Kate Normington is a South African actress, singer, and songwriter. Normington first rose to national prominence playing Sister Mary Amnesia in the Alhambra Theatre's production of Nunsense in 1987, and has appeared on the West End and South African stage, and in local and international film and television productions.
Early life Normington grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa and attended Pretoria Girls' High School and Marist Brothers Observatory (Sacred Heart College). She studied Speech and Drama at the University of the Witwatersrand, graduating in 1987.
Career
Theatre
Career beginnings After performing as a cabaret singer at Piaf in Johannesburg (alongside Didi Kriel), Normington's first professional role was in Tarts, by Kevin Feather, at La Parisienne Theatre in Johannesburg. This was followed by her breakthrough role playing Sister Mary Amnesia in Tobie Cronje's production of Nunsense at the Alhambra Theatre in 1987, which garnered Normington her first Fleur du Cap Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She followed this successful turn with the Trilogy of '87 at the Durban Playhouse, where she performed a triple role as Joanna in Sweeney Todd, Niki in Sweet Charity, and also appeared in Candide, in a cycle in which all three productions were staged on the same day, one after the other.
In 1989, Normington was cast as Guinevere in the State Theatre's production of Camelot, understudied by Gaynor Young. The production became infamous when, replacing Normington in December, Young fell down an unguarded lift shaft while on stage, landing on concrete 5 storeys below and going into a coma for 5 weeks.
Throughout the late '80s and early '90s, Normington was in several successful and high-profile shows across South Africa, including playing Josephine in Romance Romance, Eliza in My Fair Lady in 1990, and Janet in The Rocky Horror Show in 1993; appearing in A Touch of Webber... A Taste of Rice, an original show by Richard Loring, in 1991; and playing Sheila in Janice Honeyman's production of Hair, one of the first in South Africa following its unbanning, at the Civic Theatre in 1994.
The West End and the UK In 1993, Normington left for England to pursue her career on international stages. Her first job in London was in the West End production of Sunset Boulevard in its initial run in 1993, which featured Patti LuPone as Norma Desmond, in which Normington understudied the role of Betty Schaefer. After encountering some passport trouble, she was forced to return home to South Africa, appearing in Tell Me On A Sunday in 1994, before she was able to return to England. Upon her return, Normington returned to the cast of Sunset Boulevard at the Adelphi Theatre, understudying Betty Buckley, Elaine Paige, and Petula Clark for the role of Norma Desmond, appearing in the role on one occasion.
After leaving Sunset Boulevard, Normington appeared in a regional production of Aspects of Love in Hampshire in 1996, playing Rose Vibert, and then played the Baker's Wife in Into the Woods in Leicester in 1997.
In 1998, Normington returned to the West End as Grace Farrell in the revival of Annie at the Victoria Palace, continuing to play the role after the show went on tour in February 1999. She toured with the show for over a year until it ended in Oxford in 2000, after which she returned to South Africa.
Return to South Africa She appeared as Miss Bell in Fame in 2002, and as "Soapstar" in Hazel Feldman and Pieter Toerien's production of Menopause - The Musical in 2004. This was followed by a trio of award-winning performances, as Normington received a Naledi Award for her 2006 one-woman show Bombshells, her 2007 performance as Velma von Tussle in the Lyric Theatre production of Hairspray - also starring Mara Louw and Harry Sideropolous - and for her 2010 appearance as Tanya in Mamma Mia!. She also starred as Miss Darbus in the highly publicized production of High School Musical on Stage in 2008, which produced a star in Carmen Pretorius after a televised talent search program: High School Musical: Spotlight South Africa.
The 2010s saw a series of smaller shows to go along with her customary large production musicals, as Normington performed in Nora Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore in 2011, and appeared in Two in the Bush, a comedy sketch show she wrote and co-devised with Jaci de Villiers, at the Auto & General Theatre on the Square in 2014. Normington also starred in the Market Theatre's production of Pirandello's Six Characters In Search of an Author in 2015.
Normington did not, however, take a break from big budget musicals in this time, starring as Fraulein Kost in 2012's Cabaret, Mother Superior in the Nelson Mandela Theatre's Sister Act in 2015, Mrs Brice in the Fugard Theatre's 2017 production of Funny Girl, as well as Mrs White in Marc Lottering's Aunty Merle: The Musical, and Liz Essendine in Present Laughter at the Theatre on the Bay. 2016 also saw Normington appear in her first pantomime at the Nelson Mandela Theatre, playing Aunt Silly in Janice Honeyman's Babes in the Woods.
More recently, Normington has had several star turns, as Mrs Shears and various other characters in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In the Night Time in 2018, as The Witch in PTP's Into the Woods in Cape Town and Johannesburg in 2019 (a role for which she was nominated for both Fleur du Cap and Naledi Awards), and as the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show in 2020. In 2023 she plays Rachel Swart (and numerous other characters) in the stage adaption of Damon Galgut's The Promise in Cape Town and Johannesburg.Striking the right tone — Booker Prize-winning novel ‘The Promise’ reimagined for stage Daily Maverick. 26 September 2023
Film and television Normington has appeared in several films over the course of her career, starting with 1991's The Sheltering Desert, in which she appeared alongside Gavin Hood and Rupert Graves, which was followed by Brendan Pollecutt's Hey Boy in 2003. She also appeared in a short from the NFVN, entitled The Last Doorman, as well as starring in Angus Buchan's Ordinary People in 2006. More recently, Normington appeared in the Netflix film The Last Days of American Crime, starring Edgar Ramirez.
Normington has also had a long and varied television career, appearing in many popular South African programs, such as Scandal, Shado's, Hard Copy, 7de Laan, The Lab, Backstage, and The Res. She received a SAFTA nomination for her work on Tim Greene's Those Who Can't in 2017, and played Pam Henshaw in SABC 3's High Rollers. Also in 2017, she gained critical acclaim for her appearance in Julia Anastosopoulos's Tali's Wedding Diary, as Michelle, the title character's mother. Normington also appeared in three episodes of MNet's Still Breathing alongside Siv Ngesi, Michael Richard, and Dorothy Ann Gould.
Music Normington has also released two solo albums, Mother's Daughter - for which she wrote six original tracks - and a recording of Tell Me On a Sunday, the first act of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance.
Theatre +YearProductionRoleVenueNotes1986TartsLa Parisienne1987NunsenseSister Mary AmnesiaAlhambra Theatre/Theatre on the BayFleur du Cap Award1987Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet StreetJoannaDurban Playhouse1987Sweet CharityNikiDurban Playhouse1987CandideEnsembleDurban Playouse1989CamelotGuinevereState Theatre1990My Fair LadyElizaState TheatreVita Award1991A Touch of Webber... A Taste of Rice1992Romance RomanceJosephineNatal Playhouse1993The Rocky Horror ShowJanetThe Victory Theatre1993GreaseSandyBaxter Theatre1993Sunset BoulevardEnsemble/Betty Schaefer UnderstudyAdelphi TheatreWest End1994HairSheilaCivic Theatre1995Crazy For YouIreneState Theatre1995Tell Me On a SundayEmmaThe Sound Stage1995Sunset BoulevardCompany/Norma Desmond UnderstudyAdelphi TheatreWest End1996Aspects of LoveRose VibertThe Haymarket Theatre - Hampshire1996Into the WoodsThe Baker's WifeThe Haymarket Theatre - Leicester1999AnnieGrace FarrellVictoria Palace TheatreWest End2002FameMiss BellCivic Theatre2004Blithe SpiritMrs Bradman2004Menopause The MusicalSoap StarTheatre on the Bay2004King LearGonerilTesson Theatre2004The Shadrack AffairBarbaraBaxter Theatre2006BombshellsNaledi Award2007HairsprayVelma von TusselLyric TheatreNaledi Award2008High School Musical on StageMiss DarbusMontecasino Teatro2010Mamma Mia!TanyaArtscape Theatre Centre/Montecasino TeatroNaledi Award2011Love, Loss, and What I WoreTheatre on the Bay2011EsterQueen VashtiState Theatre2012CabaretFraulein KostPieter Toerien Theatre/Theatre on the BayFleur du Cap Nomination2013Dirty DancingMarjorie HousemanArtscape Theatre Centre2014Two in the BushAuto & General Theatre on the SquareAlso created and wrote2015Sister ActMother SuperiorJoburg TheatreNaledi Award nomination2015Six Characters In Search of an AuthorLead ActressMarket Theatre2016Robin Hood and the Babes in the WoodSilly SylvianaJoburg TheatreNaledi Award nomination2017Funny GirlMrs BriceFugard TheatreFleur du Cap Nomination2018The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night TimeMrs ShearsPieter Toerien Theatre/Theatre on the Bay2019Into the WoodsThe WitchPieter Toerien Theatre/Theatre on the BayFleur du Cap and Naledi Award nominations2020The Rocky Horror ShowThe NarratorMontecasino Teatro2023 The PromiseRachel SwartDistrict Six Homecoming Centre, Cape TownMarket Theatre, Johannesburg 2026A Little Night MusicCountess Charlotte MalcolmTheatre on the Bay
Filmography
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes1991The Sheltering DesertBrigitte Muller1991Hot PursuitSamantha Jubost2003Hey BoyLeslie2008Coronation Street: Out of AfricaPamela Teal2009DiamondsDenmont LawyerTV movie2012Angus Buchan's Ordinary PeopleEileen Cloete2014The Last DoormanMarlene KrauseNFVF Short2018Three Way JunctionFran2020The Last Days of American CrimeNews Anchor
Television +YearTitleRoleNotes2005Hard CopyJulia2006Shado'sSavannah2006The LabChrista2007Jacob's CrossMs Klausen2008On the CouchLizzie2009SocietySociety2012-2015Those Who Can'tDesiree Young2013Loitering in JoziGuest2016High RollersPam2016Sober CompanionTina's Mother2017Taryn & SharonLeanne Maddox2017Tali's Wedding DiaryMichelle2020Still BreathingLizaScandalThe ResShirlBackstageBobby's Mom7de Laan
Discography
Mother's Daughter (2001) Tell Me On a Sunday (1994)
Awards and nominations
Theatre +YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult1988Fleur du Cap AwardBest Supporting Actress in a MusicalNunsenseWonVitaAward for ComedyWon1992VitaBest Lead ActressMy Fair LadyNominated2006 Naledi Theatre AwardsBest ActressBombshellsWon2007Best Supporting Actress in a MusicalHairsprayWon2010Best Supporting Actress in a MusicalMamma Mia!Won2012Fleur du Cap AwardBest Supporting Actress in a MusicalCabaretNominated2015 Naledi Theatre AwardsBest Supporting Actress in a MusicalSister ActNominated2016Best Supporting Actress in a MusicalRobin Hood and the Babes in the WoodNominated2017Fleur du Cap AwardBest Supporting Actress in a MusicalFunny GirlNominated2020Naledi Theatre AwardsBest Actress in a MusicalInto the WoodsPendingFleur du Cap AwardBest Actress in a MusicalPendingBest Supporting Actress in a MusicalThe Rocky Horror ShowPending
Television +YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult2017SAFTABest Supporting Actress: ComedyThose Who Can'tNominated
References
External links https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0635713