Richard Vergette

Richard C. Vergette is a British playwright, actor and drama teacher. In 2013 his American Justice, an American congressman's encounter with his daughter's killer, was shown at London's Arts Theatre.^[1] His 2015 Dancing Through the Shadows was performed by Hull Truck Theatre as part of a trilogy about the history of Hull,^[2] and his PURE, about the chocolate industry, was one of Mikron Theatre Company's two 2016 productions.^[3]

He has been Head of the Faculty of Performing Arts at John Leggott College, Scunthorpe and a lecturer at the University of Lincoln,^[4] written textbooks for school drama students, and acted in the 2010 short film The Legend of Beggar's Bridge.^{[citation needed]} He was Director of Drama and Head of Learning and Teaching at Ackworth School, a Quaker school in West Yorkshire, until his retirement in 2018.^[5][6]

He performed his own one-man play Leaving Vietnam at the Park Theatre in London in 2023^[7] and at the C Arts Studio in Edinburgh in 2024.^[8] It has been published by Aurora Books (2023, ISBN 978-1912430956)

Early life

Vergette was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire.^[9][10] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Drama from Bretton Hall College in 1985. He later pursued a Master of Education (MEd) at the University of Nottingham. He also studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).^[11][12]

He is associate director of Hull-based theatre company Ensemble 52.^[11][13][14]

Plays

Date and place of first production as shown in doollee.com^[15]

• An Englishman's Home (2007, 24:7 Theatre Festival, Manchester)
• Ring Around the Humber (2011, Hull Truck Theatre)
• Nice (2011, Salford Studio Theatre)
• American Justice (2013, Arts Theatre, London), based on his 2009 work As We Forgive Them
• Dancing Through the Shadows (2015, Hull Truck Theatre)
• PURE (2016, Mikron Theatre Company)
• Leaving Vietnam (2023, Park Theatre, London)

Publications

• Drama & Theatre Studies: AQA Advanced (2008, Philip Allen, ISBN 9781844894475)
• Edexcel advanced drama and theatre studies textbook (2008, Philip Allen, ISBN 9781844894468)