# Trevor Kent

Trevor Kent (24 April 1940 – 4 November 1989) was an Australian actor, director, playwright, and singer.

## Early life and education

Trevor Kent was born on 24 April 1940.
Kent initially worked as a primary-school teacher, teaching for three years in Nambour and Buderim in Queensland while acting in amateur theatre groups.
He moved to Sydney to train as an actor with the Independent Drama School in the early 1960s, supporting himself during this time with teaching.

## Career

After training, he worked as an actor, director, playwright, and singer.
In Sydney, he understudied the role of Rolfe in the Tivoli Theatre's production of The Sound of Music, and acted in Becket and Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad with the Independent.
After two years in Sydney, he emigrated to the UK and spent ten years there. In the UK, Kent worked with director Bil Keating and later with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
On returning to Sydney in 1974, Kent played Frank'N'Furter in a stage production of The Rocky Horror Show.
Several appearances on Australian television followed, including roles in Rush, The Sullivans, Cop Shop and Carson's Law. He moved to Melbourne in 1984, and in 1984–1985, appeared in television soap opera Prisoner as the villainous Frank Burke for several months.

## Death

Kent, who was gay, learned he was HIV positive in the mid-1980s and at that time volunteered as a carer for people living with HIV and AIDS. He was public about his HIV status and directed two theatre productions for Out Theatre Company that addressed HIV and AIDS. One of these, Unnatural Acts, toured pubs, theatres, and colleges in Melbourne and Sydney.
Kent continued to work with the theatre group until a few weeks before his death in 1989 as a result of HIV. His final acting appearance was a scene with Meryl Streep in the film A Cry in the Dark (1988).
He died on 4 November 1989.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | Straight Enough | | TV movie |
| 1988 | Evil Angels (aka A Cry in the Dark) | Bomb Scare Policeman | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | Theatre Date | Giles Cadwallader | TV series, 1 episode: "The Man Most Likely to ..." |
| 1971 | Scene | Shop assistant | TV series documentary, 1 episode: "Mates" |
| 1971 | BBC Play of the Month | Yakov, servant | TV series, 1 episode: "Platonov" |
| 1976 | The Sullivans | Allister McConnell | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1976 | Rush | Vinnie | TV series, 1 episode: "McKellar R.I.P." |
| 1978 | Case for the Defence | The Rabbi | TV series, 1 episode: "The Man Who Died Twice" |
| 1981 | Sporting Chance | Eddie | TV series, 1 episode: "Eating Dirt" |
| 1981–83 | Cop Shop | Frank Gilmore | TV series, 3 episodes: "Episode #1.281", "Episode #1.282" and "Episode #1.500" |
| 1982 | Der schwarze Bumerang | Richard Duffy | TV miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1983 / 1984 | Carson's Law | George Royston / Simpkins | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Doggy Barker | TV series, 1 episode: "Easy Street" |
| 1984–85 | Prisoner | Frank Burke | TV series, 33 episodes |
| 1985 | Colour in the Creek | Brother Paul | TV series, 2 episodes: "Return to Coorumbong Creek" & "Gold Fever" |

## Theatre

His plays and performances on stage include:

### As actor

| Year | Title | Role | Venue / company |
| 1962 | The Sound of Music | Rolfe | Tivoli Theatre, Sydney |
| 1963 | Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad | | Independent Theatre |
| 1964 | Becket | | Independent Theatre |
| 1967 | As You Like It | | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Aldwych Theatre, London, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1967 | The Relapse | | Aldwych Theatre, London with Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1974 | The Rocky Horror Show | Frank'N'Furter | New Art Cinema, Glebe |
| 1974 | The Chinese Prime Minister | | Marian Street Theatre |
| 1975 | The Miser | | UNSW Parade Theatre |
| 1976 | The Public Eye | Julian Crisoforou | Bankstown Town Hall, AMP Theatrette, Sydney |
| 1977 | Confusions: Mother Figure / Between Mouthfuls / Gosforth's Fete / A Talk in the Park | Terry / Martin / Stewart / Ernest | Marian Street Theatre |
| 1977 | The Lower Depths | Vassily Pepel | Sydney Opera House |
| 1977 | The Tempest | Adrian | Sydney Opera House |
| 1978 | Black Comedy | Harold Gorringe | Sydney Opera House |
| 1978 | Miss Julie | Jean | Sydney Opera House |
| 1978 | The Misanthrope | Acaste | Sydney Opera House |
| 1978 | King Lear | Edmund | Seymour Centre |
| 1979 | You Never Can Tell | Valentine | SGIO Theatre |
| 1979 | Breaker Morant | Captain Taylor | SGIO Theatre |
| 1978 | Hedda Gabler | Eilert Loevborg | SGIO Theatre |
| 1979 | Gone with Hardy | Stanley Jefferson | SGIO Theatre |
| 1980 | Bedroom Farce | Trevor | University of New England, Glen Innes Town Hall, Inverell Town Hall, Moree War Memorial Town Hall, Narrabri High School, Coonabarabran Shire Hall, Smithurst Theatre Gunnedah, Tamworth Town Hall |
| 1980 | Loot | Truscott | Playhouse, Perth |
| 1981 | Outside Edge | Bob | Marian Street Theatre |
| 1981 | Trap for a Lonely Man | Priest | Bondi Pavilion |
| 1981 | The Revenger's Tragedy | Ambitioso | Playhouse Adelaide |
| 1986 | Pommies | Forster | Russell Street Theatre |
| 1986 | Tom & Viv | Maurice | Russell Street Theatre |
| 1986 | The Dumb Waiter | | Arena Theatre, Melbourne |
| 1987 | Two Dark Comedies of the Mind: The Flaw / Is This Where We Came In? | | La Mama |

### As writer / director

| Year | Title | Role | Venue / company |
| 1988 | Unnatural Acts | Director | Universal Theatre, Melbourne with Out Theatre Company |
| 1990 | No Thrills No Spills | Playwright | Footscray Community Arts Centre |