John Gobau

(1891 - 1958)

John Gobau (1891-1951) was a Belgian-Dutch actor and stage director. After a short career in his native Belgium, Gobau moved to the Netherlands in 1914. Together with some fellow refugees/actors, he joined the theatre company of Willem Royaards. He stayed in the country and performed with numerous companies until shortly before his death, directing Tooneelgroep Het Masker, the Hollandsch Tooneel, Toneelgroep De Spieghel, Het Nederlandsch Tooneellyceum and De Kommedianten among others. In 1955/56 he was a member of the board at De Nieuwe Comedia. He was awarded the medal of the city of Arnhem for his role in Edward Percy's 'The shop at Sly-corner'. Gobau appeared in a few feature films as well, most notably Henry Koster's 'De Kribbebijter' (The Cross-Patch).