerous, bad-tempered miserable old git.

This will save me having to do any acting.

TONY JOHNSON'S REVIEWS:

"Tony Johnson played the languid and camp Pawney to perfection, having many of the typically witty Coward lines."
(The Vortex reviewed by Sian Napier )

"Tony Johnson and Irene Marley were hilarious as Julie-Ann's parents; two provincial bigots ultimately succeeding in conducting their daughter's life."
(RolePlay, reviewed by Elaine Godden, Kentish Gazette.)