Harold Baigent, New Zealand actor and director (died 1996)

Harold Verdun Baigent , known as 'Baige', was a New Zealand theatre director, actor and arts manager. He trained as an actor in the United States at Yale University Drama School, and acted in Broadway and London stage productions, before returning to New Zealand in the late 1940s, where he founded his own drama company and worked as a drama tutor and stage manager. In the 1960s, he settled in Melbourne, Australia. As director of the Emerald Hill Theatre Company and the Victorian Travelling Theatre, he was an influential figure in the Victorian theatrical scene, and played a significant role in promoting the arts in regional Victoria and South Australia. He was associated with the Warrandyte Arts Association Drama Group and performed in many productions including Twelfth Night (1964) as Malvolio, and as director of Salad Days (1968).