Euan Stewart McIver
born - Edinburgh, Scotland ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Euan is a Scottish actor and entertainer most associated for his work with Stanley Baxter, Jimmy Logan, Patrick Fyffe and Una McLean. Euan has also dedicated himself to Community Theatre projects with Companies such as Theatre Alba, where he excels with the Scottish native language, most notably his portrayal of Baron Toozenbach in "The Three Sisters" at the Edinburgh International Festival.
Euan set up and maintains ACT, has appeared with the Stenton Footlights, North Berwick Musical Theatre, and latterly in the Scottish Borders where he has appeared to rave reviews in Stage Musicals where he excels as a character actor.
From an early age he was interested in theatre, a school competition in 1978 saw him steal the show and earn a special award for the school that was not originally planned as a prize, indeed "The Scotsman" reviewer proclaimed he had "an extraordinary talent".
Aiming to study law he swerved towards theatre and he trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, having previously been a TV presenter and reporter on BBC Scotland's teenage targetted "Asking Around" series.
Euan graduated with one of the first ever BA Degrees in Drama offered jointly with the University of Glasgow in 1983.
Euan's oratory skills were recognised by the awarding of the Mary Stuart Prize for Public Speaking.
Euan went on to appear weekly on the Scottish Television show "Shindig" and an early post graduation stage appearance was at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, in a production of "Geezabrek" with John Murtagh and Dorothy Paul.
Since those early days his career has embraced many facets, on stage at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh (where he had to appear naked), the King's Theatres in Edinburgh and Glasgow, The Sunderland Empire Theatre, the London Palladium, as well as subsequently taking his career to the international level by appearing on stage in Antwerp, Belgium.
Euan's range is vast from Pantomime Dame....
"a set of the best legs in the business"...........
....... to evil villain . . . . "an eminently hissable baddie".
At home in one man cabaret, where his impersonations are uncannily accurate or in huge ensemble pieces his unique ability to make a role his own has always been his forte.
Euan stood in at short notice in the Edinburgh Festival with his one man show "Making Faces" which was shortlisted for the Scotsman Awards.
On stage, he possesses the quality to metamorphose into the character and alter every aspect of his physicality to suit the role.
photo by kind permission of John Schofield
A natural teacher and director he worked with young offenders and drug addicts to mount a community theatre project to great critical acclaim.
Euan also worked with newly qualified Lawyers specialising in court work, teaching them how to use their voice in a courtroom setting.
Specialising in voice and vocal techniques he worked for two years on two TV movies using a natural English RP accent before his colleagues discovered he was Scottish.
Apart from his meticulous stage work which includes pantomimes and musicals, his radio work utilises his flexible voice which led him to catch the eye of Stanley Baxter who employed him as his stage understudy and stand in for almost ten years.
Euan recorded a series of commercial radio advertisements in the persona of Dame Hilda Bracket when Patrick Fyffe was taken ill with spinal cancer.
Other radio work includes presenting for BBC Radio Scotland, a dramatised reading of the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Commercial Radio Advertisements where his voice is used to promote everything from Chain Stores to Pickles and reporting/presenting for BBC Schools Radio.
Euan particularly parodies female characters, his repertoire embracing Edinburgh School Teachers, Suburban Kelvinside Housewives, and the recognisable and larger than life personas of Hinge and Bracket and remarkably lifelike is his rendition of Australian Housewife and Superstar Dame Edna Everage.
When standing in for an ill Stanley Baxter in pantomime, Baxter's co star Angus Lennie said he was amazed each night "to hear Baxter’s voice and timing, see Baxter’s costumes and someone else’s face".
Euan has performed for the late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, the present Queen, The Princess Royal, and Prince Edward.
Euan has written several pantomime scripts and directs and produces as well as writing comic songs for his shows. His unique brand of humour and expert ear for the local dialect always proving popular with audiences.
Euan's talent for improvisation has saved many a show when things have gone wrong and he famously once improvised a complete scene when the star of the show was suddenly taken ill in the wings and failed to make his entrance.
A recent review of one of Euan's pantomimes said that he could "easily fill a London Theatre" with his fantastic costumes, hilarious material and superb portrayal of a solid Pantomime Dame in the finest traditions of that genre.
He is an Equity Approved Stage Director and a Qualified Fencing Instructor.
Recently he has been working overseas, including working at the new Media Village in Dubai, and over the last few years has picked up several industry awards for his acting skills.
He appeared in a live New Year's Eve show with Helen Hunt, Danny DeVito, Teri Hatcher and others.
In 2014 Euan appeared in multi-character guise in a new professional version of The Fly, "La Mouche" written and directed by Matthew Rooke of The Maltings Theatre and Cinema in Berwick Upon Tweed, this led to a further commission for the same theatre, to write and perform a one man show detailing the history of men playing women in the theatre. Dragging Up The Past was the result of months of writing and rewriting and Euan performed the show to standing ovations.
2015 and Euan was in demand again for a new ensemble theatre piece A Cinema in South Georgia, depicting the lives of four Eyemouth Whalers in Antarctica. Preview shows quickly sold out and the show consistently produced four star reviews at a month long run at the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival Fringe.Euan ended 2015 playing Granny Tingle, the dame, in Little Red Riding Hood, once more garnering solid reviews for his work.
2016 saw Euan reprise his role in A Cinema in South Georgia, play Uncle Jack in Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa, Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth and return to end the year at the Maltings Theatre donning the sparkles as the magical dame Nanny Wishsticks in Sleeping Beauty.
2017 saw further performances of A Cinema in South Georgia, a character role as the Reverend Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest, low life "Patch" in Tim Primrose's "Broth", and a one man piece about Sir Athur Sullivan " ...and Sullivan". Euan also appeared as a dodgy car salesman in a TV Commercial and returned to end the year at The Maltings Theatre as Sally Doolally in The Adventures of Sinbad. Since then stage appearances include Sir Joseph Porter in HMS Pinafore, Colonel Morales in a new one man piece previewing and narrating Carmen, Ugly Sister Barbie in Cinderella and Widow Wonky in Aladdin.
2020 saw Euan embark on a brand new venture, a live stream event, " A Scottish Christmas Carol", written by Matthew Rooke and adapted into Scots by Euan. To enable this , Matthew and Euan formed "Unco Braw ", a new theatre company.
Despite many offers to work in TV abroad his home remains firmly in Scotland.
Once asked about his favourite medium he replied that the stage was his first love, the immediate audience reaction and the fact there were no second takes providing a buzz you didn't get from filming work or radio recording.
He has penned a number of scripts, collaborated with other stage and radio artists to write material and he often writes stage reviews for the local press. His reviews pull no punches and he has a reputation for honesty and blatant truths.
He has voiced his own writing "New Wine for Old Bottles" on BBC Radio and he has also worked on producing written records for the Scottish Genealogy Society.
His interests away from the entertainment business are many and various. His name appears engraved on the gold chain link embedded in the floor of the Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, Edinburgh.
Fascinated by the art of make up and prosthetics Euan can transform himself following hours of study and practice into virtually any character, like Fagin (above).
In 1982 he became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, allowing him to append FSA Scot after his name.
His collection of theatre costumes include outrageous stage outfits worn by the likes of Terry Scott, Jimmy Logan, Stanley Baxter, Rikki Fulton, and all the stage costumes of Patrick Fyffe, Dame Hilda Bracket of Hinge and Bracket fame.In 2010 he added stage costumes belonging to the late Danny La Rue to his collection.
Recently he wrote, produced, directed, completely costumed and arranged an entire pantomime with a cast of around forty performers, to rave reviews.
• WINNER BEST RADIO COMMERCIAL VOICE 1994 (Independent Local Radio)
• WINNER P and G Award for BEST NEWCOMER (2006) for The Dark Shadow - made and shown overseas
• "NOMINATED" P and G Awards for OUTSTANDING PERFORMER (2007) for The Devise - made and shown overseas
• WINNER BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR for performance in a TV movie (2007) for the The Devise - made and shown overseas
In 2008 Euan was added to the TimeLife Hall of Fame for his services to television movies.
When you have visited the site, using the tabs at the top of this page to guide you through Euan's CV, his gallery of performing and personal photos, an interview with Euan, and some amazing additional facts, as well as finding out Euan's personal heroes and heoines and some of the things that amuse him, please do leave your name in the Guestbook.
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