Union Theatre Repertory Company

Description

Agent TypeOrganisationActivities & OccupationsTheatre companiesHistoryIn 1952 John Sumner was appointed manager of the University of Melbourne’s Union Theatre. Within twelve months of his appointment, the professional stage manager from London’s West End proposed that the University Board underwrite the company. The Board accepted his proposal and in 1953 the Union Theatre Repertory Company (UTRC) became Australia’s first professional repertory company. In 1954 Sumner moved to Sydney to manage the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, and Ray Lawler was appointed Director (1955-1956). The result was a collaboration of the two companies to produce Lawler’s work 'Summer of the Seventeenth Doll', which received both national and international acclaim. In 1956 Wal Cherry succeeded Lawler as Artistic Director. However this was short lived with Sumner returning to administer the company in 1959. Its name changed to the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) in 1967.
Selected Reference: < http://www.mtc.com.au/about/the-company/history/>Search records of this agent

Dates

Date1952-1967

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Union Theatre Repertory Company