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Robin Casper Lovejoy,
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(17 December 1924 – 14 December 1985) was an Australian director, actor, and designer best known for his work on television and in theatre. He was one of Australia's leading theatre directors of the 1960s and 1970s and significantly influenced the Australian drama and theatre stage.


Early life

Lovejoy was born on 17 December 1924 in Labasa, Fiji. His father, Casper Ebenezer Lovejoy (1886–1971) had English and Irish ancestry, and his mother Viti Clarke (1887–1951) had predominantly Scottish ancestry. During his younger years, he spent time at Suva Boys Grammar School, until his whole family moved from Fiji to
Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...
in 1939. Shortly after, he began to work as an accountant. In 1942, he volunteered for the Australian Imperial Army and was stationed in the Torres Strait. It was at this time as a soldier that Lovejoy began to play readings of stories and plays to entertain his fellow troops. He was discharged from the army in 1946 and continued to study interior design.


Career

In the period he was studying interior design, Robin joined the cast of May Hollinworth's Metropolitan Players, as a
repertory 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 ...
actor. With this experience, he went on to star in numerous plays, most famously in Douglas Stewart's ''Shipwreck''. With years of acting and experience in theatre, Lovejoy became a costume designer for the National Theatre Ballet Company. In his début, he created almost fifty costumes, masks, and accessories for the company. When Hollinworth withdrew from the Players due to health issues in 1950, Lovejoy began his directorial début as the new director of the play. In 1952, he directed a new and final play for the company, ''
The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' () is a play (theatre), play by the Spain, Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding (play), Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as the Rural Trilogy. García Lorc ...
'', and was met with high praise. In 1953 he joined the New South Wales Opera Company but resigned after five productions. In 1955 Lovejoy joined the
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust (AETT) is an Australian theatre and performing arts company based in Sydney established in 1954. It is today especially known for its music scholarship program. History The Australian Elizabethan Theatre ...
, winning many awards for costume design for ''
The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...
'' in 1957. In 1963 he directed episodes of the television series ''Adventure Unlimited''. In 1964, after nine years of working in the AETT, Lovejoy took charge of the development of Australian plays, and he was employed by the
Old Tote Theatre Company The Old Tote Theatre Company (1963–1978) was a New South Wales theatre company that began as the standing acting and theatre company of Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). It was the predecessor to the Sydney Theatre Company ...
in Sydney, as a director. He was continuously credited for creating some of the 'best professional drama in Australia'. In 1973 he directed the Old Tote's production of ''
Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
'', as well as the premiere of
David Williamson David Keith Williamson (born 1942) is an Australian playwright, who has also written screenplays and teleplays. He became known in the early 1970s with his political comic drama '' Don's Party'', and other well-known plays include '' The Clu ...
’s play '' What If You Died Tomorrow?'' The following year, when he took the play to London, it was the first professional Australian production staged there since the ''
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll ''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' is an Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne on 28 November 1955. The play is considered to be the most significant in Australian theatre history, and a " ...
'' in 1957. In 1974, for his continuous contribution to the arts, he was appointed an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
. For the rest of his professional life, he worked for the Victorian State Opera and the Queensland Theatre Company, mostly serving as a director.


Personal life

On 14 January 1957, Lovejoy married Patricia Hughes and had two children with her, Kate in 1958, and Amanda in 1959.


Illness and death

During his time at the Queensland Theatre Company, Lovejoy was diagnosed with
liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
. He died of the illness on 14 December 1985 in his home at
Mosman, New South Wales Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore (Sydney), Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative c ...
and was cremated.


Legacy

After his death, many famous figures remembered Lovejoy. The actor
Leonard Teale Leonard George Thiele Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was an Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his resonant ...
recalled 'He was a man concerned with the pursuit of excellence'; he 'had no time for mediocrity'. Frank van Straten considered that 'Lovejoy was a genius of the theatre . . . demanding, fiery, often impatient and tyrannical ... uthe could be angelically patient, coaxing magic from heunplumbed depths of an actor’s art'.


Filmography


References


External links


Biography
at
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

Biography
at Live Performance. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovejoy, Robin Australian television directors 1924 births 1985 deaths Australian theatre directors Fijian emigrants to Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire