Ross became a trainee actor at The Court Theatre in 1985. Now, 34 years later, he has appeared in over 100 productions including Stones in His Pockets; Great Expectations; Milo’s Wake; Humble Boy; Ladies’ Night; King Lear; The Rocky Horror Show; Alone It Stands; Lady Windermere’s Fan; Happy Coupling; The Country Wife and The Birthday Boy. Also a highly accomplished improviser, Ross was a founding member of The Court Jesters.
Living in Palmerston North throughout the late nineties he was Associate Artistic Director at Centrepoint under the Artistic Directorship of Alison Quigan and anchored his own radio show Gumbley’s Better Breakfast for Classic Hits. Ross and Alison have co-written six plays, four of which have been produced at The Court, including the critically acclaimed Flagons and Foxtrots.
In the director’s chair, Ross’ credits include Spreading Out; Ying Tong; Flagons and Foxtrots; Bombshells; Heroes; his own stage adaptation of Buchan’s novel The Thirty-Nine Steps; Who Wants To Be 100? (Anyone Who’s 99); Year of the Rat; the 2008 touring show Skin Tight; Letter to Blanchy: Stir Crazy; Arsenic and Old Lace; The Gods of Warm Beer; The Great Gatsby; Backstage; The Female of the Species; The Sunshine Boys; Don’t Mention Casablanca and Midnight In Moscow.
In The Court’s new theatre, The Shed, Ross has directed A Shortcut to Happiness; Side by Side by Sondheim; Much Ado About Nothing; The Slapdash Assassin; Grease; The Women; Amadeus; SNAP!; The Mikado; When the Rain Stops Falling; Plum; One Man, Two Guvnors; Le Sud; Romeo and Juliet; The Ladykillers; Exit the King; Mary Poppins; Macbeth; Ropable; Songs for Nobodies; Easy Money; The Biggest; Mum’s Choir; A Christmas Carol and Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Ross’ first solo venture as a playwright, Happy Coupling, premièred at The Court in 2006, the same year that he became the theatre’s Artistic Director. In 2016 he co-wrote the play Ropable with Allison Horsley, which he also directed for its 2017 debut. He returned to the stage as an actor in February 2019 playing Kjell Bjarne in the critically acclaimed Norwegian comedy Elling.
Court Shows
- 2019 - The Wind in the Willows - Director
- 2019 - Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Director
- 2019 - Elling - Kjell Bjarne
- 2018 - A Christmas Carol - Director
- 2018 - Mum's Choir - Director
- 2018 - The Biggest - Director
- 2018 - Roger Hall's Easy Money - Director
- 2017 - Ropable - Playwright/Director
- 2017 - Songs for Nobodies - Director
- 2016 - Macbeth - Director
- 2016 - Puss in Boots - Director
- 2015 - One Man, Two Guvnors - Director
- 2015 - Le Sud - Director
- 2015 - Romeo and Juliet - Director
- 2015 - The Ladykillers - Director
- 2015 - Exit The King - Director
- 2015 - Mary Poppins - Co-Director
- 2014 - The Mikado - Director
- 2014 - When The Rain Stops Falling - Director
- 2014 - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Artistic Director
- 2014 - Plum - Director
- 2013 - Grease - Director
- 2013 - The Women - Director
- 2013 - Amadeus - Director
- 2013 - SNAP! - Director
- 2012 - A Shortcut to Happiness - Director
- 2012 - Side by Side by Sondheim - Director
- 2012 - Much Ado About Nothing - Director
- 2012 - Heroes - Director
- 2012 - The Slapdash Assassin - Director
- 2011 - Midnight in Moscow - Director
- 2011 - Carry On Court - MC
- 2010 - The Female of the Species - Director
- 2010 - Glorious - Director
- 2010 - The Sunshine Boys - Director
- 2010 - Don't Mention Casablanca - Director
- 2010 - God of Carnage - Alain Reille
- 2009 - The Gods of Warm Beer - Director
- 2009 - The Great Gatsy - Director
- 2009 - Four Flat Whites in Italy - Director
- 2009 - Backstage - Director
- 2008 - Skin Tight - Director
- 2008 - Letter to Blanchy: Skin Crazy - Director
- 2008 - Arsenic and Old Lace - Director
- 2008 - The Birthday Boy - David Williams
- 2007 - The Country Wife - Pinchwife