Richard Campion

Richard Meckiff Campion (13 December 1923 – 2 July 2013) was a New Zealand actor, theatre director, and producer. Campion and his wife Edith Campion co-founded New Zealand's first professional theatre company, the New Zealand Players. Early life and education Born into a family well-established in Wellington's Mt Victoria, he was the second son and third child, of John Stanley Campion (1893—1950) and his wife born Eleanor Wright, who he had brought back to New Zealand from London after serving in the first world war. The Campion family belonged to the Exclusive Brethren Christian Evangelical movement. Campion attended Clyde Quay School and Wellington College. He studied at Victoria University College, where he met his future wife and trained as a secondary school teacher. After graduating, Campion taught at Wellington College. Career Under the influences of playwright Bruce Mason, theatre director Ngaio Marsh, and German refugee Maria Dronke who was a talented actress, producer and teacher he developed into a theatre and opera director.