Gerry was born in Glasgow and educated at Glasgow University where he graduated with an M.A. in French and Philosophy.

In 1983, along with fellow actors Alison Peebles and Rob Pickavance, he co-founded Communicado Theatre Company. As well as being Artistic Director of Communicado, Gerry also works extensively as a freelance director and actor.

In 2015 he directed Chinese actors in Beijing in a programme of short Beckett plays translated into Mandarin (Beckett en Bref) and worked with students on the PASS course at Edinburgh College in a semi-devised piece about 9/11 (Descent). Gerry also directed The Fisherman and The Seal, a puppet show by the Yugen Puppet Company which toured Scotland and visited Turkey, and recently finished directing the brilliant clown and children’s entertainer Clive Andrews in Clive’s piece, One Man Shoe, which had a successful Scottish tour.

Other directing work includes: Royal Shakespeare Company (Moby Dick), the Royal Lyceum Theatre (The Hypochondriack), Traverse (Anna Chaimbeul), Perth Rep (Tam O’ Shanter), Benchtours (Cherry Orchard/The Lesson), University of Tennessee (Blood Wedding), Dundee Rep (Mother Courage), Kiti Manver Company, Madrid (A Bright Room Called Day) and Parapanda, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (Mfalme Juha).

In January 2009, he wrote and directed a new adaptation of Tam O’Shanter for Perth Rep. The production was revived by Communicado for the 2012 Edinburgh Festival in a co-production with Assembly and supported by the Made in Scotland fund. It was nominated for Best Musical and Best Ensemble.

As an actor Gerry has appeared many times with Communicado, most recently in The Government Inspector, which he also directed, and The Memorandum by Vaclav Havel, directed by Gerda Stevenson. Other acting work includes: Dundee Rep. Ensemble: The Visit (dir James Brining) and two plays directed by Dominic Hill: David Greig’s adaptation of Jarry’s Ubu The King, which went on to the Cervantino Festival in Mexico and Peer Gynt in the Dundee Rep/National Theatre of Scotland co-production, for which he won best actor at the CATS awards (with Keith Fleming).

More recently, he has played Vladimir in Waiting For Godot at the Citizens’ Theatre, Spanky Farrell in Nova Scotia by John Byrne for the Traverse, and reprised his role as Peer Gynt for an NTS tour of Scotland and The Barbican Theatre, London. He also performed in Federer v. Murray by Gerda Stevenson for Oran Mor. He played the part of the Scottish philosopher David Hume in The Tree of Knowledge by Jo Clifford at the Traverse.

In 2013 he played music for and took the role of Folly in the 500th anniversary production of Ane Satyre of the Three Estates, performed at Linlithgow Palace.

He was a member of the acting ensemble in the Edinburgh International Festival/ Citizen’s Theatre production of Lanark, adapted from Alasdair Gray’s novel by David Greig and directed by Graham Eatough.

Gerry’s production of The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol was nominated for four CATS awards, winning in the Best Music category. The production was successfully revived at Perth Theatre, with Gerry taking over the principal role of The Governor, and again in 2013 in a co-production with Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

In recent years, he has directed Calum’s Road by David Harrower and his own piece Tall Tales in a Communicado/National Theatre of Scotland ensemble co-production, which toured successfully around Scotland.