Theatre of Australia
In general, larger performing arts companies cannot exist without regular, guaranteed government funding, and this has been particularly true for Australia with its small population, remote from Europe and America.
It formed by public subscription with a matching Commonwealth government contribution, and nurtured Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet Foundation, with associated orchestras in Sydney and Melbourne.
In 1973, the reformist government of Gough Whitlam doubled Arts funding and reconstituted the Council as a statutory authority consisting of seven autonomous boards, which used a peer-reviewing process to select organisations or individuals for support.
[3] In 2014-15, a large proportion of arts funding was removed (totalling $101.8 million), throwing the sector into chaos and leading to the loss of many small to medium companies.
Academic Maryrose Casey writes that ‘Australian Aboriginal cultures are probably the most performance-based in the world – in the sense that explicit, choreographed performances were used for a vast range of social purposes from education, through to spiritual practices, arranging marriage alliances, to judicial and diplomatic functions’.
[9] The extraordinary circumstances of the foundation of Australian theatre were recounted in Thomas Keneally's novel The Playmaker - the participants were prisoners watched by sadistic guards and the leading lady was under threat of the death penalty.
Playwrights active early in Australia include Arthur Adams, Musette Morrell, Malcolm Afford, Walter J Turner and Charles Haddon Chambers.
Louis Esson, with Vance Palmer, founded the Pioneer Players, dedicated to the performance of Australian plays and the development of a national theatre.
[18] Some of the oldest grand heritage theatrical buildings include: In the period between the Wars, elaborate cinemas were constructed, often in the Art Deco style.
[29][30] From the 1960s, major cities across Australia developed new government-owned performing arts centres, often housing not-for-profit theatre, opera and dance companies.
The major training centre for young actors in Australia is the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) at the University of New South Wales, established in 1958.
[65] A considerable expansion of Australian theatre began in the 1970s (sometimes called a 'New Wave') with the works of writers including David Williamson, Dorothy Hewett, John Romeril, Alex Buzo, Barry Oakley, Jack Hibberd, and Alma de Groen.
Williamson also collaborated on high-profile film scripts including Eliza Frazer, Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously and Phar Lap.
[68] Unlike in Europe, most original theatre in Australia has been naturalistic, though Patrick White, Dymphna Cusack and Douglas Stewart included non-naturalistic and poetic elements in their plays.
From 1969, a series of plays by the Western Australian poet, playwright and novelist Dorothy Hewett introduced home-grown Expressionist or Epic theatre to Australia, with its whirl of disparate theatrical elements.
[70] Nick Enright began as an actor and director, but won the Major AWGIE Award from the Australian Writers Guild four times for plays and adaptations.
Probably the best known internationally as A-list celebrities and Oscar winners are Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe and Heath Ledger.
Australian movie or TV stars that have made significant contributions to live theatre in Australia and abroad include Peter Finch, Michael Caton, Jacki Weaver, Helen Morse, Wendy Hughes, Bryan Brown, Garry McDonald, Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Mel Gibson, Sigrid Thornton, Hugo Weaving, Greta Scacchi, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett and Toni Collette.
[80] As an example of cross-fertilisation between the genres, in 1979, two impoverished young Sydney actors, Mel Gibson and Geoffrey Rush, shared a flat and co-starred in a local production of Waiting for Godot.
[81] Gibson had studied at NIDA and made his stage debut alongside classmate Judy Davis in a 1976 production of Romeo and Juliet, before becoming internationally known in the Mad Max and Gallipoli films.
[82] Rush joined Jim Sharman's Lighthouse Theatre troupe in the 1980s and built a reputation as one of Australia's leading stage actors before becoming known internationally in film.
Players associated with the Sydney Theatre Company include Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush and Toni Collette.
Rock opera productions such as Hair, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar and the Rocky Horror Show gave a major boost to popular music talent, and performers such as Marcia Hines, Reg Livermore, and Colleen Hewett became national names through their involvement.
[91][14] Australian theatrical musicals where authorship was granted to the scriptwriter rather than the composer or a duo, such as The Legend of King O'Malley by Bob Ellis, the Man from Mukinupin by Dorothy Hewett, the Sapphires by Tony Briggs, Bran Nue Day by Jimmy Chi and Miracle City and Summer Rain, by Nick Enright, signalled a more radical political role for musical theatre.
Amongst many stage characters, he created Edna Everage from Moonee Ponds, who became a household name with her outrageous Australian expressions, audience-shaming and gladioli-waving.
[104] The Last Laugh, in Collingwood and then at the Athenaeum Theatre, became Australia's prime location for alternative and stand-up comedy, often featuring genuine cabaret acts in the European style.
It represents an early example of the fusion of Western and Aboriginal theatrical forms in Australia – now regularly expressed in the work of the Bangarra Dance Theatre and other indigenous troupes.
[115] Playwrights such as Kevin Gilbert, Jack Davis, Bobby Merritt and Kath Oodgeroo Noonuccal Walker wrote works which were by, about and for Aboriginal people, and Harry and Bindi Williams, Gary Foley and Paul Coe added to the content and drive which helped "Blak" theatre production.
[117] As of 2020[update] there are several Indigenous theatre companies in existence, including the Yirra Yaakin in Perth, Ilbijerri in Melbourne (led by Maza's daughter, Rachael),[118] and Moogahlin Performing Arts,[119] based in Sydney's Carriageworks.
It is an example of the contemporary fusion of traditions of drama in Australia with Pitjantjatjara actors being supported by a multicultural cast of Greek, Afghan, Japanese and New Zealand heritage.
