THE CREATIVE TEAM
DANIEL ABINERI
Author / Director / Producer
Daniel Abineri began his career
backstage in 1974 as acting ASM in
weekly reps in Southwold, Folkestone,
Bexhill and Canterbury. In ‘76 he decide
to embark on a career as a performer and
later that year was cast in the lead role in a
new Christopher Fry play for television, The
Best Of Enemies (ITV Playhouse ‘76).
This led to a succession of leading roles in film, television and
theatre on both sides of the globe over the next 22 years, including:
Alan Wilson opposite Tatum O’Neal in International Velvet (MGM ‘77),
three series as Father Neil opposite Arthur Lowe in the hit ITV comedy Bless Me Father (LWT ‘78,‘79,‘80), Frank’N’Furter in The Rocky Horror
Show (Original British Tour ‘79 Comedy Theatre West End ‘80 and
Australasia ‘81, ‘83, ‘87), Super villain Jake Sanders in the international
smash hit Australian drama series Return To Eden, Arnold Beckoff in the
Australian production of Torch Song Trilogy, Bruce Delamitri in Ben Elton’s
Popcorn West End ‘98, and many more.
Invited to Australia in ‘81 to play ‘Frank’ in ‘Rocky Horror’ he was tempted by
further work offers and ended up staying for twelve years. In 1984 he’d
decided to take a break from performing and was offered the opportunity to
direct ‘Rocky Horror’. His new production, with a new design and the
introduction of the then ground breaking Vari-lites, was a smash hit and broke box
office records throughout Australasia for three subsequent tours (84,‘86,‘87).
In 1986 he wrote the book, music and lyrics for his first musical Bad Boy Johnny
and The Prophets Of Doom. This rock’n’roll extravaganza, which Daniel also
directed, premiered in Melbourne in 1989 and featured a young Russell Crowe in
the title role. Daniel had discovered Russell some years earlier when he had
given him his first professional acting role in a NZ tour of
‘Rocky Horror’. ‘Bad Boy Johnny’ enjoyed a six month run in
Melbourne and Sydney, won two International Pater Awards™
for best libretto and score, and spawned a cast album on
WEA records and a top ten single in Melbourne.
Returning to the UK in ‘93 Daniel remounted Bad Boy
Johnny in an old Church Hall in Islington - the production
became a cause celebre in 1994 and made front page news
when a collection of irate nuns, a far right Catholic group,
and the Church Council of Great Britain complained that it was 'offensive and blasphemous'. After a spate of death threats the
production was closed after ten performances - Daniel plans to resurrect the production soon!
Recently Daniel has focused on writing and directing and he has also produced and directed for television, including his critically
acclaimed and high rating 1997 documentary One Hit Wonders for the BBC (which spawned the now ubiquitous trend for nostalgia
led pop programmes), and his 1999 study of androgyny and theatricality in pop, Walk On The Wild Side for Granada.
Money To Burn reflects Daniel’s love of 30’s and 40’s pop, which he discovered at the age of three when his father bought him an
old wind up gramophone and a tea chest full of 78 rpm recordings. He is delighted to be mounting his new work in London.
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