Musicals

50 GOLDEN YEARS

1969 - 1976

Jenny Strickland's production of Frederick Knott's suspense-thriller "Wait Until Dark" opened the 1969 season. This season saw the reinstitution. of the theatre convention "Green Room Night". These were members' nights; on a designated night of each season members and friends in the audience were invited to stay after the performance and enjoy supper with the cast and committee. This theatre tradition was popular with audiences for several years. The first reading of the Poetry Reading group instigated by Maureen Christie was held in April; the theme of the reading, "The Sea Has Many Voices". In July, Maureen Christie directed the John Barton production "The Hollow Crown", subtitled "The Fall and Foibles of the Kings and Queens of England". This was described as "an entertainment by and about the Kings and Queens of England. Music, Poetry, Speeches, Letters and other writings from the Chronicles, from plays, and in the Monarchs' own words - also Music concerning them and by them". This production represented a distinct departure from the usual productions; it had been first presented by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in March 1961. The October production was the American comedy "Sunday in New York", which produced two-award winning actors, Gail Mahoney and Tony Gavin. This was directed by Dawn Martin of Geelong. The final production for the year was again a departure from the norm, the "Variety National Show". This comprised singers, musicians, dancers, instrumentalists and actors, and was designed, according to the programme-notes to "cater for the versatility of our audiences. . .".

"Ransom" which opened the 1970 season also represented a break from tradition in that it featured a child-actor, ten year old Nicholas Tunbridge, son of Geoff Tunbridge. However, the old maxim which advised never acting with children or animals was refuted by Andrea Knight, who was adjudged the "Best Actress" in the BTV6 Awards for the season. "Ransom" was produced by Jenny Strickland. The next production, which was staged in July, was "Tango" by Slawomir Mrozek, production by a professional director, Paul Karo. As a piece of "Theatre of the Absurd", "Tango" was perhaps a little too experimental for some audiences, and did not do well at the box office, being variably received by patrons. However, it had the merit of causing a great deal of comment, and was presented at the Golden Wattle Festival in Maryborough where it was favourably received. The production had been staged with the assistance of the Council for the Arts. The November production, "Dry Rot", a farce directed by Marj Ford, also produced an award-winner , Peter aromley, the "Best Actor" for 1970. "Dry Rot" was Marj's first full scale production and firmly established her reputation as a director of comedy. Well known and loved as a comic actress in plays and musical comedy, Marj was to make a very significant contribution to National Theatre as director in the years to come. Sadly, during the year the deaths of two esteemed members were recorded. These were Matt Abson, a former President who had given a number of years service to the committee, and Bruce Jackson, committee member, Vice President, and General Manager of BTV6. Thereafter, the BTV6 acting awards were renamed the Bruce Jackson Memorial Awards, and later in 1980 when the awards were recognised in the form of bronze statuettes, these were affectionately termed the "BJs", after the man whose co-operation and enthusiasm had made the awards a reality. Improvements to the theatre in 1970 included a bridge at the theatre entrance, a weather protection shelter over the entrance door, double swing doors in the foyer, the replacement of two foyer walls, a new hand basin in the toilets and the painting of the auditorium, foyer and entrance foyer. The committee acknowledged the generous practical assistance of the Board of Trustees of the ANA.

The 1971 season of plays was opened by Jenny Strickland's production of "Home at Seven" a suspense-drama by R. E. Sherriff. Following this in April, Maureen Christie produced a season of one-act plays, "Outback", "Hinemoha's Leap", "The Bear", and "Zoo Story". Maureen also continued to lead the poetry group in its monthly meetings; the group in that year had around thirty members. In June, Joy Smith's production of Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" was staged and was of great interest to matriculation students, many of whom came from as far afield as Ararat, Warracknabeal, Lake Bolac and Maryborough. This was followed up in August by several nights of play-readings specifically for school students. Schools were invited to participate in the readings and at the conclusion of each evening there was a panel discussion on the various texts studied. These evenings were of great benefit to students in that they added a valuable dimension to the study of plays. In August, Andrea Knight, a talented young actress who had graduated from National Theatre's Drama School made her debut as director with a production of J.B. Priestley's "Dangerous Corner". The final production for the season was Marj Ford's "Pool's Paradise". During the year a concerted effort was made at fund-raising, and a new dimming system was purchased; this was to prove a great asset in the lighting of productions. Bruce Jackson Memorial Acting Awards winners for 1971 were Joy Lindsay and Phil Hobson.

1972 saw an exciting opening to its season in the world premiere of Hal Porter's play "Parker". This he had dedicated to Mrs Brenda Dowling, a member of National's committee for many years. "Parker" was directed by Jenny StrickIand. The gala opening night was under the patronage of the Premier of Victoria Sir Henry Bolte and Lady Bolte. A supper attended by many illustrious guests, including the author, Members of Parliament, and prominent members of the Ballarat community, was held in the beautiful surroundings of the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. Members of the local media attended, as well as representatives of the major Melbourne newspapers. Following the success of the previous year's one-act play festival, another was staged in April, this time with four different directors. "The Incident" was directed by Cecilia Bowman, "The Lesson" by Norman Athersmith, "Barnstable" by David Farnsworth and "The Proposal" by Maria Bacsak. In June a comedy was presented, "The Unsuspecting Bachelor" written, directed and designed by Peter Nethercote. This was followed in September by Eugene O''NeiIl's "Long Days Journey into Night" with production by Joy Smith; this proved to be another production which was valuable to students of literary studies. The final production for the year was a lighthearted comedy, "Happy Days" by Wilfred Massey, produced by Marj Ford. As in the previous year students' play-reading nights were held. An Honorary Life Membership was presented to Brenda Dowling in 1972 on her retirement from the committee after many years service to the theatre. Farewells and presentations were also made to. Maria Bacsak, another hard-working member, on her departure for an overseas trip, and to Miss. Ethel Morris on her retirement from the Ballarat Courier. In her annual report President Joy Smith said that "Ethel had faithfully over many years acted as critic and reporter for the Courier on theatre matters and had always been most fair in her coverage of all theatre matters". Maintenance and improvement of the theatre continued in 1972, with the purchase of new lamps, the installation of new speakers and other sound equipment, and major alterations and structural improvements made to the back-stage and dressing-room areas. The award-winning actors for the 1972 season were Peter Adams and Peter Nethercote.

In April 1973 Jenny Strickland's production of the thriller, "The Paragon"by Roland and Michael Pertwee drew capacity crowds, and many patrons who had failed to book early were turned away. In June, Joy Smith's production of Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler", produced an award-winning acting performance from Maureen Christie in the title role. "Hedda" was this season's HSC play and also attracted an overflow of patrons. In September 1973, Thelma Walker produced a Yorkshire comedy, "When We Are Married", which after a slow start audience-wise, again was playing to overflowing audiences by the end of the eight-night season. The season's final production, "Not Now Darling" directed by Marj Ford, produced another award-winning actress, Val Sarah, making her debut on National's stage. Charity Nights - the donating of first-night proceeds to various charities continued to be implemented, and in 1973 The Ballarat Children's Protection Society, The Ryder Cheshire Foundation, McCallum House and the Queen Elizabeth Centre Building Project all benefitted from opening nights. Another National Theatre institution foyer exhibitions, also continued to be a successful part of theatre productions, with the two-fold beneftt of beautifying the foyer during productions, and of acknowledging the talents of local artists. The 1973 season featured the work of Laurie Sedgwick (ceramics) and displays of art and craft and ceramics by Mary's Mount Loreto Abbey, the Ballarat Girls' High School, and lastly the dried flower arrangements of Miss Jean Pollard. 1973 saw the introduction of a new award, for set design. This was judged by Fred Fargher, who chose Laurence Cummin and Lowana Oliver' as winners for their "Hedda Gabler'' set. Under the presidency of Doug Sarah, improvements to the theatre continued, and during 1973 the dressing-rooms benentted by refurbishing, with good lighting being installed, carpeting, and new mirrors. The wardrobe was fitted with new fixtures suitable to store all the varied contents, which were growing all the time by the generous donations of members and friends of the theatre. The 1974 season opened with a drama directed by Jenny Strickland, "Lady in Danger". This was followed in May by Joy Smith's experimental production of "Macbeth", which was of great interest to HSC students and theatregoers alike. In July, Thelma Walker's presentation of the comedy "Sailor Beware" played to packed houses. The production which followed saw the welcome return of Ron Boon to the production ranks after an interval of some years. The production was Bill MacIlwraith's black comedy "The Anniversary". The final production of the season was Marj Ford's production of the comedy "Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?" by E.V. Tidmarsh. This production was booked out before it opened, and proved so popular with audiences that it ran for an extended season. Theatre-improvements for the year included exterior painting; the remodelling of the Box Office, which now contained a library of plays and poetry; redecoration of the toilets, and backstage a make-up and hairdressing area created, and the cataloguing of the contents of the wardrobe as well as the bringing up-to-date of the sound and lighting areas. Charity Nights continued to net recipients around $200 on opening nights, and indeed, some productions actually had two charity nights per season. Foyer exhibitions continued to be a highlight of ftont-of-house features and during the season diverse works were shown. These included pottery and weaving by Rosalie Channing, paintings by Marnie Fenton and Chris Bones, and woodwork by Tom Wickham. Val Sarah was responsible for the "potted biographies" which appeared in programmes, providing audiences with interesting histories of actors, designers and producers, some of whom had been a part of Ballarat National Theatre for over thirty years. Acting Award winners for the year were Val Sarah and Dennis Griffin.

1975 opened with another World Premier, Peter Nethercote's musical, entitled "Trifle". Under Peter's direction, the production, which he had scored and designed, created "a minor sensation in Ballarat for its vitality, and catchy music". "Trifle" ran to full houses from February 21st to March 1st. Jenny Strickland's production of the comedy "The Amorous Prawn" by Anthony Kimmins was also a sell-out and ran to an extended season. In October, Joy Smith's production of "The Crucible" was presented and again proved to be an invaluable aid to students of the text. The final production for the season was another comedy from Marj Ford, "The Marriage Go Round" by Leslie St~vens. Bruce Jackson Memorial Acting Award winners were Dennis Griffin, in his second consecutive win and Jenny Cochran (Tudor). For some time the Ballarat Arts Council had been donating an award for the Best Performance in a Supporting Role, and this was won by Lois Walter, while Peter Nethercote took out the award for Best Set Design. During the year the servery hatch between the kitchen and foyer was constructed; this proved an invaluable asset in the efficient serving of interval refreshments. Backstage, major earthworks were undertaken in the area affectionately known as "the dungeon" - actually the foundations of the building. The excavation and removal of soil allowed for a concrete floor and retaining wall to be constructed, thus extending the backstage storage and set-construction area by a significant amount. During the year Honorary Life Memberships were conferred on Jenny Strickland and Marjorie Drew for their contributions to the theatre.

The 1976 season opened with another "first" for National Theatre, the presentation of George Feydeau's farce "A Flea in her Ear", staged in the newly-built Victoria Theatre at Sovereign Hill. Production was by Jenny Strickland. This was a joint-effort between the theatre and Sovereign Hill and was the first full length production to be staged in the new theatre. This represented both a challenge and a great honour to National Theatre. The next production was David Williamson's "The Removalists" directed by Ron Boon. This provocative play attracted a younger audience than usual, and this was seen as a distinct benefit. Joy Smith followed with her presentation of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Niggers". This was another highly successful production which played to full houses. The following production was directed by Alan Wakeling; this was the contemporary American comedy, "Come Blow Your Horn" by Neil Simon. During the year a new logo, representing the classic tragi-comedy masks was designed to be used on all Ballarat National Theatre publicity material. This design is still in use, having been incorporated into any new design-changes which have occurred. The Best Actors for 1976 were adjudged to be Geoff Nott and Marie Lyons.