Fifty years ago when I joined the theatre on the scenic staff and before the imported painters mentioned above had arrived, Australia had competent resident scenic men. In Melbourne, Mr John Henning, Mr John Fille, Mr Habbe, Her Von Vennenmark? Fred Edmunds W Massey, Geo Kelly, W Pitt. In Sydney W J Wilson, William Kinchella, G W Perriman, Alfred Louis Tischbauer who painted under the name of ALTA, Mr Richard Seligill? Mr Alfred Clint, Mr Geo Campbell, Mr Feda? Williams and Mr Edward Vaughan, It was wonderful in the gas lit crudely filled theatres as those drops, what wonderful artistic illusions these painters could create. The history of the theatre in Australia for the last fifty years is really the life story of the various actor managers, the deaths of JC Williamson, Arthur Garner, Brough and Boccicault , Charles Holloway, Dan barry Graham... Wybert Reeve, D ogden? B N Jones,
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
More notes on scenic design by Jack Ricketts.
Fifty years ago when I joined the theatre on the scenic staff and before the imported painters mentioned above had arrived, Australia had competent resident scenic men. In Melbourne, Mr John Henning, Mr John Fille, Mr Habbe, Her Von Vennenmark? Fred Edmunds W Massey, Geo Kelly, W Pitt. In Sydney W J Wilson, William Kinchella, G W Perriman, Alfred Louis Tischbauer who painted under the name of ALTA, Mr Richard Seligill? Mr Alfred Clint, Mr Geo Campbell, Mr Feda? Williams and Mr Edward Vaughan, It was wonderful in the gas lit crudely filled theatres as those drops, what wonderful artistic illusions these painters could create. The history of the theatre in Australia for the last fifty years is really the life story of the various actor managers, the deaths of JC Williamson, Arthur Garner, Brough and Boccicault , Charles Holloway, Dan barry Graham... Wybert Reeve, D ogden? B N Jones,
Some notes on Scenic Design by Jack Ricketts
Monday, December 2, 2013
Daisy Jerome- The red headed spark
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Website Update
The pictures link at the top of the page will go directly to flickr, but all the photos are still on site, so a search will take you to a photo on site if it is not on flickr.
I am trying out google search too.
So if you have time to spare and want to do some theatrical research, have a look at
www.hat-archive.com, which must be turning 10 years old next year...
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Is this J C Williamson?
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Henrietta Watson
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The Genesian Theatre/Kursaal Theatre
The building was completed in 1868 and was originally a church and school.
You can see traces of its original function by looking at the exterior of the building.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Matheson Lang in Sydney.
I found this yesterday.
1910 was a busy year for Australian Theatre. Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton played to packed houses, Houdini thrilled audiences with daring feats and in May Matheson Lang toured.
The signs of mourning for Edward VII were being removed from Sydney's public buildings when and and his wife, Nellie Hutin Britton arrived. Australia had been talking about them since January. The couple had big reputations gained in London and New York and Sydneysiders were eager to see them.
Lang planned to perform in Sydney and Melbourne and the first of many plays on his agenda was 'Pete' an adaptation of Hall Craine's play, 'The Manxman.'.
The preparation for the play was meticulous. Before his departure from London, Lang had relayed a request to Australia for a baby to appear in the second act. In response, a Sydney man had volunteered his unborn child for the part.The child was born before Lang's arrival and christened 'Pete'.
Lang played the eponymous role of Pete the Manx fisherman. He had prepared for it like a modern method actor, visiting with Manx fishermen on the Isle of Wright, so he could immerse himself in the accent and culture.
Pete opened at Sydney's intimate Criterion Theatre on May 21st 1910. It was melodramatic fare, one critic wrote that ' it's character are almost without exception steeped in pain and misery throughout its telling.'
They had every reason for their angst. The play revolved around adultery, sibling jealousy, questioned paternity, power and greed. It was material that thrilled the public but would, in most circumstances, affronted the moral guardians of Sydney society.
However, this case was different, despite the salubrious plot, the conservative elements of Sydney society were silent and this was due to Matheson Lang. He had the good fortune to be related to the Archbishop of York, a fact emphasised in most interviews. This high ranking relative protected him from the usual condemnation of the nation's prudes.
Matheson had the extra advantage of being six foot tall and handsome, qualities that also prevented criticism of his performance.
Due to these facts and the skill of the actors, 'Pete' was a huge success in Sydney. It played to standing room only audiences through its run.
Sydney critics agreed with audiences and through Lang's performance was outstanding. They praised his realistic portrayal of a fisherman and applauded his restrained display of emotion.
Miss Britton was also praised for her performance in a relentlessly dour role. Her physical beauty was also noted, especially her fine figure and 'interesting' face.
Lang and Nellie performed in Sydney for 9 weeks and were feted and applauded the entire stay. They represented the best of international theatre to audiences who were developing a keen appreciation of quality drama and spectacle.
Lang and Nellie were one of many international artists who travelled to Australia. The long trip was well paid and the audiences less critical than those in the northern hemisphere. Competition for quality international theatre was fierce in the country and theatre managers were rewarded with crowded houses and financial success when that quality was delivered. In return, audiences and local talent obtained a taste of European theatrical tradition that otherwise would have been denied to them.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Child Labour in the Australian Theatre 1890-1911
I wrote this some time ago and found a copy today.
Between 1890 and the early 20th Century, the employment of children on the stage was controversial. Regulations regarding employment gradually became stricter as the idea of childhood was developed and the importance of education increased.
Famous Child Performers
Many great Australian performers began their stage careers as children. Carrie Moore began as a 13 year old in pantomime, the Beatty sisters began with Pollard's Lilliputians and William Percy also started his long comedic career with that company. Child acts were also popular in vaudeville theatres, Fanny Powers was a huge hit with Tivoli patrons as a 7 year old.
Child stars played small but important roles in plays in pantomimes, however, the rights of the child as a worker were often ignored.
This changed as the 20th Century progressed and adult advocates began to question the use of children in theatrical entertainment.
Child Labour Laws.
However, by 1890, the law had tightened in many states. In Victoria, the law prohibited any child under the age of 10 working after 7 O Clock in winter and 9 O Clock in winter. This limited the use of children in theatrical entertainment. Two prominent entrepreneurs, J C Williamson and Alfred Dampier were fined for breaking this law.
Arguments about child labour.
The fines levied against the managers led to arguments abotu the practice of employing children in theatres. Proponents argued that theatre training improved diction, provided enjoyment and also provided more discipline that many children received at home.
Opponents, including the representatives of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty for Children argued that the theatre exposed children to undesirable elements of society and exploited their precociousness for the benefit of greedy managers.
The Pollard Scandal
The laws regarding child employment continued to develop after Federation and in line with community perceptions of childhood and education. In 1910 an event occurred which focussed the spotlight back onto the theatrical community.
A scandal erupted when a troupe of children, touring under the Pollard name, were stranded in India. The newspapers exploded with accusations of child abuse, the intervention of the Indian authorities in the matter was embarrassing and the difficulty in returning the children to their parents and the subsequent pitiful scenes of reunion, brought the matter of child employment in the theatres to the headlines.
More on the Lilliputian Scandal
Child Labour Legislation by 1911.
By 1911 the government of NSW had legislated to disallow any child under the age of 14 being employed on the stage. The premier of Victoria agreed in principle with this idea, stating that all children of that age should be in school.
Education was seen as more important as the century progressed and subsequent legislation gradually increased the school leaving age to reflect this.
The changing view of childhood and the increasing importance of education to a new society led to the development of harsher strictures for theatrical managers, but did not finish the exploitation of children on stage and screen. However it limited the opportunities for conniving managers and complemented the changing social attitude of the time.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Fanny Powers of the Tivoli
She was born in 1890 near Leichhardt in Sydney to Maria and George Powers. Her parents must have been involved in the theatre because she was performing by the time she was 7.
Here she is as a child.
She married Mr William Foote, a South Australian businessman in 1913. He owned several racehorses and was some years older than Fanny.
The pair settled for a time in Manly NSW. During the early 1920s they lived in a beautiful sea side house with their three children, George, Arthur and Nancy.
In the mid 20s they moved to Adelaide.
William died aged 63 in 1937, and Fanny died the next year, around June 1938. There was little fanfare when she died but she was fondly remembered for decades as one of the fixtures of the Tivoli Circuit.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Stars of Efftee films
They represent stars from Efftee films. Efftee film studios were apparently created in Melbourne in the early 1930s by Frank Thring. The name comes from his initials, FT.
A list of their films is here
Firstly we have George Wallace. George was a stage comedian and film actor. His bio on the back of the card states;
Australian comedian, born Brisbane (q) aged 33 years. Comes of a theatrical family. Has toured his own revue companies. First film, 'His Royal Highness." (Efftee Films)
Friday, December 21, 2012
Update
I've been very slack about updating here, so for my New Years resolution, I will try and update more often.
I can't update the website at present because my desktop computer has been broken for about 6 months. But hat-archive.com is still limping along.
I have been updating the flickr site regularly. I added 11 photos this morning. Most of them are postcards including some lovely early cards of Tivoli performers. I have never seen these before so was quite surprised to find them.
Fanny Powers was a long term member of the Tivoli theatre company and a good friend of Harry Rickards.
I also picked up the postcard below.
This is Guiseppe Sacco Homann, the original world famous fasting man. I picked this up because it is so strange. Guiseppe has written on the back of the card thanking Mr H Brooks for his 'gustations'. I suppose even the world famous fasting man had to eat sometimes.
And of course I had to buy the postcard below.
I overpaid, but it is Charlie Chaplin and I love Charlie. It's from his Essanay film days, around 1914-15.
I have almost 800 postcards on the flickr site so check it out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hat-archive/
Stage Whispers have updated the history part of their site to include an article I wrote about child labour in the theatres. Surprisingly, very little has been written about this topic. The article focuses on a scandal with a children's troupe which was deserted in India. It is available here.
For the January 2013 issue of Stage Whispers I wrote about Mrs J C Williamson, aka Maggie Moore. The only person in history to exploit the great theatre entrepreneur. Ahh that Maggie, she was an Irish scoundrel!
The new edition of Stage Whispers will be available in newsagents soon.
Happy holidays to everybody.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The HAT flickr project. Herbert Flemming
Take a look. Or search flickr for hat-archive.
Meanwhile, here's a mini biography of Herbert Flemming from The Referee newspaper in 1908.
I'm putting together a collection of these mini biographies and publishing them through Smashwords. It should be available in the next couple of weeks.
Herbert Flemming
Born c 1855 London.
Emigrated to New Zealand 1876
Died 1908 West Melbourne Victoria Australia
The well known actor-manager who died in Melbourne last week. He was one of the best known men on the Australian stage and as an actor held a very high position, his productions always showing artistic taste and careful selection of the cast. The deceased was about 50 years of age, and was educated at the London University College School. He first appeared on the stage in Christchurch (NZ) in 1876 and it is noteworthy that his companies always included some New Zealanders. A little later he appeared in Melbourne with Creswick, Bland Holt and others, and then filled a seven years engagement with Williamson, Garner and Musgrove. He then went to India and the East and returned to London. A visit to South Africa was made in 1896 and he remained there some years directing eventually a circuit of ten theatres. He came to Australia in 1902 and with a few months intermission remained here till his death. He joined forces with Robert Brough in 1903, but the latter died a year later, and the deceased conducted his own comedy company up till the time of his death. Mr Flemming appeared in Sydney last June and July when he was successful with some new productions. He leaves a widow and two sons.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Inside History
The magazine is available in newsagencies around Australia and can also be ordered on line\
So check out this lovely full colour magazine which promotes Australian history and historians.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Google plus 1
I have not updated for some time due to work committments. I am working on adding some photos and information to the blog and website soon.
Thanks to all who are buying the ebooks- your support is appreciated.
-Leann
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Circus: The Australian Story.
Mark St Leon, Australia's premier circus historian is releasing a new book through Melbourne Books which will be available in May.
Mark has studied Australian Circus for many years and this book will be the definitive history of Circus in Australia.
Anybody who has had the privilege of listening to Mark speak about circus will know that he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject, he is the expert in this field. I'm happy that the book will include the stories of May Wirth and Con Coleano, which will make it an unforgettable reading experience. If you are interested in circus, you will love it.
Anyway, it will cost 39.99 and will be in a soft cover large format.More information at Melbourne Books at www.melbournebooks.com.au
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Little Cliff/Laddie Cliff
Here is the post card again.
And here is part of John Perry's email.
The postcard on your HAT posting of 27th February is, indeed, the English 'wonder' performer Little Cliff.
He was 14 years of age when he toured the Rickards theatres in Sydney, Melbourne and various parts of NZ in the second half of 1906. I imagine the source you found giving his age as 4 years old had dropped off the first '1'!
Little Cliff (proper name Clifford Perry) rebranded himself as Laddie Cliff the following year, when he started touring the United States. He went on to become a big star of vaudeville in US and UK in the 1920s and '30s.
He was my late father's first cousin. The family ostracised him for both going on the stage, and divorcing his first wife; both were shameful acts in those days! He died in 1937 without issue.
I also found the autograph below in my collection.
Many thanks to John for contacting me and for allowing me to reprint part of his email.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
New Postcards
This is Andrew Mack, the Irish American comedian/singer, who toured Australia in 1905. He liked it so much he returned in 1907.
The inscription says, "A Tribute in memory of your debut from The Knuts. 1917." The back of the card looks like this.
The handwriting says," From your stage assistant." The print identifies the card as being a souvenir from the , " National Committee of YMCAs on active service with the Australian Imperial Forces."
So is it a wartime joke? or a souvenir of a performance? It certainly is interesting.
The postcard fair always provides surprises!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Scenic Design- 1901
Jack wrote;
This sketch shows the painting frame of the late Criterion Theatre and depicts the writer and William Diamond of New Zealand at work on the scenery for the opening of the Josephine Stanton Company. This drawing, which was presented to the writer by the artist will give readers of this article an idea of the work room of the professional scenic painter.
Unlike England where scenic designers worked in their own work rooms, in Australia, the scenic designers worked in special areas in the theatre. The backdrops were painted by hand in sections and lowered on a winch to the stage. It was painstaking and demanding work.
The picture above was drawn by C Gordon Stanhope.
More on Scenic designers here
Friday, January 28, 2011
More HAT at the ibookstore
Details here
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Gertrude Concannon- A Great Queenslander
She was born in Maryborough in 1899, to Tim and Annie Concannon. The family was quite musical. Gertrude sang, and her two sisters, Josephine and Eileen played the piano and violin respectively.
In the early 20s Gertrude was very popular in Queensland. Her voice was described as having 'crystaline clarity.'
Around 1924 she started studying with Madame Christian in Sydney, a year later she was on her way to the United States to work with the Doree Opera Company.
She stayed away from Australia for 13 years and sang in the United States, London, Egypt, and India.
In 1943 she married John Degnian a man she had known from her Maryborough childhood. The couple married at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney.
Gertrude continued her career as a singer, composer and teacher of singing in Australia until her death in 1978.
She was a great and talented Queenslander...
If you are able, please help some other great and talented Queenslanders by donating to the Queensland Premier's Flood Appeal . These floods are a terrible disaster for the people of Queensland.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
HAT-Website Update
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Alfred Tischbauer- Scenic designer
Many years ago I found this lovely print of George Street Sydney, bought it, and put it on my wall.
It was titled, George Street Sydney, 1883 from the original oil by Alfred Tischbauer at the Dixson Galleries.
Last year, I purchased a box of memorabilia which originated with Jack Ricketts, a scenic designer. In the box were many letters some of them were from...Alfred Tischbauer.
Tischbauer, known as 'Tish ' to his friends was a French born artist who was involved in the Paris Commune. According to legend he was deported to New Caledonia and from there came to Australia He was born around 1854 and arrived in Melbourne in 1879.
He began his career as a teacher and fine artist in Sydney, but by the late 1880s was working for theatrical manager Alfred Dampier as a scenic designer.
The Frenchman was not only an artist , he was also a romantic chap. In Melbourne he had an affair with his boss's maid. The poor girl fell madly in love with the exotic artist, and when he didn't return her feelings, she committed suicide. During the subsequent enquiry, Dampier and his family stuck by Tish .
The good relationship between Tish and Dampier didn't last, and in 1893 Dampier declared himself bankrupt and amongst his creditors was Alfred Tischbauer who was owed 591 pounds in salary.
Tischbauer never got over Dampier's betrayal.He worked for a while in Australia as a teacher and then departed for America with his wife in 1903. He worked as a designer for some American managers but didn't enjoy the work.
In 1909 he wrote the above letter to Jack Ricketts.
Tish's wife returned to Australia in 1922 and she was described as his widow. It is assumed that Tish died in the US shortly before her return.