Theatre mourns the
loss of a true legend
He was once labelled the
"unofficial patron saint" of Sydney theatre and the industry is today mourning
the loss of Dr Rodney Seaborn, whose impact on the arts in Australia is mammoth, and
constantly under-rated.
Dr Seaborn passed away over the weekend after suffering a massive heart attack.
The man synonymous with theatre in Sydney is best known for his famous purchase of
the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross, which saved the Griffin Theatre Company from
certain extinction in the mid 1980's.
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald two years ago, Dr Seaborn
said he had particularly fond memories of what he considered Sydney theatre's golden age -
the 1930's.
"There was the Empire, the St James, Her Majesty's, the Royal, the Palace, the
Criterion, the Tivoli - all big theatres, all packed with good shows. When I came back
after the war, that had more or less gone," Dr Seaborn told the newspaper.
Dr Seaborn was born into a family of theatre-goers but it was that purchase of the Stables
in 1986 that put him on the theatrical map. Buying the theatre saw him set up the Seaborn,
Broughton and Walford Foundation, which still owns the theatre.
Without Dr Seaborn's intervention, the Stables would have almost certainly been
demolished. Now, 22 years later, it stands as the home of one of the finest theatre
companies in the country and is renowned for its cosy, intimate nature.
The Seaborn, Broughton and Walford Foundation went on to purchase and restore the
Independent Theatre and to assist the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, The Ensemble,
the ANPC, Theatre of Image, Bell Shakespeare Company, Company B and Performing Lines, to
name but a few.
Dr Seaborn's dedication and commitment to theatre was honoured at the 2006 Sydney
Theatre Awards, where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
A few years earlier, he was made a director and life governor of the National
Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). NIDA currently houses the Rodney Seaborn Library.
Dr Seaborn also has a popular playwright's award named after him, which presents
writers with a $10,000 prize to develop and produce their work for the stage. Dr Seaborn
once said the idea of the award was to "encourage and support the development of new
material".
Dr Seaborn's funeral is expected to be held on Wednesday.
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THEATRE'S FUTURE DECIDED TODAY?
The fate of Melbourne's famous La Mama Theatre could be decided as early
as today with the company to know whether or not it has enough money to guarantee its
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ACTING GRADUATES ON SHOW
From the same author who gave us the films Cosi and Map Of
The Human Heart, Australian playwright, screenwriter and novelist Louis Nowra brings
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Sydney on Friday night.
LATVIAN DIRECTOR HITS BELVOIR
Latvian director Vladislavs Nastavshevs, who trained with Lev Dodin at the
acclaimed Maly Theatre in Moscow, is bringing a magnetic and intimate contemporary
rendering of Strindberg’s masterpiece text to the Belvoir Street Downstairs Theatre
from June 4, when Miss Julie opens at the popular venue.
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Mainstay talents Julie Anthony and Simon Gallaher will combine for a
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an opportunity to see two of Australia's greatest entertainers on stage together. |
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Honk!
1997 Studio Cast Recording
Stiles & Drewe’s musical Honk! (based on Hans
Christian Andersen's tale of the Ugly Duckling) is a world-wide stage sensation that has
been seen by over five million people, after winning the 2000 Olivier Award for Best
Musical (beating The Lion King and Mamma Mia for the prize!).
[buy
it now]
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