Allister Bain (born 13 January 1932) is a Grenadian retired actor, playwright, and screenwriter, who moved to the UK in 1958. A veteran of British performing arts, his TV appearances include roles in Us Girls, Vanity Fair, Bugs, Doctor Who and Waking the Dead. On the stage, Bain has appeared in plays by Derek Walcott, Earl Lovelace, Michael Abbensetts, Noël Coward, and William Shakespeare, among many others.Author's note on cover of One Slice of History, London: Good Vibes Records & Music, 2012.
Biography Allister Bain was born in January 1932 in the sovereign state and island country of Grenada, located north-west of Trinidad and Tobago, north-east of Venezuela, and south-west of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean. In 1958, Bain moved to England, having taught Dorothy Dandridge to limbo for the film Island in the Sun (1957)."Left of Karl Marx by Dr. Carole Boyce-Davies".
Sometime before the start of his career, Bain was in charge of his own dance troupe, the Bee Wee Ballet of Grenada, whose performances were some of the first that contributed to the birth of what became the Notting Hill Carnival.
From the 1970s, Bain appeared on stage in many notable productions. In 1978, he was in the original cast of Michael McMillan's play The School Leaver, which was produced at the Royal Court Theatre's Young Writers' Festival."Michael McMillan", Black Plays Archive, National Theatre. In the 1990 production of Winsome Pinnock's play Leave Taking at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, Bain played the role of Broderick.
Bain has also written a number of plays during his career. His first play, 2001 People, was written in 2001.Allister Bain at Black Plays Archive, National Theatre. His play Effie May debuted at Oval House Theatre in 2005, when Bain was 70 years old. Catalysta was staged in 2008 (also at the Oval House, with a cast including Angela Wynter and Carmen Munroe),Allister Bain - Complete Guide to the Playwright, Plays, Theatres, Agent and Pardon My Simplicity in January 2012 (Rosemary Branch Theatre).Kopplin, Carolin (18 January 2012), "Pardon My Simplicity at the Rosemary Branch Theatre" , UK Theatre Network.Loxton, HowardPardon My Simplicity (review), British Theatre Guide, January 2012. He is also the author of One Slice of History (Good Vibes Records & Music Ltd, December 2012).Good Vibes Records & Music Ltd.
Bain's memoir, The French Cashew Tree, was launched at New Beacon Books, at an evening event hosted by broadcaster Alex Pascall in November 2017.
Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1982 Made in Britain Hopkins 1983 Fords on Water Winston's father 1987 Sammy and Rosie Get Laid Father Television Year Title Role Notes 1964 Theatre 625 Male nurse One episode: "Women in Crisis #2: With Love and Tears"1969 The Troubleshooters Jerry One episode: "This Place Is a Paradise, Mister" Dixon of Dock Green Bus conductor One episode: "Bobby" 1971 Softly, Softly Mr. Gill One episode: "Hostage"1975 Shades of Greene Waiter One episode: "Cheaper in August" Quiller Charlie 1 One Episode: "Objective Caribbean"1976 Love Thy Neighbour Electrician One episode: "Power Cut" Spring & Autumn Bus conductor One episode: "Episode 3.1" 1977 The Professionals Mr. Culver One episode: "Klansmen" The Fosters Lawrence One episode: "The Diet" 1978 The Chiffy Kids Stall Holder One episode: "All in a Good Cause" 1979 Empire Road Alvin Four episodes: "Football Crazy", "Godfadder at Bay", "Streets of Thornley", and "Wedding" 1985 Black Silk Pedro Ojo Two episodes: "A Long Way Away", "The Cause of Liberty" 1986 Kit Curran Ambulance mate One episode: "The Lucky Break" 1987 Vanity Fair Sam Three episodes: "Miss Sharp and Miss Sedley Open the Campaign", "Vauxhall Gardens" and "Crawley of Queen's Crawley" 1992 Us Girls Grandad Pinnock 12 episodes 1996 Bugs Airport guard One episode: "Whirling Dervish" 2003 Waking the Dead Lawrence One episode: "Final Cut: Part 1" 2005 The Bill O'Ryan (1986) and Mr. Earle (2005) Two episodes: "The Chief Super's Party" (1986) and "279" (2005) 2009 Doctor Who Winston Katusi One episode: "The End of Time (Part 1)"
Stage 1973: "Tony" in Sweet Talk by Michael Abbensetts 1977: Come Jubilee by T-Bone Wilson; Bush Theatre 1977: "D'Coursey" in Say Hallelujah by Jimi Rand 1978: The School Leaver by Michael McMillan, at Royal Court Theatre 1981: "T.D" in In The Mood by Michael Abbensetts 1982: "Huston" / "Vince" in Where there Is Darkness by Caryl Phillips 1983: "Jim" in Two Can Play by Trevor Rhone 1984: "Claude" in El Dorado by Michael Abbensetts 1985: "A A Ablack" in The New Hardware Store by Earl Lovelace 1986: "P" in An Echo in the Bone by Dennis Scott 1987: "Albert Perez-Jordan" in Remembrance by Derek Walcott 1989: Choreography for A Rock in Water by Winsome Pinnock 1989: "Apa" in Take Back What's Yours by Jacqueline Rudet 1990: "Broderick" in Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock, at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith 1994: "Driver" / "King" in Maskarade by Sylvia Wynter
References
Further reading Marianne Sunshine, "The Caribbean Legacy That Shaped British Film and TV", The British Blacklist, 22 June 2025.
External links