Guy Bates Post

Allea Fleming Dunstan, 1930, photo attributed to Spencer ShierIvy Allea Hermione Bennett was born in Sydney to an Irish mother from Co. Monaghan, Ulster, and a father, a descendant of the First Family of Free Settlers to arrive in New South Wales—the Roses from Dorset in January 1793—who would in time settle along the Hawkesbury River.

From 1890, as a young child, she grew up in Melbourne. In 1910 she married medical student Harold Fleming Dunstan, a son of an Anglican clergyman, at St. James’ Old Cathedral, then still occupying its original site on the corner of William and Little Collins Streets. Harold’s paternal family-line also stretched back to the Hawkesbury and the early years of colonial settlement.

The next decade brought with it the arrival of three daughters, the War Years, residency in South Australia as well as Victoria where Allea passed her First Year (singing) of a Diploma of Associate in Music at the University of Adelaide, and in 1919, the establishment of Dr. Dunstan’s Practice along with their home Moira in Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick. Here, and later Brighton, would provide the backdrop  to mny happy musical gatherings. Allea attended the Albert Street Conservatorium in East Melbourne at some point, possibly around the time of her marriage or perhaps between the years 1920 to 1924. Even both times.

In 1925 she became a student of New Zealand-born tenor Walter Kirby, ‘Australia’s Forgotten Caruso’, who taught in Allan’s Music Store in Collins Street. Walter had done very well in Europe, his talent underpinned by strong English patronage, and he had enjoyed the privilege on many occasions of singing before royalty and members of the aristocracy.

Some of his other pupils were Eileen Starr, Gertrude Hutton, Aileen McInerny, Kathleen Rochfort and Ursula Duffy. He also gave vocal coaching to performers such as Dorothy Brunton, Marie Burke, Harriet Bennett and Ward Morgan. A lyric soprano, Allea found something of a niche for herself by specializing in songs of a quaint and humourous nature sung with charm.

Walter Kirby, c.1915, photo by Vandyck

National Library of Australia, Canberra

Marie Antoinette Aussenac

From The Home (Sydney), 1 March 1926

Social occasions, cultural events and charitable causes, several of the last to do with the aftermath of the War, were invariably linked and the women of Melbourne worked enthusiastically in these interconnecting spheres. Unusually, Walter’s manager was a woman—Kathleen Malone. He was known for his ongoing generosity where charities were concerned, and he also liked to celebrate his birthday in a way which would benefit others. This would take the form of a musical party with those invited contributing financially, and substantially, to a chosen cause. Sacred Concerts were also important to him.

At their September meeting Allea joined the Austral Salon as a professional singer. Walter was present and may have nominated her for membership.

During September/October they spent some weeks in Sydney participating in the musical programs at various functions. One of these was the Feminist Club’s Reception for the popular and imposing contralto Dame Clara Butt, her husband baritone Kennerley Rumford, and the brilliant Portuguese-born solo pianiste Mlle Marie Antoinette Aussenac,* which attracted a large gathering. Walter and Allea sang the duet from the first Act of La Boheme. They would repeat this on other occasions including at the Newcastle Symphony Orchestral Society’s Concert in December the following year.

*Later, in Melbourne, she married Prince Jacques de Broglie after his unexpectedly turning-up there. The marriage was not a success as she was focused on her career.

St. Vincent’s Hospital’s Building Appeal was the catalyst for several fundraisers, none so colourful or successful as the Cabaret Entertainment held at the Oriental Hotel at the top of Collins Street on Tuesday evening, 2 February 1926. It was unlike anything of its kind yet seen in Melbourne. It was organised by Lady Tallis, actress turned philanthropist, wife of Sir George, the head of Williamson's, and sister of comic opera star Florence Young, together with American star of silent films and stage, June Elvidge, and producer Ernest C. Rolls. Virtually taking over the premises it attracted nearly 800 patrons including a party from State Government House who arrived to enjoy the crowded carnival atmosphere. Alternating with dancing was the entertainment. In the earlier part of the evening this was presented by Carrie Haase, Madame Kroef, Kathleen Rochfort, and Walter and Allea, among others. When the theatres closed many Williamson artists and theatre-goers added to the festive throng.

Under the direction of Rolls an exceptional theatrical pageant was staged. Walter joined the newly-arrived artists, among whom were Gus Bluett, Claude Flemming, Jennie Benson, Marie La Varre, The Four Karreys, The Williamson Girls and the Hell’s Bells Jazz Band.

Guy Bates Post, 1920, by George Moffett Studios

J. Willis Sayre Collection, University of Washington

Dorothy Brunton, 1925

Frank Van Straten collection

The Guy Bates Post Company spent many months in Australia during 1925 and 1926. The American character actor of stage and screen was best-known for his Broadway roles of Omar Khayyam in Omar the Tentmaker (1914) and the dual characterization of The Masquerader (1917), plus the film versions of both in 1922.

In Melbourne his considerable talent was showcased in plays such as The Bad Man and The Green Goddess. Likewise with The Masquerader, which he opened in at the King’s Theatre seven years to the day after his previous performance there.

Following the conclusion of his company’s season in Melbourne, Dorothy Brunton would join Post as his leading lady in Edward Locke’s play, The Climax, which would play in Sydney and Perth before heading to South Africa and London. This was her first dramatic role, she having finished with musical comedy, and she was a triumph. Coached by Walter for her part as opera singer Angela, she considered it the best one she had ever had but regretted that there was not the opportunity for the play to be seen in Melbourne. Dorothy was applauded in South Africa but unfortunately the play didn’t take-off in London.

Post left Australia with deep gratitude for the kindly reception he had received here but felt that there was little possibility of his returning once more.

On the evening of the 16 May he had been the guest-of- honour at a musical party at Moira. Following dinner, the entertainment was given by Walter, Vera Patterson, George Chant, and Allea, with Charles Tuckwell at the piano.

Allea was the hostess for the Austral Salon’s August ‘At Home’. Nearly 200 guests were entertained amid an especially picturesque floral setting of which she herself seemed to be part—an observation expressed on more than one occasion. Walter was present but didn’t contribute to the singing. Allea sang Dunhill’s ‘The Cloths of Heaven’ and ‘Mia Piccirella’ from Gomes’ Salvator Rosa.

Cast list for Florodora, August 1926. National Library of Australia, Canberra.

In August 1927 the amateur Victorian Opera Company revived the ground-breaking and immensely popular musical comedy hit, Leslie Stuart’s Florodora, for a week’s run at the Theatre Royal in Bourke Street. It had first been seen in Melbourne in 1900 at Her Majesty’s where it had run for nearly four months with a stellar cast. This had included Carrie Moore, Grace Palotta, Maud Chetwynd, George Laurie, Hugh J. Ward, Wallace Brownlow and Charles Kenningham in the Royal Comic Opera Co’s production.

Mason Wood, late of the Oscar Asche Co., was wisely procured for the part of Tweedlepunch, originally taken by the incomparable George Lauri, and was very amusing. Allea stepped into Grace Palotta’s shoes as Lady Holyrood while Frances Lea took the role of Dolores which had been Carrie Moore’s. It was an ambitious production by Val Atkinson with direction by Hubert Clifford and a chorus and ballet of sixty, ‘Tell Me, Pretty Maiden’, of course, the show-stopping number. Of added interest was the finding of Lauri’s costume which Mason Wood wore. Naturally there were a few amateurish glitches but overall, it was well-received with some good comments directed Allea’s way.

The Hotel Alexander, Melbourne, c.1929

State Library Victoria, Melbourne

Lady Fuller, 1930, by Fairfax Corporation

National Library of Australia, Canberra

In May/June of 1928 Sir Benjamin and Lady Fuller spent a busy week in Melbourne with the Fuller-Gonsalez Grand Opera Company. Prior to the opening night at the Princess Theatre of Ambroise Thomas’s Mignon, Lady Fuller, with the help of her husband and daughters, received a large number of her friends together with members of the Company for afternoon tea at the new Hotel Alexander (later the Savoy-Plaza) in Spencer Street. A program of music and recitation included Walter, the young violinist Hamilton Bateman,* Mollie Mackay, and Allea, among others.

On Saturday evening several of her friends then joined Lady Fuller in two boxes at the theatre to be part of the enthusiastic reception awarded Danish Signorina Margherita Flor in the title role of Mignon. Following the performance more than a hundred guests went on to a supper-party to dance and enjoy an entertainment arranged by Walter which included himself, English actress and entertainer Ethel Newman, Hamilton, Allea, and others.

*Hamilton Bateman, a very talented violinist, was often part of these musical programs and Allea joined him for a recital of his at the Assembly Hall in Collins Street.

The Company was pitted against the third, and final season of the Melba-Williamson Grand Opera Company. It comprised several Italians from the previous 1924 Season (the first in 1911) plus Browning Mummery and John Brownlee.

With assistance from his pupils and friends Walter arranged an afternoon party on 1 June at the Oriental in honour of prima donna Signorina Giuseppina Zinetti, known for her roles in Aida and Lohengrin. Though possessing very limited English, Signorina Flor helping out here, she charmed everyone present. The program of music was enjoyed with Edith Harrhy, the pianist and composer, one of the artists.

Mrs Fleming Dunstan, 1929, photo by Spencer Shier

From Table Talk, 14 March 1929

Signorina Giuseppina Zinetti, 1928

National Library of Australia, Canberra

Signorina Zinetti was also among the guests when Walter hosted an ‘At Home’ at the Austral Salon later in the month. Along with the principals of the Company, the guests-of-honour included the Mayoress Lady Morell, the Nevin Taits, and the Consul for Italy. Allea sang at both of these.

I believe that Allea was in the chorus of the Company, which was composed of professional and semi-professional singers, but confirmation is required.

The remaining musical events of the year included one which presumably would have been an evening of light-hearted entertainment and enjoyment, a Concert and Dance held in the Progress Hall at Upwey. This was put on by the versatile Ethel Newman who had performed in almost every genre that the stage offered—excepting Shakespeare. Her monologues and recitations were well-known, and she was supported by an eclectic mix of nine other artists from Melbourne.

After receiving some additional tuition from Walter, and enjoying a round of au revoirparties, Allea stepped aboard the Otranto in early March 1929. She was embarking on an extended stay in Europe to further her musical studies—which would be strenuous—broken with interludes of travel. Based in Paris, she studied with various masters, including in Germany, Vienna, in London with Dinh Gilly, and in Milan with Maestro Albergoni.

Perhaps predisposed to do so, she would also fall in love with Italy.

Writing to a friend in Melbourne from Milan (The Herald, 27 May 1930, p.19), she described the routine of her day. In the pensione where she was staying no English was spoken but instead good French and a little German. Having honed her French, she was able to understand and be understood. The place initially struck her as cheerless, with bad food, but she had stuck it out, reaching the point of being quite sad at the thought of leaving. She found that three lessons a day with the Maestro were too tiring but had been able to reduce it to two. The evening meal was late, and she was usually worn-out by the end of the day.

She complimented Walter by declaring that his method of voice production was the nearest of any in her experience to the system followed by Albergoni.

Allea arrived home on 21 July. Her ambition had been to sing in opera, but this was not to be realised. “She warned Australians of difficulties that lay ahead if they hoped to go abroad and win their way to the top in the singing world, and that money was needed besides voice. There seemed to be an excessive number of artists, including Australians, in Europe, she remarked. Probably because of ‘the talkies’, there was not the demand there had been. There was no cheap living, and anybody who went abroad believing that their voice alone would captivate the world was making a big mistake. Monsignor Rella (Maestro of the Sistine Chapel Choir, which toured here in 1922), however, had told her that he thought Australian sopranos were better than those of Italy”. (The Sun (Sydney), 19 July 1930, p.3).

Welcomed back at the Austral Salon the following week Allea was soon resuming her busy Melbourne schedule.

Edith Harrhy, 1937, photo by Broothorn Studios

National Library of Australia, Canberra

Melba’s funeral procession, Melbourne, 1931, detail from a photo by Ruth Hollick

State Library Victoria, Melbourne

By 1930 Walter felt that professionally it was time he returned to England to resume his career abroad. He had been home for twenty years and opportunities were diminishing for him.

On the 11 September he gave an especially well-received Farewell Recital in the Auditorium with piano soloist Rita Hope, Hamilton Bateman and accompanist Edith Harrhy. His talent and taste were highly appreciated. Beforehand his friends had organised themselves to do what they could to help facilitate its success. However, he did not immediately leave Australia afterwards but remained part of the local music scene for some further nine months.

Melba died in Sydney on 23 February 1931, Walter a mourner three days later at the massive turnout for her funeral at Scots’ Church, Collins Street.

Walter departed on the Mongolia from Station Pier on the 16 June. He gave the large group of friends and well-wishers gathered there one last song—‘Auld Lang Syne’—as the ship moved off and until his voice could no longer be heard.

Warmly welcomed back into Britain’s musical and aristocratic circles all went well for him until repercussions from throat surgery threw things awry for him and from which he didn’t fully recover.

On 4 December 1934, following a short illness, he died in a London nursing-home.

Mrs Fleming Dunstan, 1931, photo by Spencer Shier

From Table Talk, 14 May 1931

Theo Shall, photo by Clarence Sinclair Bull

From The Home (Sydney), 1 November 1932

“The Man Who Kissed Garbo”, experienced European actor and director/producer Theo Shall, arrived in Melbourne on the 29 August 1932, and would be in Australia for nearly two years. He was originally engaged by Williamson’s for the Australian premiere season, opening in Melbourne, of the London stage hit, Autumn Crocus, by C.L. Anthony (Dodie Smith). Dodie would later write the much-loved The One Hundred and One Dalmations and I Capture the Castle.

Shall was of German/French heritage and with him was his Viennese actress wife, Maria Von Wyl, daughter of the noted opera producer, Wilhelm Von Wymetal. Shall, particularly, was very glad to be in Australia as he found it, “a cheerful place, the home of cheerful people”, who laughed. “People do not laugh in Europe. Europe is an unhappy place today”.

Greta Garbo's eleventh film and first talking-picture for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was Anna Christie (1930) based on Eugene O'Neill’s play. At the beginning of the sound era the main Hollywood studios also produced foreign-language versions of some of their films for the European market. Jacques Feyder directed a German version (also released in 1930) again starring Garbo, but this time her leading-man being Theodore Shall as Matt Burke.

Despite the interest surrounding its star Autumn Crocus did not immediately do good business at the box-office of the King’s Theatre. Before long, though, it established itself, with theatre-patrons turned away and the leading-man, the rest of the cast, and the production itself, highly praised. 

Shall’s time in Australia was something of a roller-coaster ride despite his talents. Events led to a new company being formed in 1933, Modern Theatres Co., which engaged him to produce, and be the principal actor in, translations of modern European comedies. The Palace Theatre (later Metro), Bourke Street, was leased for twelve months with a further option. Fair Exchange opened in August. It was not a great success.

Two local actresses associated with him were the young Margot Rhys and Coral Browne. The former had a short stage career (Fair Exchange and Baby Mine) but did star in two of Charles Chauvel’s films, Heritage (1935) and Uncivilised (1936) before an early retirement from acting. The latter (The Command to Love) went on to have a long and distinguished career in stage and film.

The shareholders of the new company included a small group of women and in September a tea party was given at the Lyceum Club in honour of Maria Von Wyl. It was an occasion for her to socialise informally and for those present to all converse with her. Margot Rhys was there, and among the others, Allea and one of her daughters. One of the shareholders was Mrs. Harry Emmerton (Dame Mabel Brookes’ mother) and she gave the Shalls a wonderful send-off at her home in which they presented Flirtation, an Austrian play. Esteemed Associate Professor of Melbourne University, A.R. Chisholm, was one who really appreciated Theo’s endeavours, his “finished art” and the “intellectual and artistic pleasure to have the opportunity in Australia of seeing the work of such a distinguished Continental artist”.

The following day, 9 January 1934, the Shalls left for London and home.

Shall made a handful of films in England, the most well-known the crime-thriller, Ten Minute Alibi (1935) based on Anthony Armstrong’s clever and successful play. Directed by Bernard Vorhaus, a mentor to the renowned David Lean, the slice of it available on YouTube shows the assured actor he was.

Back in Germany, he founded in 1936, as artistic director, the International Theatre in Berlin which concentrated on French and English productions. It would be closed down by the Propaganda Ministry in 1939. In between, by 1938, he was beginning to appear in supporting roles in Nazi propaganda films, including some of the most heinous (coercion!).

Following World War 2 he was a resident at the Deutschen Theatre in East Berlin, along with making left-wing films for the DEFA company. In May 1946, an airman from Caulfield on returning home had some news of him. One day when travelling on a tram in Berlin he had got into conversation with another passenger who had introduced himself as Theo Shall. He was living in a tumbledown flat at this point. He sent greetings to his friends in Melbourne.

After a long illness he died in 1955.

What became of Maria Von Wyl is, I think, still unknown.

Mrs. William Mortill, 1920s, photo by Ruth Hollick

State Library Victoria, Melbourne

Madame La Meri, 1936, by Spencer Digby Studios

Museum of New Zealand, Wellington

Allea left for Europe again at the end of March 1935, but this time with her two elder daughters. Spending most of their time in Italy, they returned home in January 1936.

One of Melbourne’s most fascinating personalities was Mrs. William (Lydia) Mortill of Tay Creggan, Yarra Street, Hawthorn. Anne Summers explores her story in The Lost Mother—A Story of Art and Love(MUP 2009) as the enigmatic Russian crossed paths with the painter Constance Parkin/Stokes and by extension her subject, Anne’s mother. Very much a part of the life of Melbourne, the Mortills’ home was a centre of entertaining particularly where visiting Russian and European artists were concerned.

These included Pavlova, members of the Ballets Russe, the French actress Alice Delysia, and probably the great Russian opera singer Chaliapin.

An artist of arguably true originality was the ethnological danseuse Madame La Meri, one of the foremost experts in her field. Her approach to her work was wholistic, integrating with integrity the dance styles of many cultures, especially those of Spain and India. American by birth, she possessed the Latin temperament of spirit and spontaneity together with an agreeable nature.

La Meri opened at the King’s Theatre on 20 June 1936, having brought with her 52 trunks containing representative costumes from around the world, the most valuable collection to come to Australia and which included some priceless objects.

The Mortills gave a supper party for her and her husband and producer, Signor Guido Carreras, a week later. Also invited were Signorina Laura Mollica, her assistant dancer, and Signor Mario Salerno, her composer and pianist. The other guests included Allea and daughters. After extending her season for a week to add on Geelong, La Meri left for New Zealand.

In March 1937, Allea and her daughters went back to Italy.

Soon the clouds of World War 2 would increasingly darken on the horizon. Inevitably, this would usher in, as it would for so many, a different chapter of her life.

With Appreciation to

Pamela Thornley (dec.)

Georgia Robazza

Gayle V. Nicholas (Genealogist)

Samantha John (Lyfelynes Family History)

Principal References

Australian Dictionary of Biography/ANU

Trove/NLA

Newspapers.com

Wikipedia

Frank Van Straten, ‘Walter Kirby: Australia's Forgotten Caruso’, On Stage, 2021-1922

On 12 january 1918, the comedy Turn to the Right replaced The New Henrietta. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest hits at the Palace during 1917, it notched up a further five weeks on its revival. On Tuesday 29 January, to mark the 100th performance of the play in Australia, a pictorial souvenir was handed to all attendees. It was also noted in the press that with the close of the play actress Francee Anderson would be departing for America, with the intention of ‘working her way to New York’.¹

With the withdrawal of Turn to the Right, the Taits’ other major success, Peg o’ My Heart, was remounted. A large and enthusiastic audience welcomed back Sara Allgood, who ‘continued her remarkable success as Peg’, along with Gerald Henson as Jerry, Cecil Brooking as Alaric and Beatrice Yaldwyn as Ethel, and Gerald Kay Souper and Cyril Mackay as Montgomery Hawkes and Christian Brent. With the Easter pantomime season looming, Peg could only be played for two weeks.

Winifred La France in Aladdin

From The Theatre (Sydney), 1 October 1918, cover. Theatre Heritage Australia.

Bert Bailey as the Dame in Aladdin, as seen by the cartoonist Pas.

National Library of Australia, Canberra

On Saturday 9 March 1918, by arrangement with Bailey and Grant, the ‘Gorgeous Pantomime Extravaganza’ of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp opened as the Easter attraction. Written by George Barry and George Slater, this production had premiered in Melbourne at the King’s Theatre in December. The show featured a strong line-up of talent, including Barry Lupino as Abanazar, Bert Bailey as the Dame, with Winifred La France (making her reappearance in Australia after several years abroad) as the principal boy and Olive Godwin as the principal girl. Other characters were played by Andrew Higginson, Fayette Perry and Zola Ferrell, the last-named the principal danseuse, specially engaged by Charles Tait in New York.

The opening night review in the Sydney Morning Herald (11 March 1918) provided the following observation:

Barry Lupino, as the comically disreputable Abanazar, and Bert Baily, as an elderly well-dressed village dame whose broad humour was held in check by a convincing assumption of feminine refinement successfully carried on the gaiety of “Aladdin” at the Palace Theatre on Saturday night. Their duologues, their dancing and their characterisations were star efforts on the best old-time panto lines.

The review went on to say:

Three hours and a half of strenuous movement and constant scenic and costume changes on the little stage accentuated the tropical heat of the summer’s evening. None the less, the crowded audience applauded the many strong features of the piece with energy, showed a tolerant approval of the few weak passage, and still has strength enough to bear up under the protracted enthusiasm of the floral reception at the end.

Of the female cast members, the same reviewer noted:

The character of the scapegrace introduces a new and dashing principal boy from America, Winifred La France, whose graceful figure is backed by an immense voice, which would fill Drury Lane Theatre, and proved somewhat overwhelming at the Palace. … Olive Godwin, who returned after a considerable absence in beautiful voice as the Princess Badroulbadour, sumptuously attired and not less rich in song.

Aladdin played to packed houses until 25 April 1918.

On the warfront, the battle continued to rage with no sign of easing. The previous year, 1917, had proved a devastating one for the country with some 22,000 men losing their lives—the heaviest death toll since the commencement of hostilities. On the homefront, the Taits along with the other key providers of entertainment, continued to play their part in ensuring that the people at home could keep their sanity by forgetting the war for a bit.

Emelie Polini

National Library of Australia, Canberra

The next attraction at the Palace was the ‘brilliant English actress’ Emelie Polini, who opened her first season in Australia with the ‘thrilling mystery comedy drama’ De Luxe Annie. A three-act play by Edward Clark, it was adapted from a short story by Scammon Lockwood. Following try-out performances in Atlantic City, De Luxe Annie opened in New York, initially at the Booth Theatre on 4 September 1917, playing over 100 performances. The play conserns a female swindler who is being pursued by the police, played on Broadway by Jane Grey, who would also go on to star in a film version. The story is told in flashback, with the first act taking place in a pullman car, where a doctor is telling a fellow passenger about an interesting case. As the story progresses, the police discover that Annie is the wife of a respected citizen and that having contracted amnesia as the result of a head injury, had been taken advantage of by a notorious crook, Jimmie Fitzpatrick, created by Vincent Serrano.

In Sydney, Emelie Polini proved a sensation as Annie, with the drama playing to record business for over two months. With a solid supporting cast including Cyril Mackay as Jimmie Fitzpatrick, Gerald Kay Souper as Doctor Niblo, Clarence Blakiston as Hal H. Kendal, along with newcomers, Harmon Lee and Georgia Harvey, making their first appearances in Australia.

De Luxe Annie closed on Monday 24 June with two performance, including a special holiday matinee to commemorate the birthday of the Prince of Wales. Annie was withdrawn at the height of its success, but it needed to make way for Guy Bates Post whose season had already been booked. With the departure of Emelie Polini, the Palace remained closed as preparations were made for the arrival of the Taits’ next big attraction.

Mrs T.H. Kelly (Ethel Knight Mollison) as The Marchesa di Brignole Sala

Mrs Leslie Walford as the Madonna

Miss Langtree, Helen Laidly and Janet Knox

Matinee in aid of Italian Red Cross Day Fund at the Palace Theatre, 20 June 1918. Photographs by Glen Broughton Studios.

State Library of New South Wales, Sydney

Meanwhile, Friday 28 June 1918 was designated as Italian Red Cross Day, and across Sydney (and elsewhere), a myriad of events, from balls to pageants, took place to raise funds for war casualties and their families. In anticipation, a special fund-raising matinee was held at the Palace Theatre on 20 June, organised by Mrs T.H. Kelly [Ethel Knight Mollison], the wife of one of the key organisers. The event at the Palace was described as one of Art and Diction. It comprised a series of living pictures or tableaux vivants based on pictures by the old masters, including Mrs Kelly and her little son as the Vandyck portrait of the Marchesa di Brignola Sala and child. The program also included dramatic recitations from Shakespeare’s Italian plays and numerous songs presented by society ladies and gentlemen with the assistance of Cyril Mackay, Signor Cappelli and Philip Wilson. The afternoon was described as ‘long and very slow-moving’, with an auction of art objects conducted by Barry Lupino during one of the intervals providing some welcome relief.

Guy Bates Post with his dog Huskie

From The Theatre (Sydney), 1 July 1918, Theatre Heritage Australia

Scene from the New York production of The Masqueraderwith Guy Bates Post and Thais Lawton. Photo by White, New York.

Smithsonian, Washington, DC

On Saturday 29 June, Guy Bates Post, a well-regarded dramatic and character actor, made his Sydney debut. On stage since 1894, he first gained recognition in 1914 with the play Omar, the Tentmaker, which played an eight-month run in New York before heading on the road for three seasons. With his current play, The Masquerader, which enjoyed a long run on Broadway, his position as ‘America’s Irving’ was assured. He arrived in Australia fresh from this success, bringing with him key players from his company, including Thais Lawton, Adele Ritchie (his wife), Ruby Gordon, Lionel Belmore, Milane Tilden—and “Huskie” his trained German Shepherd dog. Post’s Australian visit was limited to just seventeen weeks, which meant that he would only be seen at the Taits’ two theatres in Melbourne and Sydney, opening his first season at the King’s on 27 April 1918.

The Masquerader was a three-act play by John Hunter Booth, adapted from the 1904 novel by Katherine Cecil Thurston. In England in 1905, a play from the same source, John Chilcote, MP, by E. Temple Thurston, was produced with George Alexander as the lead.

The story concerns a British politician, John Chilcote, a hopeless drug addict, who following a chance meeting with his cousin, who happens to be his double, seizes the opportunity to swap identities. The cousin, John Loader, a poor but gifted writer, achieves success as John Chilcote, MP, while the real Chilcote succumbs to his addiction and is buried as Loader.

The Masquerader held the stage until Saturday 10 August 1918. On the following Monday, 12 August 1918, Post staged The Nigger, a three-act drama by Edward Sheldon.² As noted by some historians, rather than use the play’s original title of Philip Morrow, Sheldon chose to adopt the more ‘explosive title’ to ‘make clear the attitudes of his white characters about the black ones in the play’.³ Press advertisements announced it as ‘The play that created a furore in Melbourne’, and also quoted the Argus review saying, ‘It aroused the great audience to a state of excitement seldom seen or heard in a theatre, and the appreciation was as whole-hearted as the acting’. It is not clear why Post chose to present this play in Australia, given his time was limited to just two appearances. When he introduced it at New York’s progressive New Theatre, it divided audiences, playing in repertory with other plays for two months.⁴ The play had also been adapted into a film in 1915 by the Fox Film Corporation, with William Farnum in the lead, and this had been screen in Sydney for one week during March 1916.

The Nigger played for two weeks, and for the final two days of Post’s engagement, 26 and 27 August, The Masquerader was repeated, with matinee and evening performances both days. This marked the final appearance of Guy Bates Post in Australia. As the Taits advised in their advertisements, ‘These performances bring to a conclusion the most triumphant season ever given in Australia’.⁵ The following day, the company set sail for America.

Bert Bailey as Gran’dad Rudd. Photo by May and Mina Moore.

State Library Victoria, Melbourne

Next, from Wednesday 28 August 1918 to Thursday 19 September 1918, the Palace was sub-let to Bert Bailey and Julius Grant, who presented the Bert Bailey Comedy Company in a brand-new play, Gran’dad Rudd, for the first time in Sydney, having already played seasons in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and the regions. Written by Steele Rudd, this play may have been new, but many of the characters were not. This was the much-anticipated sequel to On Our Selection. The play also saw the return of many old favourites, including Bert Bailey as Gran’dad Rudd, Fred Macdonald as Dave, Lilias Adeson as Lily, and Alfreda Bevan as Mrs Joe Rudd; along with Edmund Duggan and Queenie Sefton in the new characters of Denis Regan and Mrs Banks; and introducing Leslie Woods as Henry Cook, Louis Machilton as Dan Rudd, and Grace Dorran as Nell.

The new play received an enthusiastic welccome, as the Sydney Morning Herald (29 August 1918) observed:

Roars of laughter attended the doings of the family on gran’dad’s selection at the Palace Theatre last night, as the audience settled happily down to the joyous realisation that the old farm was just as homely and “out-back” as ever, and that Steele Rudd’s new piece, under the genial handling of Mr. Bert Bailey, was just as crowded with humorous characters as the old one.

The play is set twenty years after the first one, and as such, the key characters are aged. Most notably, Bert Bailey as Dad, had lost some of his former energy:

... so naturally does Mr. Bailey play the part that one feels quite sad to see the once vigorous pioneer so aged. However, there is a world of unsuspected vigour left in the enfeebled frame and palsied head of that bent old fellow who leans on his stout oak stick, but it flares out only in the vitriolic sarcasms by which the patriarch keeps his troublesome team more or less in subjection.... In fact, Mr. Bailey has achieved a masterly study of old age in the character throughout a whole series of homely, comic situations, and playgoers will be especially grateful to him for the art with which he sustains the recognisable individuality of the first Rudd in the impersonation of the character which dominates the new story.

The Bert Bailey season was limited to just three week. Over the following years, Gran’dad Rudd would play throughout the country, but would not return to Sydney until 1923.

Georgia Harvey & Emelie Polini in a scene from The Invisible Foe (left), and Emelie with her new husband, Lieutenant Harold Ellis, ‘a Sydney solicitor of independent mean’ (right). From The Theatre (Sydney), 1 October 1918, Theatre Heritage Australia.

Characters from The Invisible Foe (1 to r): Harmon Lee as Richard Bransby, Olive Wilton as Mrs Hilary, Cyril Mackay and Gerald Kay Souper as Stephen Pryde & Dr. Lathan, Una Jan as Barkis, and John Fernside as Hugh Pride. From The Theatre (Sydney), 1 October 1918, Theatre Heritage Australia.

Following the departure of Bert Bailey and co., Emelie Polini returned with a new play, The Invisible Foe. Since she was last in Sydney, Emelie had tied the knot. It seems, on her way out to Australia she met a young Australian officer, Harold Ellis, on the boat and fell in love. Ellis had been with the Royal Field Artillery in England but had been gassed and wounded and was on leave. The two were quietly married in Melbourne in July 1918. According to one columnist, Emelie is ‘a very domesticated little lady, and when her contract with the Taits is finished she may slam the stage-door for ever’.⁶

The Invisible Foe opened on Saturday 21 September 1918. Once again, the advertisements said it all:

It’s English, written by an Englishman, concerning English Men and Women, and presented to you by English stars. Like all things English it’s good and powerful and will make a refreshing change in your theatrical diet after a long run of American productions in this city.⁷

The English drama played for just a month, closing on Thursday 10 October 1918. Polini’s next new play, Eyes of Youth, which opened on 12 October, proved a huge hit, running for nine weeks, until 13 December. It seems playgoers were more than happy with a diet of American plays!

Emelie Polini as Gina Ashling with Alfred Bristowe as the Yogi in Eyes of Youth

State Library Victoria, Melbourne

Eyes of Youth was a runaway success in America and the UK, playing for over a year in New York and for eight months in London. It is the story of a young woman, Gina Ashling, who consults an Indian Yogi, and is given a glimpse into the future: will she become a school teacher, a famous opera singer, wed a millionaire, or marry the man she loves? Summarising the play’s success, The World’s News (19 October 1918) wrote:

‘Eyes of Youth’, at the Palace Theatre, is a success; a big success—a J. and N. Tait success. There is enterprise and daring in this young firm’s activities. They had no hesitation in bringing to Sydney-siders ‘Eyes of Youth’, although it is a drama along lines entirely without precedent in Australia. It is a spoken movie—a  trick melodrama. It rushes forward with breathless speed. One momemnt you are depressed by its pathos, the next you are screaming with laughter... You came to see on comedy-drama. You were given four.... For Emelie Polini, it is, perhaps, the most perfect vehicle that could be built for her great talents and versatility.... In this play she holds the centre of the stage from curtain rise to the final fall, and in the course of the evening gives five big characterisations.

Going on to say:

It is characteristic of the Taits that, whether they put on a gloomy play like ‘The Invisible Foe’, or a sparkling comedy-drama like ‘Eyes of Youth’ and ‘De Luxe Annie’, they get the perfection of gloom or the perfection of sparkle. They are thorough—and artistic.

On Monday 11 November 1918, after four years of hostilities, and over 60,000 Australian war-dead, peace was declared with the signing of an armistice between Germany and the Allies. The news reached Australia in the evening, just as theatregoers were taking their seats. At the Palace, before the curtain went up, Mr E.J. Gravestock, the manager for J. and N. Tait, steppeed onto the stage and made the joyous announcement. The audience rose to their feet cheering as the band played the national anthems of the Allied forces.⁸

Perhaps the decision to stage an issue-laden play such as The Nigger was not so strange after all. On 18 October, the Palace played host to an important public meeting, when E.J. Tait addressed the audience on the need for a Repertory Theatre in Sydney. Under Gregan McMahon’s leadership, the Repertory Theatre Movement had gained some momentum in Melbourne, when in 1911, he staged the second act of The Critic and The Two Mrs Wetherbys at the Turn Verin Hall. Between 1911 and 1916, the organisation, modelled on similar undertakings in the UK, staged three seasons a year, presenting dozens of works deemed too intellectual or racy for the average theatregoer. The Repertory Theatre Movement championed the theatre of ideas, which encompassed the plays of Bernard Shaw, St John Ervine, Harley Granville Baker and John Galsworthy, as well as Ibsen and Strindberg. Typically, the plays were made available to theatregoers on a subscription basis. In the UK, this method was adopted to avoid scrutiny by the Lord Chamberlain, as plays mounted by clubs or staged privately did not require licencing in the normal manner. This was a useful arrangement, as many of the plays, due to their subject matter, might not have been deemed fit for the commercial stage.

By 1916, the Melbourne Repertory Company was struggling, it was losing subscribers and the pool of competent actors was dwindling, notably the male actors who had left to join the war effort.

In 1917, McMahon relocated to Sydney, taking up a role with the Tait organisation as an actor and director. E.J. Tait was impressed by McMahon’s achievement in Melbourne and determined to support a new Repertory-style company in Sydney. It was decided to utilise the actors from Emilie Polini’s company. At first, they would perform matinees of selected ‘repertory’ plays alongside their own repertoire, and slowly as the ‘repertory’ plays gained traction, would present them in their own right.

The first appearance of J. and N. Tait’s Repertory Company took place at a matinee on Thursday 31 October 1918 with George Bernard Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma, under the direction of Gregan McMahon. The play had first been performed by his Melbourne Repertory Company in March 1914. Key roles now were played by Gerald Kay Souper (Sir Colenso Ridgeon) and Olive Wilton (Jennifer Dubedat), with other characters by Gregan McMahon, Alfred Bristowe and Raymond Lawrence. It was repeated at the matinee on Thursday 7 and 21 November, the proposed matinee on 14 November being cancelled on account of Sydney’s ongoing peace celebrations.

At the matinee on Thursday 28 November 1918 a new program was given, comprising the one-act plays, How He Lied to Her Husband and The Pigeon, the first by George Bernard Shaw and the second by John Galsworthy. How He Lied to Her Husband had been previous been seen at the Palace in September 1909, when it received its first metropolitan Sydney performance by The Sydney Stage Society in aid of the Women’s Hospital.

A second matinee took place the following Thursday 5 December 1918.

The Court of Injustice, a charity event organsied by Commercial Travellers’ Association of NSW with assistance from the Actors’ Association. The Sydney Mail, 18 December 1918, p.7.

On Friday 13 December, the Palace was turned over to the Commercial Travellers’ Association of NSW for a special event that ran from 10am to 5pm. Described as a Court of Injustice, it comprised a series of trials, whereby prominent citizens were accused of ludicrous crimes and ordered to make payments to charity. The Sydney acting fraternity lent their support. Arthur Styan was the Chief Justice with Phil Smith as the Chief Constable. C.R. Bantock, C.H. Workman, Walter Baker, Frank Harvey, Roy Redgrave, Walter Bentley, Louis Kimball and others appeared as Justices, Judges, Prosecutors and Counsels, while Florence Young, Gladys Moncrieff, Muriel Starr, Ethel Morrison and other prominent female performers were the Ladies of the Jury. The event was deemed enormous fun and £1,000 was raised, with calls for a return-performance.

With the close of Eyes of Youth on 13 December, after a highly successful nine weeks, the Repertory Company commenced a short residence from 14 December, when George Bernard Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma was revived for five nights and two matinees, followed by How He Lied to Her Husband and The Pigeon from 20 December for four nights and one matinee.

On Christmas night, a special concert, under the direction of Oswald Anderson, took place, with Peter Dawson, Philip Newbury and others performing songs, ballads and recitals. A proposed revival of De Luxe Annie was held over until Boxing Night.

To be continued

Endnotes

1. Sydney Morning Herald, 19 January 1918, p.8

2. This was Sheldon’s second play, his first, Salvation Nell, achieving success at the hands of Mrs Fiske during 1908. Sheldon would go on to write many noteworthy plays, including The High Road (1912), Romance (1913) and The Czarina (1922).

3. The A to Z of American Theater, p.349

4. The New Theatre opened on 28 November 1909 as a repertory theatre with seats for 2,300. An ambitious project, it lasted just two seasons.

5. Advertisement, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 August 1918, p. 2

6. The Bulletin (Sydney), 25 July 1918, p.38

7. Advertisement, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September 1918, p.2

8. On 8 November 1918, 200,000 Sydneysiders prematurely gathered in Centennial Park to celebrate the end of the war. With the official annoucement four days later, jubilant crowds continued to flock into the city. Wednesday 13 November was declared a public holiday., when 250,000 people attended a service in the Domain, with 60,000 servicemen and women marching from Central Station. Scenes of merryment continued throughout the week with tens of thousands of people packing Martin Place.

References

Gerald Bordman, The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, Oxford University Press, 1984

James Fisher, The A to Z of American Theater: Modernism, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, 20009

James Leve, American Musical Theater, Oxford University Press, 2016

Viola Tait, A Family of Brothers: The Taits and J.C. Williamson; a theatre history, Heinemann, Melbourne, 1971

Newspapers

Trove, trove.nla.gov.au

Pictures

National Library of Australia, Canberra

State Library of New South Wales, Sydney

State Library Victoria, Melbourne

Theatre Heritage Australia

With thanks to

Rob Morrison