Richard Manning

Richard has been involved in various creative endeavours over a number of years. He has played guitar in Rock and Blues bands and also Jazz bands including The Blamey Street Big Band for nine years. He also played in that festival favourite 70s funk band Turner’s Antidote. He has sat understage, again with his guitar, in a number of musicals such as Cats (ANU), Spring Awakening (Phoenix Players) Godspell and Hello Dolly (Queanbeyan Players).

Richard spent much of his working life as a drama teacher at Canberra high schools and Colleges and has directed Year 10 and Year 12 students in plays as diverse as Royal Hunt of the Sun (Peter Shaffer), Clockwork Orange 2004 (Anthony Burgess), Blackrock (Nick Enright), The Golden Age (Louis Nowra) and Dust (Stephen Sewell). He also enjoyed immensely working with Chris Zuber and Kelly Roberts as they directed their shows at Dickson and Narrabundah Colleges. 

Since retiring he has performed above stage, most recently as Lord Burleigh in the Kate Mulvany adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s Mary Stuart for Chaika Theatre. Previously as Alan in Mary Rachel Brown’s Rosieville for Canberra Youth Theatre; Ray in Brendan Cowell’s Ruben Guthrie for Wander Theatre (for which he was nominated for a 2023 Ovations Outstanding Supporting Performance award); Capulet in Romeo and Juliet for Canberra REP and now Steve in August – Osage County for Free Rain Theatre. 

Now let’s also talk about golf……..!

Productions

• August: Osage County (September 2024)