Bruce Montague

Bruce was born in Kent. He did his national service with 656 Squadron. He trained at RADA. He worked in repertory theatres including Birmingham and Colchester. In the early 1960s, he was contracted to The Old Vic and H M Tennent. He appeared in five plays with Vivien Leigh (directed by Robert Helpmann) including: Twelfth Night, La Dame aux Camélias and La Contessa. He was the leading man with the Welsh National Theatre (Warren Jenkins). For some years, he directed stage plays including an Australian version of Fings Ain’t Wot They Used t’Be and played Squeezum in Lock Up Your Daughters (both by Lionel Bart). He co-founded the Mercury Theatre, Auckland.
Television: over 200 credits including: Crane (Rediffusion series); Dimensions of Fear (ABC series); The Alfa Plan (NZBC series); The Linkmen (TCN, nine series); The Saint, The Public Eye, and as Leonard in Butterflies (BBC series, five years); Sharon and Elsie (BBC series, two years); the Shah in Whoops Apocalypse (LWT series); For Maddie With Love (Thames); Secret Army, The Concubine (Granada); The Onedin Line, The Vision (BBC film); Ex(ITV film); Canned Carrott, Keeping Up Appearances and Doctors (all BBC); Double Act (Channel 4) and many others. Selected theatre: A Touch of Spring (Comedy Theatre); In the Red (Whitehall); Ross (Old Vic); Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Strand Theatre); Two for the Seesaw, The Division Belle, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Hobson’s Choice (TMA Award); Don’t Dress for Dinner, a year in Fiddler on the Roof with Topol (London Palladium); No Big Deal, Educating Rita, The Fly, three years in Oliver! (London Palladium); Charley’s Aunt (national tour); two years in The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s); Spider’s Web (the Agatha Christie Company) and Bedroom Farce(directed by Sir Peter Hall).
In 2012, he has had two books published by John Blake Ltd, The Book of Royal Useless Information and Catch That Tiger, co-written with Noel Botham. As a voice artist, he has read over 100 books, many of which are available from BBC Audiobooks. For Paul Myers, he has written a musical version of Clochemerle with Kenny Clayton, which is in preproduction.
He has been married for 50 years and has two children – both older than he is.
For more information, see www.brucemontague.co.uk.