Profiles
This is section documents some of the more interesting characters that have made substaintial contributions to our theatre history.
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Written by Bob Ferris
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Bob Ferris AustraliaBob Ferris is a member of the Australian Cartophilic Society and has collected cigarette and trade cards since the late 1970s. He has been a regular contributor to the Society Newsletter and Magazine—The Australian Card Collector—for over twenty years and has served as Co-editor of the magazine for seven years.
Bob was awarded Life Membership of the Society in 2019.
Written by Nick Murphy
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Nick Murphy Australia
As the grandson of Melbourne theatre architect Gordon Murphy, Nick Murphy grew up with a fascination for all things theatrical. A teacher and Assistant Principal for many years, he also worked at Melbourne Museum and in educational settings in China, and tutored pre-service teachers at the University of Melbourne. He has lived most of his life just a few streets from Daphne Pollard's birthplace in Fitzroy. The children of Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera Company remain an ongoing interest. forgottenaustralianactresses.com
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Written by Helen Harris
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Helen Harris AustraliaHelen D. Harris OAM, MA has been working as a professional genealogist and historian for many years. She is a member of the Professional Historians Association, a Life Member of the AIGS [now Family History Connections], Founder and Life Member of the Avoca & District Historical Society, former Secretary & Life Member of the Victoria Police Historical Society, former Secretary, Archivist & Life Member of the Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) and currently President & Archivist of the Box Hill Historical Society. She also served as a Councillor and Mayor of the City of Whitehorse, 2005-2016. She was awarded an OAM in 1993 for services to community history and the inaugural VAFFHO Frances Brown Award for Excellence in 2004, for outstanding service and contribution to Family History in Victoria. https://helendoxfordharris.com.au/theatrical-lives-and-lies/
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Written by Roger Neill
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Roger Neill UKRoger Neill is a UK-based arts historian. He curated the exhibition Legends: The Art of Walter Barnett for the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra in 2000. He helped Sam Wanamaker to re-build Shakespeare’s Globe in London. His most recent book is The Simonsens of St Kilda: A Family of Singers. With Tony Locantro he co-produced the 4CD set From Melba to Sutherland: Australian Singers on Record for Decca Eloquence.
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Written by David Hibbard
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David Hibbard David Hibbard is a retired opera singer. Born in Murwillumbah, NSW. He attended the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.
He has performed with The English National Opera, The Glyndebourne Festival, Opera 80, The Australian Opera, Oper der Stadt Koln, Bremer Staatstheater, Teatro Liceu, The State Opera of South Australia, Opera Australia, West Australian Opera, the Lyric Opera of Queensland, Taipei Opera, Singapore Opera and New Zealand Opera.
He has performed many major bass roles including Fiesco, Sparafucile, Padre Guardiano, Prince Gremin and Alvise Badoero.
He is currently a full time carer for his partner of forty years. This thesis was written in 2017 for his BA Hons with the University of South Queensland.
Written by John Senczuk
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John Senczuk AustraliaBased in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Dr John Senczuk is a theatre polymath. A NIDA graduate, his multi-award winning career as director, designer, playwright and dramaturg spans forty years, with his work seen nationally and internationally in commissions for opera, dance and drama. Concurrently, he lectured on dramaturgy and scenography at the Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong, Toi Whakaari, NZ Drama School, and WAAPA. John is the inaugural S,B&W Foundation Research Fellow, where his first major publication was the transcription and annotations of JC Williamson’s 1909 Diary (listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register). In 2020, he was a member of the ARC/Ausstage Research Team engaged on an animated 3D Digital Reconstruction of the Stage House of Newcastle’s Victoria Theatre (1891). He now writes on Australian theatre history and biography. Recent publications include Griffin Rising (2019; shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s History Award), Griffin Redux (2022); Funny Business: A Biography of Carol Raye (2022); and ‘Those Enterprising Impresarios’ The MacMahon Brothers (2024). John is also the founding editor of the boutique publisher Janus Imprint, making available unpublished or inaccessible heritage Australian drama scripts. John’s first releases included Louis Esson’s The Battler, Leon Brodsky’s Rebel Smith, Kate Howarde’s Possum Paddock and Euphemia Coulson Davidson’s Sorell.
Written by Roger Neill
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Roger Neill UK
Roger Neill is a UK-based arts historian. He curated the exhibition Legends: The Art of Walter Barnett for the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra in 2000. He helped Sam Wanamaker to re-build Shakespeare’s Globe in London. His most recent book is The Simonsens of St Kilda: A Family of Singers. With Tony Locantro he co-produced the 4CD set From Melba to Sutherland: Australian Singers on Record for Decca Eloquence.
Written by John Senczuk
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John Senczuk Australia
Based in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Dr John Senczuk is a theatre polymath. A NIDA graduate, his multi-award winning career as director, designer, playwright and dramaturg spans forty years, with his work seen nationally and internationally in commissions for opera, dance and drama. Concurrently, he lectured on dramaturgy and scenography at the Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong, Toi Whakaari, NZ Drama School, and WAAPA. John is the inaugural S,B&W Foundation Research Fellow, where his first major publication was the transcription and annotations of JC Williamson’s 1909 Diary (listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register). In 2020, he was a member of the ARC/Ausstage Research Team engaged on an animated 3D Digital Reconstruction of the Stage House of Newcastle’s Victoria Theatre (1891). He now writes on Australian theatre history and biography. Recent publications include Griffin Rising (2019; shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s History Award), Griffin Redux (2022); Funny Business: A Biography of Carol Raye (2022); and ‘Those Enterprising Impresarios’ The MacMahon Brothers (2024). John is also the founding editor of the boutique publisher Janus Imprint, making available unpublished or inaccessible heritage Australian drama scripts. John’s first releases included Louis Esson’s The Battler, Leon Brodsky’s Rebel Smith, Kate Howarde’s Possum Paddock and Euphemia Coulson Davidson’s Sorell.
Written by Bob Ferris
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Bob Ferris Australia
Bob Ferris is a member of the Australian Cartophilic Society and has collected cigarette and trade cards since the late 1970s. He has been a regular contributor to the Society Newsletter and Magazine—The Australian Card Collector—for over twenty years and has served as Co-editor of the magazine for seven years.
Bob was awarded Life Membership of the Society in 2019.
Written by Roland Rocchiccioli
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Roland Rocchiccioli AustraliaThis year, 2024, marks 58-years in the theatre. It has taken Roland to places he never imagined: Moscow, Shanghai, London, New York, Rome, Paris — even Uzbekistan. He has done 14-plays with Googie Withers, and 12 with Frank Thring. He has worked at ABC and The Playhouse, Perth; the Community Theatre, Killara; Melbourne Theatre Company; Harry M Miller Attractions; and Bill Kenwright Productions, London. He is probably best-known for his unlikely on-screen shenanigans with Sam Newman for the AFL Footy Show. It was, he said: “the best decision of my life. It introduced me to a vast audience whom I would never have met. It was such a joy for ten-years! I relished every moment.”