Arts Centre Melbourne's Theatres of War exhibition explores the Australian experience of wartime entertainment, and the transformative power of performance during times of great adversity.
Phil Jay in The Kiwi Revie Company, 1946, Photo by Broothorn Studios Melbourne, Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne
The exhibition draws on archival material principally from Arts Centre Melbourne’s Performing Arts Collection, as well as the Australian War Memorial and private collections, to tell stories ranging from concert party performers on the Western Front, female impersonators and opera singers in the jungles of New Guinea, to pop stars bringing music from home to Vietnam.
The exhibition notably features the work of female impersonators in The Kiwi Revue Company, who had initially performed with great success as the Kiwi Concert Party during wartime, but who reinvented themselves as The Kiwi Revue Company after the war, touring Australasia extensively until they retured from the stage in 1954. For more information on the Kiwis and their influence on Australian drag history, see Christopher Burns' masters thesis Parading Kiwis: New Zealand Soldier Concert Parties, 1916–1954, and Jonathan Bollen's blog posting on Tracey Lee.
Scrapbook of The Kiwis Revue, 1940s-1950s, Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne
Arts Centre Melbourne runs a special ‘Theatres & Exhibition’ guided tour at 11am every Monday to Saturday. The tour includes an insider’s look at the Theatres of War exhibition, plus significant works of Australian art around the foyers and a tour through the many theatres hidden deep underground.
When
18 April - 20 September
This is a FREE exhibition
Venue
Gallery 1, Theatres Building
John Hunter in The Kiwi Revie Company, 1946, Photo by Broothorn Studios Melbourne, Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne
Scrapbook of Gladys Moncrieff performing for the troops, 1939-1946, Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne
Souvenir program for Camp Stars on Parade, Australian Army Amenities Service, St Kilda Town Hall, Thursday 13 April 1944, Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne
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