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Welcome to POST Impressions Online, with the best selection of arts and entertainment information from Western Australia. The last three editions of POST Impressions are available online: November 19 |
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Perth, |
Ivan
remembers the greats Historian Ivan King
with Jill Perryman's costume from Hello
Dolly. It's is an old
table from Dirty Dick's Theatre Restaurant, deeply
scarred over the years with patrons'
initials. "There's hardly
anyone who doesn't claim to have carved his
signature here," Ivan comments dryly. Sitting at the desk
in his office at His Majesty's Theatre, he
entertains from his vast store of theatrical
knowledge with stories like the one about the
infamous Walter Plinge. Somewhere in the
rabbit-warren that makes up the hallowed halls of
His Majesty's, there is a special room dedicated to
the actor Walter Plinge, who last made an
appearance in the 1930 production of School For
Scandal. Should I have heard
of this revered actor? Ivan delights in
telling the tale of this mythical actor whose name
appeared on programs when an actor in a leading
role was also doing a walk-on part. "An actor of repute
did not wish it to be known that he was also
playing these small insignificant roles and so he
would appear as these characters under the
pseudonym of Walter Plinge," explained
Ivan. Two illustrations from
a folder of costume prints, from
1889. There were also
actors whose names did not appear on programs at
all. On the 1854 silk
program for the Amateur Theatrical production at
the Court-House all the actresses' names were left
blank. In those days no
"lady" should be seen on stage, so women appeared
anonymously. Or there's the
story of Australia's first native-born star, Nellie
Stewart (Sweet Kitty Belair) who, during a heatwave
in Kalgoorlie insisted on having her trailer
installed in the ice works. While everyone else
sweated it out she swept cooly on to the stage.
Nellie Melba, years later, insisted on the same icy
treatment. Part of the current
performing arts exhibition in His Majesty's dress
circle foyer is a photographic display of Perth's
old picture houses, called "In the
'burbs". The old picture
houses - Camelot in Mosman Park was the first one
to use the word cinema in 1939 - includes one
particularly close to Ivan's heart. The Renown in
Midland, which opened in 1929, was where the young
Ivan had a Sunday job helping his caretaker
grandfather clean the theatre. Since Ivan comes
from a family of "bushwhackers", he supposes this
is where he got his love of theatre. Recalling his
acting days, Ivan describes how he used to finish
one show on Saturday and start the next one on
Monday. "I would go from
some searing drama into an opera, into a
vaudeville," he said. "I was doing seven or eight
shows a year in those
days." A signed copy of Dame
Nellie Melba's book, produced for the
World War I Belgian Relief
Fund. Around 1980 Ivan
started collecting memorabilia from Perth theatre's
early days. "The collection
began under my bed," said Ivan, who initially held
an honorary position as theatre archivist. Now he
is employed by the Perth Theatre Trust as the
Performing Arts Museum's historian. The collection has
expanded dramatically and now includes photographs,
programs, posters, press cuttings, scripts, designs
and costumes, amounting to about 25,000
items They pile up in
envelopes, filing cabinets, archive boxes and
storage rooms. The basement holds the larger items,
like an old wind machine. Everything is
lovingly preserved and carefully
recorded. Ivan is also
compiling oral histories, listening to stories
about vaudeville tours in the country where the
moon provided a better make-up light than the
dressing rooms, when rats used to get into the face
make-up of boiled-down fat; and when an actress
mislaid her bonnet only to discover that rats had
carried it off up into the rafters... "People donate
their precious memories," said Ivan, showing a 1917
framed program of The Messiah that was left at the
stage door with the message "May this reside in
some secluded corner of our beloved Maj - all those
memories..." The Performing Arts
Museum is an ever-changing exhibition in His
Majesty's foyers, designed and curated by Ivan with
his deft theatrical touch. "It is a vital part
of our cultural history and an intrinsic part of
the theatre-going experience," he
said. Top
arts post for Allanah ArtsWA is an agency
of the Ministry for Culture and the Arts,
responsible for the development and support of the
performing arts throughout the state. Allanah, a Mosman
Park resident, has been involved in the arts
industry for more than 20 years, in government
administration, performance and theatre
management. She was even
involved in establishing the original Department
for the Arts. She left her job as
general manager of the Perth Theatre Company last
year to take up the position as acting director of
ArtsWA and is confident she can see both sides of
the fence. "I share a lot of
common ground with artists and companies because
I've been there," Allanah said. "I know that there
is sometimes a certain suspicion of government
departments, but I want to make sure that the arts
industry understands that ArtsWA is on
side. "It shouldn't
always be a 'them and us' situation, we've all got
to cooperate and collaborate." She admires artists
and how they often make so much of very little.
Allanah said: "One of my main tasks is to bring the
arts industry to the attention of the leaders of
big business. "Do we still suffer
from cultural cringe?" she asks rhetorically.
"All these people
support the arts but nobody ever talks about
supporting it. "The industry is a
significant one and I want to bring it more into
focus; to get more recognition and respect for the
good business sense that exists in this industry."
Funding of the arts
is a significant part of ArtsWA's role, but Allanah
said at least two thirds of the funding was
allocated on a triennial basis, with arts
committees allocating the remaining funds
annually. Her role as
director was therefore focused on building
partnerships to "grow money". She and her staff
were looking for the broad opportunities for
resourcing the arts, in both government departments
and the private sector. Copyright © 1999 - 2006 Post Newspapers Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.
Even the desk of
theatre historian Ivan King has a story to
tell.
-
Sarah McNeill
After an exhaustive
selection process, Allanah Lucas has been appointed
director of ArtsWA, a role she has been acting in
for the past nine months.
-
Sarah McNeill
In Post Impressions this week:
Art Dates:
Cinema:
Restaurants:
Books:
Music:
A listing of exhibitions and art events across the Western Suburbs
Wonder Boys
The Sheraton Wine Awards 2000
Honey Moons and The Soldier's Return
The Buena Vista Social Club