Brett Randall
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Brett Randall Snr (15 September 1884 – c. 1 July 1963) was a British-born Australian actor and theatre director. He was the co-founder of the Melbourne Little Theatre, which became St Martins Youth Arts Centre.


Biography

Randall was born in England, the only son of Henrietta Randall (c. 1870 – 26 April 1939) who, as stage name "Henrietta Cavendish", played in the Leon Gordon Company and Herbert Randall (c. 1858 – 1 February 1942), at one time manager of
Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresa ...
, London and an old Savoyard who, using stage name "Herbert Ralland", appeared in the first production of ''
Utopia, Limited ''Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress'', is a Savoy opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a ...
'' and in several other
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
operettas. Randall helped his father manage a pantomime company and in 1907 became manager of the Holloway Empire Theatre. He was one of the cast members who came to Melbourne from London to appear in Ian Hay's comedy '' The Sport of Kings'' at the Athenaeum Theatre in 1926, opened at the
Palace Theatre, Sydney The Palace Theatre was a theatre located at 259–261 Pitt Street in the Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CB ...
, in August 1926, followed at the "Palace" by Eleanor Robson's '' In the Next Room'' in December 1929, Channing Pollock's ''The Enemy'' in January 1930 and Australian dramatist Isabel Handley's ''Handcuffs for One'' at the Savoy Theatre in March 1930. It was around this time he first noticed deterioration of his eyesight, which worsened with advancing years. By this time, the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
was squeezing family incomes, and the "talkies" provided a cheaper form of amusement than live theatre, so many professional actors were forced to supplement their reduced incomes by other forms of employment, but kept their names before the public in
repertory theatre A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...
. In 1931 Randall and Hal Percy, both "between engagements", founded a "little theatre" to present quality drama to the theatre-loving public at moderate prices. Their first venue was a kiosk at Fawkner Park,
South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...
, and slowly attracted a dedicated audience. After a few years they lost their lease and Percy left to pursue a career in radio. Led by Randall, they changed their name to the Melbourne Little Theatre Company, and took a lease on St Chad's, a small disused church in the same district, and set about converting it to a theatre for an audience of around a hundred. It was not ideal: the stage was too small (4.5 by 3.5 metres), and there was no backstage or fly area, but the talented and hard-working company prospered and for twenty years produced each year eight 3-week seasons of high-class dramatic productions. A notable new member in 1934 was Irene Mitchell, whose talent and enthusiasm were noted by Randall, who acted as a kind of mentor, encouraging her to take on increasingly responsible roles, until by 1950 she was producing most of the company's more challenging productions. In 1948 Randall and the (Victorian) Council of Adult Education (CAE) founded "Everyman Theatres", a touring company managed by Max Bruch, which took plays to country centres.


Personal

Randall was described as tall, usually wearing a beret, and possessing a gruff voice. His portrait, by L. Scott Pendlebury, was a finalist for the 1956
Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...
. Randall had two sisters, Lady Cecil Rodwell of Holbrook, Suffolk, and Betty, Mrs Ian Wilson-Johnstone. Neither is known to have visited Australia. Their parents spent their last years in Melbourne. His son Peter Randall was associated with St Martin's Theatre, a later incarnation of St Chad's. He is not to be confused with Brett Randall Jr, Brett Randall Snr grandson who manager of Jigsaw Theatre in the 1980s and the CEO of the Victorian Arts Centre State Theatre, Melbourne, from 1994-1996.


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External links

*See for a detailed list of Randall's stage appearances. {{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, Brett 1884 births 1963 deaths Australian stage actors Australian theatre directors Australian theatre managers and producers