The online magazine of Theatre Heritage Australia
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The Sublime Margherita Grandi
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In 2006, while compiling the CD liner notes for TESTAMENT’S Margherita Grandi Sings Verdi, ROGER NEILL took a preliminary look at the achievements of Margherita Grandi, an Australian singer with an extraordinary voice, but who is relatively little-known today. Now, twenty years later, he has... -
The Vastly Funny Alf P James
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Alf P. James as a featured extra (the stage door man) in MGM’s The Great Ziegfeld (1936). Like many who appeared in the film, he really had appeared on stage in Ziegfeld revues in the 1920s (screengrab from Author’s copy). Alf P. James is mainly remembered today for appearing in countless films in... -
Celebrating 150 Years of G&S in Australia
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To mark two significant Gilbert & Sullivan events, the sesquicentenary of the G&S partnership being engaged to create Trial by Jury, and the ninetieth anniversary of The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Victoria, DIANA BURLEIGH gave an illustrated talk at the Showroom at Arts Centre Melbourne on 6... -
Mae Dahlberg—the forgotten Australian ‘serio and dancer’
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Many years ago, before her death in 2017, Stan Laurel’s daughter Lois contacted STEVE RATTLE through the Sons of the Desert—The Laurel & Hardy Appreciation Society. Lois wanted information on the Australian woman who had held such a strong hold upon her father’s affections as a young man—and... -
Agnes Molteno: The Tasmanian Thrush
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KURT GÄNZL chronicles the life and adventures of a little-known Tasmanian soprano, Agnes Molteno, who enjoyed a successful career in England and South Africa singing with the Arthur Rousby and Carl Rosa opera companies from the mid-1880s. MOLTENO, Agnes Maud (b. Launceston, Tasmania, ?8 October... -
Miss Elsie Wiggins: An Amazing Life (Part 1)
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This is the story of Elsie May Wiggins, stage name Grace Elton, married name Mrs Robert Harper; born in Riverstone NSW in 1882, and whose career in entertainment, theatre and moving pictures spanned some forty years in both Australia and overseas. In this two-part article, ROSEMARY PHILLIS and LES... -
George Alexander and the St James's Theatre (Part 2)
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NIGEL RIDEOUT documents George Alexander's productions of Lord Anerley and Forgiveness at the St. James's Theatre, London in the second of his series of articles, which make use of the digitised stage photos from the JCW Scene books. Lord Anerley (Mark Quinton & Henry Hamilton adapt. of Arthur... -
The Struggle for Dramatic Copyright (Part 2)
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In Australia, as elsewhere, during the nineteenth century, dramatic piracy was rife and the introduction of legal safeguards for playwrights was an uphill battle, as RICHARD FOTHERINGHAM explains in the conclusion of his two-part essay. Play Titles The next reported case, Weekes v Williamson... -
A Song to Sing-O! Downunder (Part 3)
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Following their season in Newcastle, the J.C. Williamson G&S Opera Company members embarked on a voyage across the Tasman to commence the next stage of their Australasian tour at His Majesty’s Theatre, Auckland, as WINIFRED LAWSON related in a further chapter of her autobiography A Song to Sing-O! published... -
Horace Stevens (Part 3)
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DAVID HIBBARD's overview of the life and times of the Australian bass-baritone Horace Stevens continues with Part 3. 1903–1919 In 1903 Stevens reprised his roles in Gounod’s Mors et Vita and Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, in Adelaide. An interesting footnote to the performance of the Gounod is the... -
Kate Howarde: The Queen of ‘Bushwhacking’ (Part 4)
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With the war over, Kate Howarde was looking for a new permanent home for her company and opportunities for other entertainments, while concurrently resuming her ‘bushwacking’ tours. In 1919, she secured a six-week lease of the Theatre Royal in Sydney to present her new play Possum Paddock …JOHN... -
Little Wunder: The story of the Palace Theatre, Sydney (Part 20)
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The war was over, but 1919 was not a great year for the theatre, especially in Australia, with more people perishing during the Spanish Flu outbreak than had died in the war. With Sydney theatres forced to close, entertainment schedules were upended and theatre folk put out of work. Yet despite... -
Book Review: A Life on the Ocean Wave (2nd edn)
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A Life on the Ocean Wave (2nd edn), by Andrew Lamb, SUNY Press, 434pp., ISBN 9798855805994, hb, US$135.00 IN As You Like It, Jacques laments that “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”. Few embodied that sentiment more completely than Henry Russell. His life was a... -
Kevan Johnston OAM, 1931-2026
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Kevan Johnston began dancing lessons at his mother's, Peggy Elser's, dance studio in Perth at a very young age. He was just five years old when he made his first stage appearance at His Majesty's Theatre. Skilled at everything from Highland Dancing, ballet, jazz ballet and tap, he was a foundation... -
John Clark AM, 1932-2026
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Born on 30 October 1932, John Clark's legacy to Australian theatre is massive. Originally from Hobart, his keen interest in archaeology took him to Oxford University in the UK where he also became involved with their theatre crowd. He studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and at Bristol... -
Rhoda Roberts AO, 1959-2026
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Rhoda Ann Roberts was an Indigenous Australian theatre and arts director, television presenter, actress and arts executive. A highly respected Aboriginal Elder, and lovingly known as Aunty Rhoda, she was co-founder of the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust in 1987, and was a producer at the... -
George Alexander and the St James's Theatre (Part 1)
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The St. James's Theatre, King Street, London Making use of the digitised stage photos from the JCW Scene books, NIGEL RIDEOUT documents his distant relation, British actor-manager Sir George Alexander’s tenure at the St. James’s Theatre, London commencing in 1891 in the first of a series of... -
Mackennal and the Theatre
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Melbourne-born sculptor Bertram Mackennal enjoyed a distinguished career in Australia and the UK, which brought him into contact with leading members of the theatrical profession, which resulted in numerous commissions for busts and reliefs. ROGER NEILL updates an appraisal that he wrote for a... -
The Struggle for Dramatic Copyright (Part 1)
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In Australia, as elsewhere, during the nineteenth century, dramatic piracy was rife and the introduction of legal safeguards for playwrights was an uphill battle, as RICHARD FOTHERINGHAM explains. A Radical New Idea Although copyright for published books dates back to the British Copyright Act of... -
‘Daring and dexterity’: Gymnast Joseph Worley and the genesis of South Australia’s Worley-Barton circus
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The story of South Australia’s Worley-Barton circus spans the boom decades of live performance from the 1870s to 1910s, but today they are almost forgotten. CORINNE BALL uncovers the lives of four generations of an extraordinary circus family who provided over 100 years of public performance. Imagine... -
The Fabulous Singing Turner Brothers
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Forging separate operatic careers, the two singing Turner brothers, J.W. and Charles, were both tenors, both visited Australia and both founded their own opera companies, as KURT GÄNZL explains. TURNER, James William (b. Sutton in Ashfield, Notts 5 June 1842; d. The Croft, Yardley, 17 January... -
A Song to Sing-O! Downunder - Part 2
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Following a season of just under 17 weeks at His Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, the J.C. Williamson G&S Opera Company members took the train to Sydney to commence the next stage of their Australasian tour at the Theatre Royal, as WINIFRED LAWSON related in a further chapter of her autobiography A Song to... -
Some Theatrical Recollections (Part 2)
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Having reached Melbourne in 1855, aged 13, Irish-born DAVID MARTIN (1841-1927) worked in a Government Surveyor's camp before becoming a public servant with the departments of Agriculture and Lands. He was also an enthusiastic playgoer and in 1926, he penned his theatrical memories for The Justice... -
Horace Stevens (Part 2)
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DAVID HIBBARD's overview of the life and times of the Australian bass-baritone Horace Stevens continues with Part 2. 1876-1902 The life and career of Horace Ernest Stevens (1876-1950) remains largely forgotten, despite accolades from Sir Edward Elgar as “the best Elijah I have ever heard.... not even... -
Kate Howarde: The Queen of ‘Bushwhacking’ (Part 3)
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After successfully establishing a national ‘bushwhacking’ circuit, Kate Howarde, with second husband Elton Black, established their own combination in America in 1905. Journeyed to England two years later, Kate worked as a journalist and wrote sketches, but it was Elton who earned the acting... -
Harry M Miller and Friends (Part 4)
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In concluding ROLAND ROCCHICCIOLI's memories of HMM, we bring you a gallery of images from his vast collection of photos and memorabilia. I wish—during the time I worked for Harry M. Miller—I had been more aware of the opportunity I was gifted. I was 21 when I joined the organisation, and it... -
Little Wunder: The story of the Palace Theatre, Sydney (Part 19)
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With the start of 1918, J. & N. Tait were entering their second year at the Palace Theatre, and their reputation as a provider of quality musical and dramatic shows was further consolidated with the arrival of two new stars: Guy Bates Post and Emelie Polini. And in late 1918, a week after the... -
Lorraine Bayly, 1937-2026
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Born in New South Wales on 16 January 1937, Lorraine Bayly was an actress, director, puppeteer, narrator, writer, stage manager and musician. She began her love of performing when she was just five years of age, writing, directing and acting in plays for the local jail! She was giving classical...
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NOTABLE PRODUCTIONS
1 June 2026
My Fair Lady: Overview
Author: Kevin Coxhead
To mark the seventieth anniversary of the New York premiere KEVIN COXHEAD documents the original Broadway, West End and record-breaking J.C. Williamson Australian production of the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe musical My Fair Lady (adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion), illustrated with numerous on-stage and behind-the-scenes photos; plus... Read more
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BOOK REVIEWS
A Life on the Ocean Wave (2nd edn), by Andrew Lamb, SUNY Press, 434pp., ISBN 9798855805994, hb, US$135.00IN As You Like It, Jacques laments that “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”. Few embodied that sentiment ... Read more
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11 December 2024
17 September 2024
1 June 2024
1 March 2023
1 March 2023
SERIAL ARTICLES
Following their successful ‘come-back’ tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1932–33, Madge Elliott and Cyril Ritchard returned to London via America (where ... Read more
2 September 2021
27 May 2021
9 June 2020
(left) Theatre Royal, Adelaide, 1881. Photo by Samuel Wright Sweet. State Library of South Australia, Adelaide. (right) C.H. Workman. Photo by Dover Street ... Read more
19 September 2023
In this, the last instalment of J. ALAN KENYON’s memoirs, he shares more anecdotes and pays tribute to some of the men and women of the theatre and films.George ... Read more
