Remi Barclay Messenger

Remi Barclay Messenger
Born	Anne Barclay 1946 Springfield, Missouri
Occupation(s)	Actress, Theatre Director, Celebrant

Remi Barclay Messenger, aka Remi Barclay & Remi Barclay Bosseau (b. 13 March 1946) was a founding member of three prominent professional theatre companies in the New York City area – The Performance Group (l967-70, Dionysus in 69), Whole Theatre (1971-1990) and Voices of Earth (1988-2000), the latter two with Olympia Dukakis. Before moving to Australia in 2003, Remi was full-time arts therapist (RDT) in Psychiatry at St. Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, New Jersey. Her theatre work included years of acting, directing and teaching as well as creating workshops for a wide spectrum of institutions, schools and universities.

From the years 2001 she pursued a career as a civil celebrant and celebrant trainer in the USA and from 2003 in Australia.

Early Life

Remi Barclay was born in Springfield Missouri but spent her early formative years in Houston, Texas. In 1964 she attended Tulane University achieving a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Career

The Performance Group: New York

After spending a year in Paris, she returned to the USA and New York and joined The Performance Group as a foundation member a radical group of performers under the Directorship of Richard Schechner. Schechner, inter alia, adapted Greek classic myths for contemporary audiences including the much publicised and patronised Dionysus in ’69. This radical and, because of its nudity, particularly controversial production was much commented on the the critics., Said Clive Barnes of the New York Times: -

The effect of Dionysus in 69 is healthy and liberating. Go and see it with a pure heart and an open mind. Thank me if you love it, forgive me if you hate it, and go in peace.

Whole Theatre

In 1971 the actors Louis Zorich and his wife, the later Oscar winning actress, Olympia Dukakis, founded a theatre group which included Barclay, Jason Bosseau, Gerald Fierst and others. Naming themselves Whole Theatre they based themselves in Montclair, New Jersey, twelve miles from the centre of New York City by a direct route via the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River. In the two decades of this theatre they presented a long list of performances, and enjoyed the support of the local community and the theatre community of New York and New Jersey. In 1975-76 the company acknowledged over 120 substantial donors as well as funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. In 1989 Remi Barclay was listed as one of the three directors of the company alongside Olymypia Dukakis as Artistic Director and Gerald Fierst as co-director with Barclay of Education and Outreach. She is described as follows:-

Remi Barclay is an actress, teacher and director . She has a BA from Tulane University is a founding member of Whole Theatre. She was ammeter of the OBIE award winning Performance Group in New York City. At Whole Theatre she has appeared in many productions including the Rose Tattoo and Mother Courage. Remi directed workshop productions including Rabelais: a Dramatic Game in 1985 and America at Full Moon 1986. She wrote and performed The Courage to Fly Through The Wind Of Your Dreams for Columbia University in 1987. She is a registered drama therapist. She has taught at Rutgers University and is on the faculty of numerous schools and institutions around New Jersey. She also worked with Living Stage in Washington DC. She is director of the Whole Theater’s social action company Thunder In The Light.

Voices of Earth

Concurrently with Whole Theatre, in 1988 Barclay joined with Dukakis, Leslie Avaysian, and Joan Macintosh and created a performing group presenting and exploring themes from the Mesopotamian myth of the goddess Inanna and her sister Erishkigal, Queen of the Underworld. The group created workshops at the Omega Institute, the The Public Theater|Public Theatre]] in New York, Smith College, Williams College in Massachusetts and other places.

Hecuba by Euripides

In 1995 the American Conservatory Theatre at the Blue Shield of California Theatre in San Francisco, presented Hecuba by Euripides. Barclay performed in number of roles including understudy to Olympia Dukakis who played Hecuba. Barclay performed eight public performances in the lead role.

Civil Celebrant:USA & Australia

In the months following the September 11 attacks on New York by Al Qaeda, Barclay, applying her theatrical skills, assisted in the organisation of the number of memorial services for the victims. Recognising her talent , philanthropists Gaile and Raghu Sarma invited her to join a New Jersey group training to be civil celebrants — following the Australian model founded by the Australian Attorney-General Lionel Murphy. Gaile Sarma had secured the services of the experienced Australian civil celebrant and celebrant trainer at Dally Messenger III.

Australia

In late 2003 Barclay migrated to Australia and married Dally Messenger III. Apart from practising marriage and funeral celebrancy at the personal level, Barclay soon achieved distinction as a teacher / trainer with the International College of Celebrancy. She was also one of a specially selected group, chosen and trained by the Australian Government, to teach professional development to celebrants.

From 2010 to 2021 she has practised as an occasional lecturer and workshop leader on mythology, history, theatre and celebrancy.