The online magazine of Theatre Heritage Australia
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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... -
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... -
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... -
Book Review: The Two Coliseums
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The Two Coliseums: Film, Skating and Vaudeville, by Anthony Buckley AO and Les Tod OAM, Seaborn Broughton & Walford Foundation, Sydney, 2025. RRP A$60.00. The original Colosseum in Rome is renowned not only for its monumental scale but for its sophisticated technical ingenuity: accommodation for... -
Toni Lamond, 1932–2025
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Theatre and television legend Toni Lamond was one of the true Queens of the Australian entertainment scene. She performed in everything from the big Broadway musicals which played here, Gilbert and Sullivan, cabaret and one-woman shows and television. Toni played lead roles in the musicals, The... -
A Song to Sing-O! Downunder
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Former principal soprano with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (between 1922 – 1932), Winifred Lawson was engaged by JC Williamson’s in 1935 to tour Australasia in revivals of the evergreen comic operas, as she related in her autobiography A Song to Sing-O! published in 1955. Back to Gilbert and... -
Some Theatrical Recollections (Part 1)
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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... -
Allea Fleming Dunstan: Pupil of Walter Kirby
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Allea Fleming Dunstan (1883-1966) was a singer active within Melbourne’s musical circules from 1925 to early 1935. GERALDINE STARBROOK, Allea’s great niece, takes a look at her career and the people she worked alongside including the celebrated singing teacher Walter Kirby. Allea Fleming Dunstan,... -
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Iris Roderick: A Child Prodigy
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In the archive of the Box Hill Historical Society are two large boxes containing photos, clippings and other items belonging to Iris Roderick (1907-1971). HELEN HARRIS OAM, President and Archivist of the Box Hill Historical Society, tells Iris’s remarkable story. The Box Hill Historical Society... -
Henry Matsumoto: The short tale of a pioneer Japanese-Australian actor
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NICK MURPHY takes a look at the career of Japanese actor Henry Matsumoto, one of the few non-white performers to appear on the Australian stage during the first half of 1900s. The subject of this article, ‘Henry’ Kakusakuro Matsumoto, was born in Japan on 8 September 1879. He spent most of his... -
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Ivy Bickford: From Melbourne's Conservatorium of Music to the comic opera stage
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Ivy Bickford’s stage career lasted just four years. Graduating from the Marshall Hall Conservatorium of Music in East Melbourne with honours, she could have become a world-class opera singer, but as BOB FERRIS discovers, she chose to join the ranks of JCW’s Royal Comic Opera Company performing... -
Djin-Djin
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KEVIN COXHEAD documents the Australian theatrical sensation of 1895 - 96, which helped to restore the fortunes of the Depression-hit "Firm" of J.C. Williamson and George Musgrove; together with plans for the upcoming exhibition of 24 original water-colour costume designs presented in conjunction with... -
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Horace Stevens (Part 1)
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In the first of a series of articles DAVID HIBBARD presents an overview of the life and times of the Australian bass-baritone. Horace Stevens: A brief history of his career and repertoire Introduction It is of no surprise that Australia has produced a plethora of excellent opera singers in the... -
Kate Howarde: The Queen of ‘Bushwhacking’ (Part 2)
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Kate Howarde moved to Australia from New Zealand in 1886 and quickly established herself as versatile leading actress but also as an enterprising producer presenting a repertoire of drama and vaudeville to regional Australia—what she called ‘Bushwacking’. By 1901 her first marriage to William... -
Kevin Hocking OAM: A Life in Music (Part 2)
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From the 1950s, Melbourne-born Kevin Hocking (1932–2019) enjoyed a long career as composer, pianist, arranger and conductor, notably on television with the GTV9 Orchestra and later with the ABC Showband. GEOFF ORR concludes his two-part look at the career of this versatile and much-loved musician. Kevin ... -
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Florrie Forde at 150: Melba for the masses (Part 3)
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Here is Part 3 of ROGER NEILL’s new biography of the great music hall star, Florrie Forde. Part 1 covered her childhood in Melbourne, her apprenticeship on stage in Melbourne and Sydney, and her debut in three theatres in one night in London; while Part 2 covered her specular career as a chorus... -
Harry M Miller and Friends (Part 3)
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In part 3 of Harry M. Miller and Friends, ROLAND ROCCHICCIOLI reflects on HAIR, The Boys in the Band, and the lasting effect Harry M. had on his career—and his life. After the Melbourne and Hobart seasons of Sleuth with Richard Todd and Gary Waldhorn I returned to the Melbourne Theatre Company to... -
Little Wunder: The story of the Palace Theatre, Sydney (Part 18)
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Now firmly under the direction of J. & N. Tait, the Palace Theatre had embarked on a period of huge prosperity that began with Peg o’ My Heart. Following a refresh of the interior of the theatre, the 1917 season commenced with the musical comedy Very Good Eddie, setting the pace for a cavalcade of new... -
Colin Peasley, 1934-2025
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Australian Ballet Company legend and foundation member, Colin Peasley OAM began his classical ballet training at the ripe old age of twenty-one, having previously trained in jazz and tap. Joining the company when it formed in 1962, he would be with them in varying aspects for fifty years. A member of... -
Garth Welch, 1936-2025
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Australian Ballet Dancer Garth Welch was born on 14 April 1936. His first professional job was in the J.C. Williamson production Call Me Madam in 1953. Brought to the attention of Borovansky, he joined the Borovansky Ballet the following year and went straight into the role of Principal Dancer... -
Adele Johnston, 1959-2025
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Adele Johnston crossed over from opera to cabaret to musical theatre with great ease. Her work for Opera Australia included Der Rosenkavalier, The Marriage of Figaro, Orpheus in the Underworld, Suor Angelica, Gianna Schicci and My Fair Lady. Appearances in musical theatre included Camelot with... -
THA 2025 Spring Events
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Theatre Heritage Australia presented three successful public events during the 2025 spring season—one in Sydney and two in Melbourne. The first, at the Seaborn, Broughton and Walford Foundation in Sydney in conjunction with THA titled ‘Actors with Wooden Heads’, was presented on Sunday 21...
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NOTABLE PRODUCTIONS
8 August 2025
Gypsy: Broadway
Author: Kevin Coxhead
The show, opening on the 21 May 1959 at The Broadway Theatre, New York, is arguably one of the top five or so shows in musical theatre history, and people still debate over which of the female leads who have played the part of Rose was the best.... Read more
1 June 2025
Robert and Elizabeth: West End
Author: Robert Morrison
Robert and Elizabeth is an unashamedly romantic musical with a score that reaches operatic dimensions. It is based on the true story of fellow poets Elizabeth Moulton-Barrett and Robert Browning's mutual admiration of each other's work and their eventual marriage. Elizabeth was 39 and Robert's senior by six years when they met. In her teens she developed... Read more
1 September 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
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BOOK REVIEWS
The Two Coliseums: Film, Skating and Vaudeville, by Anthony Buckley AO and Les Tod OAM, Seaborn Broughton & Walford Foundation, Sydney, 2025. RRP A$60.00.The original Colosseum in Rome is renowned not only for its monumental scale but for its sophisticated ... Read more
4 August 2025
19 May 2025
28 May 2025
11 December 2024
17 September 2024
1 June 2024
1 March 2023
1 March 2023
1 December 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