The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild is a South Australian not-for-profit amateur theatre company [1] [2] based on the North Terrace campus of the University of Adelaide. [3] Established in 1938, the Guild is formally recognised as a society associated with the University, as well as being recognised as a club within its Clubs Association. [1] It is one of Australia's longest running amateur theatre companies.
The Theatre Guild formed in 1938 alongside a number of local Australian theatre groups aiming to develop intellectual and experimental theatre, and in particular Australian theatre. [4] In the context of acclaimed international university theatre groups, including the Dramatic Societies at Oxford and Cambridge, its academic founders believed that universities "had a responsibility to support serious drama". [4] In its early days, it interspersed its challenging material with less challenging works, in attempting to both meet its founding mandate and maintain a degree of mainstream currency. [5]
In the 1960s, the Guild hit headlines [6] when it was caught in the midst of a dispute between Patrick White and the Board of Governors of the Adelaide Festival over the premiering of the former's first published play, The Ham Funeral. [7] [8] [9] The Ham Funeral was rejected from inclusion in the Festival, as it was deemed too ‘difficult’ [10] for audiences by the Board of Governors – following this 'controversial' [9] [10] announcement, the Guild's chairman Dr. Harry Medlin received a copy of the script, and he insisted that it be incorporated into the Theatre Guild's 1961 season. [7] [11] After a furore of national significance, the performance at the University of Adelaide was well received by critics and audiences alike, [12] perhaps partially owing to an underdog appeal. In David Marr's biography of White, Patrick White: A Life, Australian critic Geoffrey Dutton said of The Ham Funeral that: "[p]erhaps there was among the audience the thought that a reactionary Establishment was being beaten on its own ground, that the evening was going to be a triumph of the imagination over mediocrity. So it was." [13]
White's next two plays, The Season at Sarsaparilla (1962) and Night On Bald Mountain (1964), were also performed by the Guild in the wake of The Ham Funeral’s success. [14] In 1973, White became the only laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature to receive the prize while an Australian citizen. [15] In 2009, The Season at Sarsaparilla was performed by the Sydney Theatre Company; [16] ironically, in 2012, the State Theatre Company performed The Ham Funeral as a part of the Festival to mark its half centenary. [10]
Peter Goers, known for hosting The Evening Show on 891 ABC Adelaide, was Artistic Director of the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild from 1981 to 1984. [17] Chris Drummond, who has been the Artistic Director of Brink Productions since the inauguration of the position in 2004, [18] was Director-in-Residence of the Guild in 1996. [19] Edwin Kemp Attrill, who was the founder and Artistic Director of ActNow Theatre, was the last Artistic Director of The Guild from 2011-2012. [20]
Most of the performances are in the Little Theatre. [21]
The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild is a South Australian not-for-profit amateur theatre company [1] [2] based on the North Terrace campus of the University of Adelaide. [3] Established in 1938, the Guild is formally recognised as a society associated with the University, as well as being recognised as a club within its Clubs Association. [1] It is one of Australia's longest running amateur theatre companies.
The Theatre Guild formed in 1938 alongside a number of local Australian theatre groups aiming to develop intellectual and experimental theatre, and in particular Australian theatre. [4] In the context of acclaimed international university theatre groups, including the Dramatic Societies at Oxford and Cambridge, its academic founders believed that universities "had a responsibility to support serious drama". [4] In its early days, it interspersed its challenging material with less challenging works, in attempting to both meet its founding mandate and maintain a degree of mainstream currency. [5]
In the 1960s, the Guild hit headlines [6] when it was caught in the midst of a dispute between Patrick White and the Board of Governors of the Adelaide Festival over the premiering of the former's first published play, The Ham Funeral. [7] [8] [9] The Ham Funeral was rejected from inclusion in the Festival, as it was deemed too ‘difficult’ [10] for audiences by the Board of Governors – following this 'controversial' [9] [10] announcement, the Guild's chairman Dr. Harry Medlin received a copy of the script, and he insisted that it be incorporated into the Theatre Guild's 1961 season. [7] [11] After a furore of national significance, the performance at the University of Adelaide was well received by critics and audiences alike, [12] perhaps partially owing to an underdog appeal. In David Marr's biography of White, Patrick White: A Life, Australian critic Geoffrey Dutton said of The Ham Funeral that: "[p]erhaps there was among the audience the thought that a reactionary Establishment was being beaten on its own ground, that the evening was going to be a triumph of the imagination over mediocrity. So it was." [13]
White's next two plays, The Season at Sarsaparilla (1962) and Night On Bald Mountain (1964), were also performed by the Guild in the wake of The Ham Funeral’s success. [14] In 1973, White became the only laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature to receive the prize while an Australian citizen. [15] In 2009, The Season at Sarsaparilla was performed by the Sydney Theatre Company; [16] ironically, in 2012, the State Theatre Company performed The Ham Funeral as a part of the Festival to mark its half centenary. [10]
Peter Goers, known for hosting The Evening Show on 891 ABC Adelaide, was Artistic Director of the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild from 1981 to 1984. [17] Chris Drummond, who has been the Artistic Director of Brink Productions since the inauguration of the position in 2004, [18] was Director-in-Residence of the Guild in 1996. [19] Edwin Kemp Attrill, who was the founder and Artistic Director of ActNow Theatre, was the last Artistic Director of The Guild from 2011-2012. [20]
Most of the performances are in the Little Theatre. [21]