John Hackman Sumner, (27 May 192424 May 2013) was an English-born director and producer and theatre impresario, who was the founder and artistic director of

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

in Australia, gathering a group of later internationally famous stars including

Ray Lawler Raymond Evenor Lawler (born 23 May 1921) is an Australian actor, dramatist, and theatre producer and director. His most notable play was his tenth, '' Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' (1953), which had its premiere in Melbourne in 1955. The ...

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and Fred Parslow

Early life

Sumner was born in England in May 1924. At an early age he attended the

National Opera Studio The National Opera Studio in London, England was established in 1977 by the Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at Morley College in Lambeth until 2003, when it gained use for t ...

(known then as London Opera Studio). He served in the

British Merchant Navy The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

before commencing his career in theatre in 1947 in Dundee, Scotland as assistant stage manager. He later became stage director and manager with H. M. Tennent Theatres in the west end of London before emigrating to Australia in 1952. In 1959, he married actress

Patsy King Patsy King (born 16 September 1930) is an Australian retired actress known for work in both theatre and television. She has been a children's television presenter, theatre director, playwright and worked in commercials, and in radio and voice ...

Career in Australia - Melbourne Theatre Company and director

In 1953, Sumner established the Union Theatre Repertory Company (UTRC), which later became the Melbourne Theatre Company, where he served as artistic director until 1955. After a short time in Sydney managing the

Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust is a theatre and performing arts company that was founded in September 1954, with the aim of establishing drama, opera and ballet companies nationally. Founding In 1954 the Australian Elizabethan Theatre T ...

he returned to Melbourne and resumed his role as artistic director in 1959, continuing until 1987. He directed more than a hundred plays from Australia and overseas and having established the Melbourne Theatre company as a model for other state theatre companies.

Death

Sumner died in Melbourne on 24 May 2013, at the age of 88. He was survived by two daughters, Alice and Victoria. John also had a son, Justin, by his first wife, Karis Mond, granddaughter of the ICI founder Ludwig Mond, Lord Melchet. Justin Sumner currently lives in Cornwall.

Honours and awards

He was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 1971 and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1985. In 2009, the main performance space in the Melbourne Theatre Company's Southbank Theatre was named in his honour.

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' (LPA) since 2001. In 2004, Sumner received the

JC Williamson Award The JC Williamson Award (formally known as the James Cassius Williamson Award), is an lifetime achievement award presented annually as a sector of the Helpmann Awards, governed by Live Performance Australia. The awards are named after the Ameri ...

, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance. , - , 2004 , , Himself , ,

, , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumner, John 1924 births 2013 deaths Australian theatre directors Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II British emigrants to Australia Helpmann Award winners