David Warburton

Before they arrived at the NAC for rehearsals, we asked a few questions to the members of the 2014-15 Ensemble about themselves.

1)      What are you working on over the summer?
I’m currently performing The Player’s Advice to Shakespeare, a one man show written by Brian K. Stewart and produced by New Theatre Ottawa, which has a short run in Ottawa before going on to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.

2)      What are you looking most forward to when you arrive at the NAC?
There is such talent at the NAC and I don't just mean the actors, so many creative people, technical departments, stage crew, all the staff in the many departments that we rely on so heavily. The support and expertise that they provide creates an environment that allows artists of many disciplines to excel. 

When the Arts Centre is at full capacity I always enjoy walking in through the stage door into the bustle of activity as everyone prepares for performance.

3)      How did you get involved in acting?
My first recollection of being on stage was in a Review performing The Wedding Of The Painted Doll. I was five years old. After that I was included in many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. I continued all through my teenage years with Extension Theatre Company. My parents were insistent that I stayed away from the theatre as a career, but after ten years working in law and insurance I made the decision to go to drama school. 

4)      What’s the most interesting thing that has happened to you on stage?
I'd have to say being called by the theatre at 10am in an emergency situation to step into the main-stage Pantomime which had a 2pm matinee. This involved learning the "Who's on First” routine whilst being pushed into a costume, followed by a whirlwind on-stage rehearsal in which I found myself in an exploding car routine, and a "slosh scene" involving custard pies, egg juggling and lots of mess. 

The first entrance was on a scooter going the wrong way on a revolving stage, plus several scenes with songs and tricky banter and the thrill of being hurtled from under-stage on a fast trap and arriving magically on the deck in a puff of smoke. I had no idea of entrances and exits and the production stage manager would wave at me so that I knew where to exit then grab me and run backstage to change costumes and push me back out again. I went on to do several large Pantomimes after that, a British Christmas tradition with 12 shows a week.

Raised in: Stockport, Cheshire, U.K. | Based in: Ottawa, ON

For the NAC:

Shakespeare’s Dog (co-production with Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), The Stone Angel (co-production with Prairie Theatre Exchange).

Selected Theatre:

Arms and the Man (Odyssey Theatre); Feelgood (Great Canadian Theatre Company); Where the Wild Things Are (Manitoba Theatre for Young People /Ottawa Children’s Festival); Comet in Moomland, The Hobbit, House at Pooh Corner (Manitoba Theatre for Young People); August: Osage County, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Tempest, My Fair Lady (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Oliver Twist (Alberta Theatre Projects); Someone  Who’ll Watch Over Me (Prairie Theatre Exchange); Lips Together Teeth Apart ( The Belfry); Pride and Prejudice, Calendar Girls (The Grand Theatre London); Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry IV parts I & II (Shakespeare In The Ruins) The Merchant of Venice, Alice Through the Looking-Glass (The Stratford Festival).

Other:  

The Rose Bruford College Of Speech & Drama, Sidcup Kent .U.K. Theatre Foundry, The Crucible Theatre Sheffield, Theatre In Education.

This June marks Davids 30th anniversary as a professional Actor in over 100 productions across Canada and the U.K. From the Stratford Festival to Churchill Manitoba, London, Moscow and 42nd Street.