Richard Bruce Wherrett AM (10 December 19407 December 2001) was an Australian stage director, whose career spanned 40 years. he is known for being the founding director of the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

in 1979.

Early life, education and family

Richard Wherrett was born on 10 December 1940, the younger brother of motoring journalist Peter Wherrett. Their father was an abusive and violent

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

. He was educated at Trinity Grammar School in Sydney, before attending the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1961. His contemporaries at the university included

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literatu ...

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...

, Mungo McCallum,

Bob Ellis Robert James Ellis (10 May 1942 – 3 April 2016) was an Australian writer, journalist, filmmaker, and political commentator. He was a student at the University of Sydney at the same time as other notable Australians including Clive James, Germa ...

, John Bell,

John Gaden John Stuart Gaden (born 13 November 1941) is an Australian actor and director known particularly for his stage career, although he has also made some film and television appearances. Career John Gaden was born in Sydney where his father owned ...

Laurie Oakes Laurie Oakes (born 14 August 1943 in Newcastle, New South Wales) is an Australian retired journalist. He worked in the Canberra Press Gallery from 1969 to 2017, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections for print, radio, and ...

and Les Murray. He taught English and Ancient History at Trinity Grammar for four years. Wherrett knew he was gay from the age of 17. Nevertheless, he had a well-publicised relationship with the actress Jacki Weaver in the 1970s.David Leser, "The Demons That Drive Richard Wherrett", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', CorkFloor, 9 June 1995
Retrieved 9 July 2013

Career

In 1965 Wherrett went to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and worked with the E15 Acting School in

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Char ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. On return to Australia he became associate director to Robin Lovejoy at the Old Tote Theatre Company. In 1970 he joined John Bell at the Nimrod Theatre Company. He was the founding director of the

. He directed 127 professional theatre productions. In 1972, he directed the first performance of ''The Sweatproof'' ''Boy'', first play written by

Alma De Groen Alma De Groen is an Australian feminist playwright, born in New Zealand on 5 September 1941. Biography Alma Margaret Mathers, born in Manawatu, grew up in Mangakino, a small township founded to serve a hydro-electric power station in the North ...

, of whom he directed most of early works. In 1987, he directed his first grand opera for the Victoria State Opera at the State Theatre Melbourne. ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...

'',

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long l ...

's final opera, was a lavish production starring Corneliu Murgu, Olivia Stapp and Glenys Fowles, with the

State Orchestra of Victoria Orchestra Victoria is a full-time salaried orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia, and wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Ballet. Founded in 1969, the orchestra is now a principal performance partner for the Australian Ballet, Opera Austra ...

conducted by

Richard Divall Richard Sydney Divall (9 September 1945 – 15 January 2017) was an Australian conductor and musicologist. After nine years as a music producer at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, from 1972 on the invitation of Dame Joan Hammond he ...

. Wherett was the creative director for the lighting of the torch segment of the Opening Ceremony for the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in Sydney.

Publications

With his brother Peter he wrote a memoir, ''Desirelines''. He also wrote ''The Floor of Heaven: My Life in Theatre'' in 2000.

Honours

He was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in 1984 for his services to the theatre as a

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and director.

Death and legacy

Wherrett died of liver failure on 7 December 2001, three days before his 61st birthday, after 15 years warding off the effects of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

. His funeral service was held at

St John's Anglican Church, Darlinghurst The St John's Anglican Church, officially known as the Church of St. John the Evangelist, is a heritage-listed active Anglican church located at 120 Darlinghurst Road in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia. The church ...

, with ushers provided by the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...

. The General Manager of the Opera House, Michael Lynch, dimmed the lights on the Opera House sails in what Jacki Weaver called "a movingly fitting tribute". The Richard Wherrett Fellowship was created in his memory by the STC in his memory. It was awarded to Jessica Arthur in 2017, and to

Shari Sebbens Shari Sebbens is an Aboriginal Australian actress and stage director, known for her debut film role in '' The Sapphires'' (2012), as well as many stage and television performances. After a two-year stint as resident director of the Sydney The ...

in 2020.

References

* * *

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wherrett, Richard 1940 births 2001 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Australia Australian theatre directors Gay men LGBT theatre directors LGBT writers from Australia Members of the Order of Australia People educated at Trinity Grammar School (New South Wales) Australian memoirists LGBT memoirists 20th-century memoirists 20th-century LGBT people