Paul Herzberg

Paul Herzberg is a South African born actor and playwright. Born in 1953 in Cape Town, he studied acting at the University of Cape Town and scriptwriting in Pretoria. He moved to the UK in 1976, after having served as a conscripted soldier on the Namibian border, during the period of the Angolan war. He then studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Since then he has chiefly been active as an actor, but in recent years, has combined both disciplines (acting and writing).

As an actor, his film and television appearances include Cry Freedom, Smiley's People, Agatha Christie's Poirot - Dumb Witness and The Life And Loves Of A she-Devil. He co-wrote and starred in the feature film, Almost Heaven, shot in Jamaica and Germany.

On stage, he first made his mark as Stanley Kowalski opposite Sheila Gish's Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Mermaid Theatre. He is a regular at Manchester's Royal Exchange where his roles have included Bluntschli in Arms And The Man, Langeveld in People Are Living There, Colbert in While The Sun Shines, Captain Papa Louw in his award-winning play The Dead Wait and recently as Capulet in Romeo And Juliet. He has appeared twice at the Chichester Festival theatre, first as Gratiano in The Merchant Of Venice (with Sir Alec Guinness as Shylock); and then in Carrington, as the British painter Mark Gertler. In 2003, he played John Vorster in Sir Antony Sher's play I.D. at the Almeida theatre, where critics singled out his performance.

Paul Herzberg first began writing for BBC Radio in 1992 with the 60 minute play The Song Of My Father; followed by several plays and short stories. His short radio play Where's The Bull?, won the London Radio playwright's festival in 1992 and was broadcast on LBC Radio. When he is not acting he is mostly involved with writing commissioned screenplays.

His stage play The Dead Wait is based on the story of a young South African athlete who is a conscripted soldier in the Angolan Civil War and was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Aweard in 1997. The story also reflects Herzberg's own experiences as a conscripted soldier before leaving South Africa. The Dead Wait was broadcast on BBC Radio and received its theatrical world premiere' at the Barney Simon Theatre at the Market, in 1997. In 2002 it received its British premiere' at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, with Herzberg in the role of Captain Papa Louw, where it was nominated for three Manchester Evenings News Awards (best new play, production and actor) winning in the last category. It also broke box office records. The play was published by Oberon books and has been adapted for the screen by Herzberg.

Paul Herzberg was a superb Shylock in the production of The Merchant of Venice at the Arcola Theatre, Hackney, London, in October 2007. His acting and his writing embody a profound reflection on his and his parents' times, his father Bernhard Herzberg having arrived in Cape Town in the 1930s as a refugee from Hitler's Germany. Bernhard died in 2007, one month short of his 98th birthday, achieving the unusual distinction of being the oldest student in the world, garnering three degrees in his 80s and 90s, having left school at the age of 15. He was posthumously honoured with a special award at SOAS in 2008.

Herzberg is married to the actress Oona Kirsch. His son, Tom, is lead guitarist and songwriter in the Indie band Lo-Fi Culture Scene who have achieved remarkable success in the under age market.

Selected film and television roles

• Murder City, Just Seventeen (2006) - as Max Edwards
• Heartbeat, Music of the Spheres (2003) - as Marek Starosta
• The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Well Schooled in Murder (2002) - as Barry Summers
• The Famous Five, Five Have a Mystery to Solve (1996) - Emilio
• Agatha Christie's Poirot - Dumb Witness (1996) - as Jacob Tanios
• Soldier Soldier, Staying Together (1993) - as Kurt
• Lovejoy, Benin Bronze (1992) - as Andre
• Cry Freedom (1987) - as Beukes
• Smiley's People (1982) (mini) - as Villem Craven
• The Professionals, Mixed Doubles (1980) - as Serpoy

Selected theatre roles

• "Arms And The Man" (1989) - as Bluntschli, Royal Exchange Theatre
• "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1984) - as Stanley Kowalski, Mermaid Theatre
• "The Merchant Of Venice" (1984) - as Gratiano, Chichester Festival Theatre
• "Carrington" (1993) - as Mark Gertler, Chichester Festival Theatre
• "Dancing At Lughnasa" (1990) - as Gerry Evans, Abbey Theatre, Dublin
• "I.D." (2003) - as John Vorster, Almeida
• "The Merchant Of Venice" (2007) - as Shylock, Arcola

Selected Writing

• "Sweet LIke Suga" - (1981/2) Old Red Lion, Centaur Montreal, Theatre 2000 Ottawa, stage play
• "The Song Of My father" - (1992) BBC Radio 4 60 minute play
• "The Crackwalker" - (1993) BBC Radio 4 short story
• "Where's The Bull?" - (1993) LBC Winner London Radio Playwrights Festival
• "Dreaming Up Laura" - (1995) BBC Radio 4 90 minute play
• "The Dead Wait" - (1997) BBC Radio 4 90 minute play
• "The Dead Wait" - (1997) Market Theatre Johannesburg, stage play
• "Angola" - (2001) West Deutschers Rundfunk, radio play
• "The Dead Wait" - (2002) Royal Exchange Theatre, stage play
• "Almost Heaven" - (2005) Feature Film (co-wrote)

External links and references

• Paul Herzberg at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul Herzberg at the Contemporary Africa Database
• The Dead Wait at the Royal Exchange Theatre