Meagher to take six-month 'H&A' break
Ray Meagher has announced that he is to take a six-month break from Home and Away to star in London's West End.
The actor, who plays Summer Bay legend Alf Stewart, has signed up to take over the role of Bob in the musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert from September.
Speaking to the Herald Sun about his new project, Meagher explained: "[Home and Away] have very generously allowed me to do Priscilla in the West End from September 20 roughly until early March.
"I did two weeks [as Bob] in Sydney when Michael Caton wanted to have a rest, and that is when the producers said, 'Do you want to do this in London?'.
"I think the funniest thing for me is a bloke from the bush, who cannot sing or dance, has been asked to do a musical in the West End. That appeals to my perverse sense of humour."
Meagher's current Home and Away contract runs until 2012.
Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher)
He's never been one to mince his words, and Home and Away star Ray Meagher has opened up for the first time about which plots really made his blood boil.
The 71-year-old actor, who plays Summer Bay veteran Alf Stewart, spoke candidly last year about how he had to have a fairly severe word with his bosses over the direction of the show.
Ray has now pointed the finger firmly at those Braxton boys, admitting he believes their plots were far too dark.
He explained: "I think we went off the rails a bit there. There's always going to be bad things happening in the Bay from time to time but I think we got to the stage where there were 80% bad things happening and 20% reasonable stuff. There should be a maximum of about 30% bad stuff. You know, the River Boys - Steve Peacocke and Lincoln Younes - were just absolutely sensational performers. They did such a good job with what they were given, but I just thought a lot of what they were given was a bit too dark."
Ray is also very protective of his alter ego Alf, adding: "I never attempt to change the story but I'll attempt to change - I do change - the way he speaks. Over a period of time, we have had a great number of writers. Some are old, some are young; some are straight, some are gay; some are English, some are New Zealanders, some are Aussies; some are men, some are women, and not all of them are going to be able to write accurately for all the characters. Some of them will put their version of a very classic Australian line in for Alf and it won't be within a bull's roar, but I know what they mean and I can put it into Alf speak. The other thing that I try to say to them is one of the basic tenets of Alf - if he's in a confrontational situation, it wouldn't matter if the Incredible Hulk was the other bloke, if Alf thought he was right he would not back down to anybody."
Ray is the show's longest-serving cast member, having played the role of Alf since episode one in 1988.
He does not look 71 to me .. hope he stays for a long time to come yet :)
Ray Meagher's Australia Day Honour
Home and Away stalwart Ray Meagher (Alf Stewart) has today been recognised in the Australia Day honours list with a Medal of the Order of Australia, for his service to performing arts as an actor.
Born Raymond Francis Meagher in 1944, Ray grew up on a Queensland sheep and cattle station, which he credits for being the source of some of Alf’s famous quotes – “The expressions are stolen from genuine knockabout bushies or eccentric characters in the back of rugby sheds” said Ray in a 2013 interview. “Lines like ‘Stone the flamin’ crows’ are straight from the outback.”
After playing A Grade rugby for ten years in Brisbane, including a few games for Queensland, Ray moved to Sydney to pursue his acting ambitions. In the early starts of his screen career, which has so far lasted over forty years, Ray had bit parts on over thirty Australian films and mini-series, as well as three separate roles in the cult soap Prisoner.
In 1987 Ray filmed a pilot for an upcoming Seven Network soap, and the rest is history. After initially committing to Home and Away for a six month contract following the successful pilot, Ray’s 29 year tenure in Summer Bay has seen him take a Guinness World Record for being the longest-serving actor in an Australian TV series—an accolade held jointly with Kate Ritchie until her departure from the show at the end of 2007—as well as a Gold Logie in 2010 for being the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.
Ray married his long-term partner Gilly in 2010, and is currently contracted on Home and Away until the end of 2018, as he revealed in a recent interview for NZ’s Sunday Star Times – “so I’m looking a rough chance to get there. The head of drama of Seven said the other day ‘we better have a yarn again soon’..”
Speaking of his award, Ray told Sunrise he was “humbled and honoured, it was something I never expected“.
Ray’s former co-star Judy Nunn, who played on-screen wife Ailsa from 1988-2000 with a guest stint in 2002, previously received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2015—for her services to the performing arts as a scriptwriter and actor of stage and screen, and to literature as an author.
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BTTB