He nearly got trampled by horses, he got threatened by a man wielding a sword, and died spectacularly being skewered as part of a five-solider kebab… but Anton Bentley says that that’s all in the past… or more correctly, his acting past, as he turns his focus to directing and producing shows.
Words: Judene Edgar | Photos: Tessa Jaine
Anton’s career on stage and television started shortly after he commenced studying business studies at Wintec. Having enjoyed drama at high school, he decided to take Saturday morning acting classes while studying. “Out of nowhere” the company he was taking classes with invited him to join them on a tour of the North Island. “I think I was the worst business studies student they had ever had,” he laughs. “I think we were mutually glad to see the back of each other.”
He spent the next nine months performing ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ and ‘Scarlett Pimpernel’ to schools and communities from the top to the bottom of the North Island. “It was such an amazing opportunity to be touring and performing straight out of high school. I really couldn’t believe my luck.” Keen to take his acting further, at the end of the tour he shifted to Auckland to study drama at Auckland University and enjoyed an eclectic range of roles from working in a puppetry theatre to delivering singing telegrams in a neon-coloured tutu.
He then headed overseas for the next seven years – two years in Sydney where he studied opera with Opera Australia – his highlight performing to packed houses at the Sydney Opera House – followed by five years in the United Kingdom doing “a bit of all sorts” – acting, directing, ticketing, and promotions – including directing ‘Once a Catholic’ for the Kensington Drama Company. “It was my first introduction to directing and I really enjoyed it.”
Returning to New Zealand he got cast in Xena, Season 1, episode 1 as Perdicus, who was betrothed to Gabrielle, and ended up doing a range of other characters throughout the show’s run. He was also cast in Hercules and did a number of characters in that show too. At the same time, he was teaching acting classes at the Howick Children’s and Youth Theatre. He continued doing a number of TV shows and commercials but after a few years he decided to go back to university to gain his diploma in secondary teacher training and started teaching drama at Macleans College. “It was hard to combine teaching and acting, so acting took a bit of a back seat, but I was still directing.”
In addition to school shows, he directed a broad range of shows at the Howick Little Theatre Company, including ‘Some Girls’, ‘Walking Eve’, ‘The Woman who Cooked her Husband’, ‘The Shape of Things’, and ‘The Glass Menagerie’.
At the end of 2015 he shifted to Nelson to take up the role of Head of Drama at Nayland College. “I’d never been to Nelson but I was ready for a change of pace and I’d heard about Nelson’s reputation as an arts centre. I spent some time here when I came down for my interview and I really liked it and what it had to offer.” However, one week after arriving in Nelson he was diagnosed with cancer – melanoma in his right eye. He spent the next few weeks flying up and back to Auckland for specialists’ appointments before starting his new job. And then, two weeks into the new school term he had to have surgery to remove his right eyeball. “I didn’t really have a lot of time to think about it. There were a couple of other options, but ultimately it was the best option so I just had to do it.”
The surgery was successful so he was able to go straight back to work. The long wait was waiting for a prosthetic eyeball, which came a year later. “The weirdest thing is the lack of depth perception, and I had to learn to move my head a lot to be able to see, but you get used to it very quickly. However, there were a lot of spilt drinks in the first month or so!”
He didn’t let this slow him down, within weeks of the surgery he was offered the opportunity to direct a play for the Nelson Fringe Festival, ‘Bananaruma’ written by Dawn Marron. “It was so good to get involved in the Nelson arts community and I think it was a great distraction too.” And the play went on to win the People’s Choice Award at the Festival. Keen to meet more people in his new home, he decided to “do a bit of acting”, taking on roles in ‘You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown’, ‘Mamma Mia’, and most recently, ‘Horton Hatches a Controversy’.
He was also in the Nelson Summer Shakespeare productions of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Twelfth Night’. “I’d wanted to be a Shakespearean actor when I was younger so it was great getting to take part in these really fun shows. I only want to do roles that really interest me and that I’ll enjoy. I use the same principle when choosing shows for school or to produce. I want to give the actors something that challenges them, interests them, and has a point of view.”
At the start of 2020 he decided to go back to directing and producing shows with his production company Piece of Work Productions, but unfortunately less than a week before the opening of ‘Children of the Poor’, New Zealand was thrust into a lockdown forcing the cancellation of the show. And then again in 2021, he was in rehearsals for Mary Poppins and less than a week before opening night the show had to cancel due to another lockdown.
But he’s confident that the time is right for him to reignite his passion of directing and producing and has even left teaching to dedicate himself to producing shows. “Nelson’s missed out on a lot over the last few years due to Covid, so I’m ready to help get the theatre scene humming again”. The first of a number of shows he has planned for this year is ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)’. “I wanted something really fun, a really good comedy – a bit zany and crazy.”
Anton says that the Complete Works is an irreverent fast-paced play that romps through all 37 of the Bard’s plays in 97 minutes as three madcap actors in tights weave their wicked way through all of Shakespeare’s comedies, histories and tragedies in one wild ride that will leave the audience breathless and helpless with laughter. “It’s the perfect outdoor summer show for people who just want to have fun and we haven’t had Nelson Summer Shakespeare for two years now, so there’s a definite gap to be filled.”
He's cast three local actors who have to take on “more roles than I can count. They had to be incredibly versatile with contrasting yet complimentary styles.” Matthew Edgar (Barden Party, The Comedy of Errors), Imogen Vlugter (A Christmas Carol) and Myles Smalley (A Christmas Carol). With Matthew off to the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts (NASDA) next month and Imogen off to Toi Whakaari, Anton says that it may be the last chance for Nelson audiences to get to see these two incredibly talented actors perform.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)’ performs at Fairfield House, Nelson, Monday 9 - Friday 13 January 2023.
