Ray Murphy

 

​​Recently, Ray played Uncle Billy, Sam Wainwright, and Mr Gower in Gilroy Theatre's Christmas production of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis.  Ray received acclaim for his performance in this four-star review of the show, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor of the Year in the Cormac Richards Theatre Awards 2025.  

 

At the start of 2025, Ray played the Chairman and William Rhodes in the Victorian Music Hall show, GHOSTS IN GREASEPAINT, which played at the Celtic Junction Arts Center in Minnesota, USA.

 

In the summer of 2024, Ray played Prospero in THE TEMPEST, marking his fourth consecutive summer tour with The Festival Players, which toured throughout the UK and in Belgium and the Netherlands.  Previously, he played Olivia in their four-star production of TWELFTH NIGHT.  Before that, he played Oberon, Theseus, and Starveling for them in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, and, for a short time, in HENRY V to cover an actor's illness as Fluellen and the French King.

 

In November 2022, Ray reprised the role of Osborne in Theatre Reviva!'s returning production of JOURNEY'S END. It was his third time working on the show, and the first time the production was able to tour, visiting the Isle of Wight, Esher, and Woking.

 

Further work includes several productions with Triple C Theatre Company, all of which were directed by Julia Carey:  Professor Bhaer in their adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's LITTLE WOMEN; the "scary, eye-popping" Vince in Alan Ayckbourn's WAY UPSTREAM in 2019; and a further appearance in their recurring music hall production, GHOSTS IN GREASEPAINT.​

 

With a visual aesthetic reminscient of a young Jeremy Irons, Ray is a staunch supporter of excellent new writing and is well-versed in stage plays and site-specific theatre. He is greatly interested in further ventures on stage and screen.