The online magazine of Theatre Heritage Australia
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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... -
Early Stages: Dr Margaret Leask
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In our new series, Early Stages, where we invite people to share their earliest theatrical experiences, theatre historian MARGARET LEASK recalls that as the grand-daughter of actors, her earliest memories are irrevocably connected with the stage. After Peggy, my mother, died in 2008, I discovered she had... -
Aggie Thorn: A Bright Particular Star (Part 1)
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In the first of a new two-part article, BOB FERRIS takes a look at the career of a Melbourne-born performer, Aggie Thorn, who as a principal member of J.C. Williamson's Gilbert & Sullivan Repertoire Company in the early 1900s was considered to be one of the most promising young Australians of her... -
The Melba-Williamson Grand Opera Company of 1924: 100 years on (Part 2)
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Photo by Spencer Shier, from Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne (2018) by Frank Van Straten. Photo of Melba used as intro image by Baron Adolph de Meyer, National Portrait Gallery, London. 2024 marks one hundred years since the Melba-Williamson Grand Opera Season of 1924, the most ambitious display... -
Melba–Williamson Grand Opera Company 1924: Playlist
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To provide a fuller appreciation of the 1924 Melba-Williamson grand opera season, ROB MORRISON has prepared a list of available recordings together with relevant links. LA BOHÈME O soave fanciulla – Nellie Melba & Enrico Caruso (1907) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHd-DxF8clo Si, mi chiamsno... -
Ida Jennie St Leon: From acrobat to ingenue to actress (Part 2)
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In the final of a two-part article on the life of Ida St Leon, circus historian MARK ST LEON concludes his biography of an extraordinary woman whose meteoric career saw her transform from a tightrope walker to a Broadway star. Polly of the Circus At the close of the 1907 season, the St Leon family... -
Frank Neil - 'He Lived Show Business' (Part 6)
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FRANK VAN STRATEN concludes his exploration of the life and tumultuous times of one of Australia’s near-forgotten entrepreneurs. Part 6: Just months before his untimely death Frank Neil told Tivoli executives: “Boys, I now feel our combined efforts are beginning to show real results. Don’t ever... -
A Child Among You (Part 6)
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Having enjoyed a successful season of productions in Melbourne, English comedian Charles Heslop and his wife, Maidie Field relocated to Sydney to perform in the world premiere of the Australian musical comedy version of Tons of Money, as recounted in the sixth instalment of his articles originally... -
Little Wunder: The story of the Palace Theatre, Sydney (Part 13)
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During 1912, Sydney’s little Pitt Street playhouse prospered, playing host to a range of attractions, from magic to drama. For a time, it established itself as a home for Australian plays as ELISABETH KUMM explains in Part 13 of the Palace Theatre story. Following the closure of Why Men Love Women... -
Book Review: God and the Angel
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GOD AND THE ANGEL: VIVIEN LEIGH AND LAURENCE OLIVIER’S TOUR DE FORCE OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND by Shiroma Perera-Nathan, Melbourne Books, 2024 LOOKING back on the many travails that led to the breakdown of his marriage to Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier sadly concluded, ‘I lorst you in... -
Obituary: Carolyn Laffan
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Carolyn ‘Caz’ Laffan, 26 October 1969–9 April 2024 Caz and Australian Music Vault Caz Laffan was a passionate advocate of Australia’s performing arts history and contemporary music. Among her many legacies are the Australian Music Vault, exhibitions, digital experiences, collection acquisitions... -
Obituary: Sue-Anne Wallace
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Dr Sue-Anne Wallace AM, 30 July 1946–4 March 2024 Sue-Anne in 2022It is with great sadness, I advise that on 4 March of this year, Dr Sue-Anne Wallace AM unexpectedly passed away. Sue-Anne has been an active member of the Theatre Heritage Australia committee for the past four years and will be... -
The Borovansky Journey—from Pavlova to van Praagh
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On 20 March 2024, The Ballet Society Victoria presented a talk on Edouard Borovansky, the history of the Borovansky Ballet Company, and his influence on dance and links to The Australian Ballet. JUDY LEECH takes a look at the achievements of this remarkable individual and the many talented dancers he...
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NOTABLE PRODUCTIONS
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
15 November 2023
The Girl Friend
Author: Theatre Heritage Australia
The musical comedy entitled The Girl Friend that was seen in the West End in 1927 and subsequently in Australia, as staged by J.C. Williamson Ltd., was very different from that performed on Broadway in 1926, as it merely took the title and the hit songs from the Rodgers and Hart score, and grafted them onto the plot and song score from the... 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