''The Display'' is an Australian ballet produced and choreographed by

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet ( ...

to music by

Malcolm Williamson Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson, (21 November 19312 March 2003) was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death. Biography Williamson was born in Sydney in 1931; his father was an A ...

for

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direc ...

. Described as the first wholly Australian ballet, ''The Display'' had an all-Australian cast, with sets and costumes by artist Sidney Nolan. The work had its world premiere on 14 March 1964 at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

in Adelaide as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts.

Background

The inspiration for ''The Display'' came to Robert Helpmann in a dream in which he saw his friend, Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn, naked on a

dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

surrounded by

lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environ ...

s. Several years earlier, in 1955, Hepburn (then touring Australia with the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

) took Helpmann to

Sherbrooke Forest Sherbrooke Forest is a wet sclerophyll forest within Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 km east of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia, close to the suburb of Belgrave. It lies within an altitude of 220–500 m asl and is dominated by the t ...

within

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

's Dandenong Ranges to see his first lyrebirds in their natural surroundings. Helpmann was "fascinated for hours" by the birds' fanciful mating dance, referred to in

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

as a

courtship display A courtship display is a set of display behaviors in which an animal, usually a male, attempts to attract a mate; the mate exercises choice, so sexual selection acts on the display. These behaviors often include ritualized movement ("dances"), ...

, which Helpmann chose for the ballet's title. Helpmann eventually dedicated ''The Display'' to Hepburn. ''The Display'' draws parallels between the courtship rituals of the lyrebird and the

mateship Mateship is an Australian cultural idiom that embodies equality, loyalty and friendship. Russel Ward, in ''The Australian Legend'' (1958), once saw the concept as central to the Australian people. ''Mateship'' derives from '' mate'', meaning ...

displayed by a group of Australian men as they attempt to seduce a woman at a bush picnic. The men play a game of Australian rules football, a sequence for which Helpmann invited VFL great Ron Barassi to coach the dancers. Australian author and playwright Patrick White was originally approached by Helpmann to write the scenario for ''The Display'', however the two artists had a falling out over White's interpretation of Helpmann's vision, and White's libretto was rejected. For decades it was assumed lost until dance historian Michelle Potter chanced upon a copy in the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...

entitled ''A scenario for a ballet by Patrick White''.Potter, Michelle (7 July 2012)
"Helpmann's ideas soared above White's flights of fancy"
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. Retrieved on 12 July 2012.

Cast

The first cast was: * Kathleen Gorham (Female) *Barry Kitcher (Male/Lyrebird) *

Garth Welch Garth de Burgh Welch (born 14 April 1936) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. Early life and training Welch was born in Brisbane, Queensland. He was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School. His initial dance training took plac ...

(Outsider) *Bryan Lawrence (Leader)

Synopsis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Display 1964 ballet premieres Ballets by Robert Helpmann Display Compositions by Malcolm Williamson

Background

Cast

Synopsis

Further reading

References