Murray Bramwell surveys theatre during The Adelaide Review\u2019s quarter century. <\/p>\n
With the Adelaide Review celebrating 25 years publication earlier this year it is a good time, in the immortal words of Dame Edna Everage, to look back retrospectively. In 1984 the two strands of theatre in Adelaide – amateur and professional \u2013 were , and still are , recognisably evident . The Adelaide Rep was the stalwart it remains, as were the Adelaide University Theatre Guild, Therry,
\nMatt Byrne Productions, and other companies, including Rob Croser\u2019s indomitable Independent Theatre .<\/p>\n
My main interest here, though, is in tracing the fortunes of state-funded theatre brought into being by Government legislation in 1972, when the long-awaited South Australian Theatre Company – so long the dream of the then Premier, Don Dunstan, theatre pioneer Colin Ballantyne, John Bray, Max Harris, and many others – was finally established. <\/p>\n
By 1984 the Festival Centre was celebrating its first ten years and the State Theatre Company, as it had then become, was in a transition year from Jim Sharman\u2019s celebrated Lighthouse program \u2013 two years of dazzling work which saw his version of A Midsummer Nights\u2019 Dream, Neil Armfield\u2019s tropical Twelfth Night and the Stephen Sewell classic The Blind Giant is Dancing. Lighthouse remains a beacon \u2013 Sharman at his best and a brilliant showcase for actors such as Geoffrey Rush, Gillian Jones, Robert Menzies, Jacqy Phillips and others. <\/p>\n
Keith Gallasch was in charge until the end of 1985 \u2013 a troubled year for State, with some awful productions and an even more awful box office. It was a time when support for the company itself was at risk. Waiting in the wings was John Noble\u2019s Stage Company, working out of the Space and specializing in new Australian work \u2013 some of it likeable, most of it well presented but, with the exception of Dave Allen\u2019s Cheapside, little of its repertoire has endured. Elsewhere, Troupe Theatre was busy at Unley Town Hall and out at the Port, Vitalstatistix, in its zany first incarnation featuring writer\/ performers Margie Fischer, Roxxy Bent and Ollie Black.<\/p>\n
State\u2019s troubles turned round quickly when John Gaden took charge in 1987 bringing charm to the subscribers and excellence to the stage. His collaborations with director Gale Edwards saw State again leading the country in Shakespearean productions with a fine Much Ado starring William Zappa, a capable Lear and a memorable A Winter\u2019s Tale \u2013 the latter two with typically nifty design by Mary Moore. Edwards\u2019 production of Aphra Benn\u2019s The Rover was especially spry with a younger and trimmer John Howard in the swashbuckling lead. At this time also, the second tier was busy \u2013 Junction Theatre with its workplace touring, Patch for the kids, and, by 1987, the newly formed Red Shed Company.<\/p>\n
Located at the present Bakehouse site, the Red Shed took up from Troupe, a commitment to UK alternative theatre and new writing with plays from David Carlin and Cath McKinnon. But it was the link formed with Melbourne writer Daniel Keene that proved most enduring with remarkable premiere productions, directed by Tim Maddock, of the poetic All Souls, the film noir Terminus and the Adelaide Festival commission about the imprisonment of Albert Speer, The Architects Walk.<\/p>\n
After four years splendid service, John Gaden left the building leaving State in exceptionally good shape. It had its highpoints \u2013 Gow\u2019s Away, and its horrors – the bicenetennial flop, 1841 also by Michael Gow, some excellent Chekhov , plenty of stylish comedy and a brilliant Strindberg \u2013Dream Play. Then, in 1990 aged 31, Simon Phillips took over with as much dash as Gaden had shown. Phillips\u2019 ensemble of players immediately produced two heavy hits – both superbly designed by Shaun Gurton \u2013 Marat\/ Sade, again with Geoffrey Rush in the lead, and A Comedy of Errors. Based on painterly motifs from Magritte, it featured local favourite Paul Blackwell at his best. Much followed \u2013 from Bond\u2019s Restoration to Sheridan\u2019s School For Scandal. <\/p>\n
Less fortunate was the tenure of Chris Westwood as Executive Producer at State, as competition from the Festival Centre\u2019s theatre program steered her to a millennial countdown of five years of Australian-only productions. It couldn\u2019t last, as old texts were exhumed with too little dramatic juice left in them to succeed. Rodney Fisher was brought to steady the ship of State but it became almost perilously becalmed. The vivacious presence of assistant director Rosalba Clemente, however, led on to her much loved stewardship of the company.<\/p>\n
In a further baton change, Brink Productions took over from the Red Shed via Benedict Andrews\u2019 Blueprint company, which first presented Howard Barker\u2019s Wounds to the Face in 1996. Andrews, now a high profile director in Berlin, also pioneered adventurous work with the short-lived Magpie 2 project out of State.
\nBrink\u2019s alliance with Barker\u2019s work was a valuable one culminating in the festival work The Ecstatic Bible in conjunction with his UK company, The Wrestling School. Brink, presently under the direction of Chris Drummond, has achieved a spectacular success with Andrew Bovell\u2019s When the Rain Stops Falling, currently playing a season in Sydney with Melbourne to follow.<\/p>\n
Looking at the current landscape there are signs of diligent continuation and some of economic and creative fatigue. Adam Cook has a challenge with State Theatre\u2019s ageing subscriber list, although the same was said of John Gaden. The pressures on him to deliver to a diminishing dollar are considerable and he does well to respond with popular fare and new directions such as the upcoming Mnemonic and director Geordie Brookman\u2019s works for the company. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, among the freelances, the Bakehouse and Holden Street provide welcome initiatives. Recently both David Mealor\u2019s Flying Penguins production of True West by Sam Shepard and Corey McMahon\u2019s five.point.one company\u2019s Osama the Hero are indications of green shoots \u2013 although the lack of audience commitment is a concern. Adelaide produces plenty of quality theatre and the second-tier activity is essential to maintain craft skills and repertoire range. But if the city\u2019s audiences don\u2019t support our artists we will lose them – as well as their priceless invention and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Murray Bramwell surveys theatre during The Adelaide Review\u2019s quarter century. With the Adelaide Review celebrating 25 years publication earlier this year it is a good time, in the immortal words of Dame Edna Everage, to look back retrospectively. In 1984 the two strands of theatre in Adelaide – amateur and professional \u2013 were , and still are , recognisably evident . The Adelaide Rep was the stalwart it remains, as were the Adelaide University Theatre Guild, Therry, Matt Byrne Productions, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1700,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/1700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murraybramwell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}