He will do just that at the Regent Theatre tonight, performing live musical accompaniment to two silent films.
Mr Gray-Smith enjoys the genre: "I was born in the era of silent films, I remember when it used to cost a sixpence."
Whenever the NZ Film Archive screens silent films in the South, Mr Gray-Smith is the man "at the front who is straining his neck while paying the piano".
He cranes his neck upat the screen watching the characters' mouth movements.
He plays for as long as 70 minutes during a performance, having watched each film once or twice beforehand to get a feel for the plot.
"The interesting thing about it is that each time I play a piece I play something different."
Mr Gray-Smith will accompany locally filmed comedy, A Daughter of Dunedin (1928) and Australian feature film, The Kid Stakes (1927) at the Regent Theatre from 7.30pm.
The free screening is presented in co-operation with the New Zealand Film Archive and the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
