The online magazine of Theatre Heritage Australia
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Greg Dempsey OAM
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In the first part of a three-part biography of Melbourne-born opera singer Greg Dempsey, GEOFF ORR charts his early career from boy soprano, dancer and pianist to new recruit for the Sadler’s Wells Opera Company. Gregory John Dempsey, OAM., was born in Collingwood, an inner suburb of Melbourne, on... -
James Foran: The Australian–Irish Tenor
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In 1995, STEVE RATTLE had the oportunity to interview Moia Braidwood, a former actress and teacher—and daughter of James Foran, a tenor who had been on the stage and made recordings with HMV in England. With this meeting Steve was keen to find out more. Remembering the great Australian... -
Charles Pollard & Nellie Chester—Theatrical Entrepreneurs through plagues, wars, and family disputes (Part 1)
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Young Australians in Canada: A Pollards Lilliputian Opera Company troupe on the steps of the Badminton Hotel, Vancouver, in August 1902.1 Major Matthews Collection, AM54-S4: Port P1375, City of Vancouver Archives. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the name Pollard was... -
Amateur Entertainment 1875–1895 in Western Australia: Sex & Drugs & Gilbert & Sullivan
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During the period 1875 to 1895, amateur theatre in Western Australia thrived under the leadship of the WA Governor Sir William Robinson. But as BRENDAN KELLY discovers things were not quite what they seemed. National Library of Australia, CanberraIn the late Victorian era, the word ‘amateur’ did... -
Hitching a Ride with the Ashton Circus Family
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Have you ever dreamed of running away and joining the circus? Well that's exactly what PIXI ROBERTSON did (sort of)! In an extract from her book A Long & Winding Road: A Pictorial History of Ashton’s Circus, she tells her own story and that of the fabulous Ashtons— “the world’s longest-running... -
Gabriel Joffe’s Steamer Trunk
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On person’s rubbish is another’s treasure. KEVIN COXHEAD shares the extraordinary story of JCW musical director Gabriel Joffe and his steamer trunk, which almost ended up on the tip. Tthe things one can find on the side of a road. Out and about driving through Malvern one day around thirty years ago,... -
Charles Lyall: The outstanding character tenor in the heyday of English Opera
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KURT GÄNZL explores the career of the multi-talented Charles Lyall, opera singer and caricaturist for Vanity Fair, who spent his early life in Victoria. LYALL, Charles [Matthew] (b Regent Street, London c 1833; d 42 Clifton Hill, St John’s Wood, 3 May 1911) Charles Lyall. Photographer unknown... -
The Melba-Williamson Grand Opera Company of 1924: 100 years on (Part 3)
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2024 marks one hundred years since the Melba-Williamson Grand Opera Season of 1924, the most ambitious display of operatic talent to be seen in Australia. In Part 3, ROGER NEILL concludes his exploration of the events surrounding this mighty undertaking. To Sydney... The Sydney season of the... -
Aggie Thorn: A Bright Particular Star (Part 2)
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In Part 2 Bob Ferris continues the story of Aggie Thorn a principal member of the Gilbert and Sullivan Repertoire Company in the early 1900s. Aggie Thorn. From The Theatre (Sydney), 15 August 1905.Raised in an Irish/Catholic family and spending her schooldays as a border at the Presentation... -
Little Wunder: The story of the Palace Theatre, Sydney (Part 14)
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As ELISABETH KUMM discovers, Sydney’s Palace Theatre continued to do good business during 1913, hosting a new burlesque company from America and return visits by the companies of Allen Doone, Bert Baily and Allan Hamilton. On Saturday, 21 December 1912, Allen Doone made a welcome return to the... -
Early Stages: Roland Rocchiccioli
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In our ongoing series, Early Stages, where we invite people to share their earliest theatrical experiences, actor and author ROLAND ROCCHICCIOLI tells how a boy from the goldfields of Western Australia discovered the theatre and gained his start as an actor as a member of Edgar Metcalfe’s... -
Obituary: Ray Lawler
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Raymond Evenor Lawler AO OBE, 23 May 1921–24 July 2024 Ray Lawler in 1955, photographed by Henry Talbot. State Library Victoria, Melbourne.Ray Lawler, the author of one of Australia’s finest plays (and arguably its most culturally significant), has died, at the great age of 103. What a difference he... -
Strike Me Lucky! Roy Rene—Mo
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July 2024 will see the publication of JON FABIAN’s Roy Rene—Mo: A Legend Revisited, a biography of one of Australia’s most original and iconic comics. To mark the publication of his new book, Jon takes a look at Roy Rene (1891-1954) and some of the highlights of his career. For details on how to... -
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Maureen Andrew: Living for Art
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As a singer, dancer and actress, Maureen Andrew has done it all. PETER STEPHENSON JONES takes a look at the career (to date) of this indefatigable Melbourne-based performer. One day, several years ago, I was shopping in a store. I think it was in Box Hill, a suburb in Melbourne, and I heard a... -
Varney Monk—Ours for Us
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The following profile and interview with Varney Monk was first published in Jean Devanny’s book Bird of Paradise in 1945. “I COULD have such a pleasant happy life with my husband and family if I did not possess this urge to fight for justice for Australian compositions.” Varney Monk in 1951. Photo by... -
Riccardi or, Gilbert & Sullivan's operas come to New Zealand
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KURT GÄNZL takes a look at the life and career of baritone bass Signor Riccardi, responsible for staging the first productions of The Sorcerer and HMS Pinafore in New Zealand. But does anyone know anything about him? We reprint an article that first appeared in the Sullivan Society magazine in...
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NOTABLE PRODUCTIONS
8 August 2024
Quality Street: Overview
Author: Elisabeth Kumm
For some people the name Quality Street will immediately suggest the 1901 play by J.M. Barrie, while others will recall the brightly decorated tins of chocolates produced by Mackintosh’s in England. Indeed, the chocolate range, which was introduced in 1936, was inspired by Barrie’s play, the romantic characters on the tin being based on Miss Phoebe... Read more
11 June 2024
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Author: Rexton S Bunnett
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum is probably the funniest of all farces written for the stage and its roots happen to be the oldest. Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart’s inspiration for the book came from the works ot Titus Maccius Plautus, a Roman playwright of the third and second centuries BC (254 to 184 BC to be exact).... Read more
16 January 2024
The Pajama Game
Author: Frank Van Straten
The Pajama Game had its genesis in a novel, 7½ Cents, which author Richard Bissell based on his experiences in his family’s pajama factory in Dubuque, Iowa. Broadway producers Hal Prince and Robert Griffith saw the story’s musical possibilities and snapped up the rights, but persuading people to work on the project proved far more difficult.... Read more
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BOOK REVIEWS
GOD AND THE ANGEL: VIVIEN LEIGH AND LAURENCE OLIVIER’S TOUR DE FORCE OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND by Shiroma Perera-Nathan, Melbourne Books, 2024LOOKING back on the many travails that led to the breakdown of his marriage to Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier ... Read more
1 December 2022
1 December 2022
1 September 2022
1 September 2022
1 June 2022
1 June 2022
1 June 2022
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
Madge Elliott has told us of her graduation from the ranks of the Exquisite Eight to leading lady in The Cabaret Girl, which ran for a long and happy ... Read more
31 August 2019
31 August 2019
26 May 2019
(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
Title banner photos by Allans Studios published in Punch (Melbourne, Vic.), 10 December 1914, p. 21, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page13430946Clearly the ... Read more
12 December 2019
15 September 2019
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
1 December 2022
During the 1950s, scenic artist J. ALAN KENYON was back at J.C. Williamson Ltd, working on sets for Annie Get Your Gun, Oklahoma! and other plays, as he ... Read more
1 March 2022
In Part 8 of J. ALAN KENYON’s memoirs, he recalls (among other things) working on the 1940 epic film Forty Thousand Horsemen, the story of Australian Light ... Read more
27 May 2021
Scenic artist J. ALAN (GEORGE) KENYON’s memoirs continue. In this installment, after taking time out from film work, he returns to the studio where among ... Read more