Gabriola Island Stories

Antony Holland, now 90, is the oldest actor in North America still playing leading roles. Acting in live theatre has been his major passion since he was six years old. He attended an all-boys school in England and his first stage role was the Magistrate In Dickens' "Oliver Ywist. He was praised for his portrayal of old age, including much shaking and attempt at old-age voice. At 12 he played Portia in the Merchant of Venice. At 15 he played Shylock in the same play. Over his lifetime he has played the role in 10 different productions including a CBC TV version. He last played the role in Vancouver in 2008, and will play it again at the Jericho Arts Centre in mid-September. He founded the Studio 58 theatre training program at Vancouver's Langara Colleger in 1965 and ran it for 20 years. At age 65 he was forced to retire from that job He has appeared in over 100 movies. In 2004 he was elected by his peers to the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame. He has been given four different Life-time achievemen awards. He has also received two Jessie awards for outstanding performance by an actor in a leading role, the latest was in 2007 for his portrayal of Morrie in "Tuesdays With Morrie. His main occupation is running his "No Bells & Whistles" company which has Gabriola Island as its home base. They experiment with minimilist styles of theatre designed to travel to other communities, requiring nothing more than a room with some chairs to provide an evening of professional theatre. He will be appearing in a leading role in "The Fly Fisher's Companion" in October for Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay."