Allan Wilkie
Encyclopedia
Allan Wilkie was an English Shakespearean actor of Scottish
descent noted for his career in Australia
.
Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire
, he was educated at Liverpool High School
and went to work in a merchant's office but became infatuated with the theatre after experiencing a performance by Osmond Tearle. He trained in the companies of Ben Greet
, Frank Benson
and Beerbohm Tree. On 4 February 1904 he married an actress Iné de la Garde Cameron, whom he divorced a few years later. In 1905 he founded his own company, touring with The Merchant of Venice. On 22 July 1909 he married Frediswyde Hunter-Watts (1887?–1951) who soon became his leading lady, billed as "Miss Hunter-Watts". She was the daughter of the politician Hunter Watts
.
In 1911 his company played in India, followed by Ceylon, India
, Singapore
, British Malaya
, Hong Kong
, Japan
in 1912 and the Philippines
, returning to England in 1913, where he accepted an invitation to join a company in South Africa
. He and his wife were there when World War I
broke out, so decided to continue to Australia where Frediswyde had relations. Her brother, J. Hunter-Watts, had travelled with Wilkie in the East and in 1928 travelled to Australia to manage the company's finances.
In 1915 they were playing Sweet Nell of Old Drury with the Nellie Stewart
company that toured New Zealand
for four months. In 1916 he joined George Marlow
's Grand Shakespearean Company playing Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at "The Princess" in Sydney
with his wife playing Portia, then As You Like It at "The Adelphi" in Melbourne playing Jaques, both to 'mixed reviews'. and in 1920 formed the Allan Wilkie Shakespearean Company of thirty players who for eight years toured Australia giving around 14000 performances with his leading lady wife Miss (Frediswyde) Hunter-Watts. He maintained a varied program: his company knew most of the Bard's plays and no production was played on consecutive nights. For instance, they performed thirteen plays at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth from April to May 1926. A remarkable feature of their schedule was an annual Christmas season at the Theatre Royal, Hobart
at a time when Tasmania
was almost universally bypassed by touring companies. A serious setback occurred in June 1926, when the Geelong, Victoria
Mechanics’ Institute burned down with all his wardrobes and what few props
and scenery they carried. Within a short time £4000 was raised from donations and benefit performances, with Orient Shipping Line contributing a free return passage to London
so he could purchase new armour, wigs and wardrobes. On 22 January 1927 they were able to meet their annual commitment to Hobart!
From 1922 to 1924 he published The Shakespearean Quarterly, sold in the foyer of theatres where they performed, claimed the only such magazine published in the British Empire
. Hector Bolitho
was editor for a short time.
He was awarded the CBE in May 1925, at the beginning of their season at the Theatre Royal, Brisbane. The honour was in recognition of his services to the theatre and, especially, education. The publicity resulted in an extended season of two months. (Wilkie was adept at extracting benefit for his Company from patronage of the wealthy and famous.) Another lucrative venue was The Majestic, Newtown, where they ran extended seasons in 1928 and 1929.
He disbanded his troupe in October 1930 at the onset of the Great Depression
, (though competition from the "talkies" would have contributed, as would the increasing percentage of his audiences who paid the greatly reduced students' admission. He tried Restoration comedy (School for Scandal, The Jealous Wife
) and an Australian play – Governor Bligh by Doris Egerton Jones and the first Australian production of Noel Coward
’s Hay Fever
at the Melbourne Tivoli and through Queensland as a double bill with Bird in Hand by John Drinkwater
. They travelled to New Zealand, Canada
and the United States with a low-budget two-hander "scenes from Shakespeare" then retired to Scotland
. Frediswyde died in 1951 after suffering chronic illness, and he remarried at age 87 and died at 91.
He was often criticised for his declamatory style of acting, notably by The Triad which compared him unfavourably to his contemporary Gregan McMahon
, but no-one ever doubted his sincerity and energy. "He travelled further and laboured harder to bring classic theatre to Australian audiences ... Without Wilkie, Australian theatre during World War I
and after would have been the poorer." (John West, op cit.)
, Lorna Forbes, Marie Ney
, Augustus Neville, Leslie Manners, John Cairns and Ellis Irving
. The renowned writer Ngaio Marsh
acted with his troupe for a time, and remained a friend and correspondent.
The actor/manager John Alden
has been described as "a latter-day Wilkie".
The Allan Wilkie - Frediswyde Hunter-Watts Theatre Collection in the Barr Smith Library
of the University of Adelaide
(donated by Angel Symon) is named for them. Though much younger, Angel was a longtime friend and correspondent, and spent some years as his advance publicity agent. His third wife, Kate, donated his extensive personal archives to the same library.
Allan and Frediswyde's son Douglas
was a noted print journalist and commentator.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
descent noted for his career in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Born in Toxteth Park, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, he was educated at Liverpool High School
Liverpool High School
Liverpool High School is a comprehensive New York public high school located on Wetzel Road in the village of Liverpool, northwest of the city of Syracuse in the Liverpool Central School District, serving ninth to twelfth grade students...
and went to work in a merchant's office but became infatuated with the theatre after experiencing a performance by Osmond Tearle. He trained in the companies of Ben Greet
Ben Greet
Sir Philip Barling "Ben" Greet was a Shakespearean actor, director, and impresario.-Early life:The younger son of Captain William Greet RN and his wife, Sarah Barling, Greet was born on board HMS Crocodile, a Royal Navy recruiting ship tied up at the Tower of London. He was educated at the Royal...
, Frank Benson
Frank Benson
Frank Benson may refer to:*Frank Benson , British actor-manager*Frank Weston Benson , American impressionist artist*Frank W. Benson...
and Beerbohm Tree. On 4 February 1904 he married an actress Iné de la Garde Cameron, whom he divorced a few years later. In 1905 he founded his own company, touring with The Merchant of Venice. On 22 July 1909 he married Frediswyde Hunter-Watts (1887?–1951) who soon became his leading lady, billed as "Miss Hunter-Watts". She was the daughter of the politician Hunter Watts
Hunter Watts
John Hunter Watts , known as Hunter Watts, was a British socialist activist.Based in Manchester, Watts was an active secularist before joining the Social Democratic Federation . While he was friendly with William Morris, he remained with the SDF when Morris left to found the Socialist League in 1885...
.
In 1911 his company played in India, followed by Ceylon, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, British Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1912 and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, returning to England in 1913, where he accepted an invitation to join a company in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He and his wife were there when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, so decided to continue to Australia where Frediswyde had relations. Her brother, J. Hunter-Watts, had travelled with Wilkie in the East and in 1928 travelled to Australia to manage the company's finances.
In 1915 they were playing Sweet Nell of Old Drury with the Nellie Stewart
Nellie Stewart
Nellie Stewart was an Australian actress and singer, known as "Our Nell" and "Sweet Nell".Born into a theatrical family, Stewart began acting as a child. As a young woman, she built a career playing in operetta and Gilbert and Sullivan operas. In the mid-1880s, she began a long relationship with...
company that toured New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
for four months. In 1916 he joined George Marlow
George Marlow
George Marlow was an Australian theatrical entrepreneur born in London of Jewish extraction, noted for bringing melodrama and pantomime to Sydney audiences in the early 1900s....
's Grand Shakespearean Company playing Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at "The Princess" in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
with his wife playing Portia, then As You Like It at "The Adelphi" in Melbourne playing Jaques, both to 'mixed reviews'. and in 1920 formed the Allan Wilkie Shakespearean Company of thirty players who for eight years toured Australia giving around 14000 performances with his leading lady wife Miss (Frediswyde) Hunter-Watts. He maintained a varied program: his company knew most of the Bard's plays and no production was played on consecutive nights. For instance, they performed thirteen plays at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth from April to May 1926. A remarkable feature of their schedule was an annual Christmas season at the Theatre Royal, Hobart
Theatre Royal, Hobart
The Theatre Royal is situated in central Hobart, Tasmania. It stages many events including international ballet, opera, drama and musicals. It was constructed between 1834-1837 and is the oldest continually operating theatre in Australia....
at a time when Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
was almost universally bypassed by touring companies. A serious setback occurred in June 1926, when the Geelong, Victoria
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
Mechanics’ Institute burned down with all his wardrobes and what few props
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
and scenery they carried. Within a short time £4000 was raised from donations and benefit performances, with Orient Shipping Line contributing a free return passage to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
so he could purchase new armour, wigs and wardrobes. On 22 January 1927 they were able to meet their annual commitment to Hobart!
From 1922 to 1924 he published The Shakespearean Quarterly, sold in the foyer of theatres where they performed, claimed the only such magazine published in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Hector Bolitho
Hector Bolitho
Hector Bolitho was a prolific author, novelist and biographer. In total, he had 59 books published.-Biography:...
was editor for a short time.
He was awarded the CBE in May 1925, at the beginning of their season at the Theatre Royal, Brisbane. The honour was in recognition of his services to the theatre and, especially, education. The publicity resulted in an extended season of two months. (Wilkie was adept at extracting benefit for his Company from patronage of the wealthy and famous.) Another lucrative venue was The Majestic, Newtown, where they ran extended seasons in 1928 and 1929.
He disbanded his troupe in October 1930 at the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, (though competition from the "talkies" would have contributed, as would the increasing percentage of his audiences who paid the greatly reduced students' admission. He tried Restoration comedy (School for Scandal, The Jealous Wife
The Jealous Wife
The Jealous Wife is a 1761 British play by George Colman the Elder. A comedy - it was first performed at the Drury Lane Theatre on 12 February 1761 and ran for nineteen performances in its first season and seventy by the end of the century...
) and an Australian play – Governor Bligh by Doris Egerton Jones and the first Australian production of Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
’s Hay Fever
Hay Fever
Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
at the Melbourne Tivoli and through Queensland as a double bill with Bird in Hand by John Drinkwater
John Drinkwater
John Drinkwater was an English poet and dramatist.He was born in Leytonstone, London, and worked as an insurance clerk...
. They travelled to New Zealand, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States with a low-budget two-hander "scenes from Shakespeare" then retired to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Frediswyde died in 1951 after suffering chronic illness, and he remarried at age 87 and died at 91.
He was often criticised for his declamatory style of acting, notably by The Triad which compared him unfavourably to his contemporary Gregan McMahon
Gregan McMahon
Gregan McMahon, CBE was an Australian actor and theatrical producer.McMahon was born in Sydney, elder son of John Terence McMahon, a clerk, and his wife Elizabeth, née Gregan. Both parents were emigrants from Ireland. McMahon was educated at Sydney Grammar School and St Ignatius' College, Riverview...
, but no-one ever doubted his sincerity and energy. "He travelled further and laboured harder to bring classic theatre to Australian audiences ... Without Wilkie, Australian theatre during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and after would have been the poorer." (John West, op cit.)
Legacy
Among Wilkie players who went on to achieve later success were Frank ClewlowFrank Clewlow
Frank Dawson Clewlow was an English actor-director who in 1936 became Federal Controller of Productions for the Australian Broadcasting Commission....
, Lorna Forbes, Marie Ney
Marie Ney
Marie Ney was a British actress who had an acting career spanning five decades, from 1919 to 1969....
, Augustus Neville, Leslie Manners, John Cairns and Ellis Irving
Ellis Irving
Ellis Irving was an Australian film actor who appeared in a number of British films. He was married to the actress Sophie Stewart.-Selected filmography:* The Bermondsey Kid * Murder at Monte Carlo * The Black Mask...
. The renowned writer Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...
acted with his troupe for a time, and remained a friend and correspondent.
The actor/manager John Alden
John Alden
John Alden is said to be the first person from the Mayflower to set foot on Plymouth Rock in 1620. He was a ship-carpenter by trade and a cooper for Mayflower, which was usually docked at Southampton. He was also one of the founders of Plymouth Colony and the seventh signer of the Mayflower Compact...
has been described as "a latter-day Wilkie".
The Allan Wilkie - Frediswyde Hunter-Watts Theatre Collection in the Barr Smith Library
Barr Smith Library
The Barr Smith Library is the main library of the University of Adelaide, situated in the centre of the North Terrace campus. The library was named in honour of Robert Barr Smith who donated £9000 to buy books...
of the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
(donated by Angel Symon) is named for them. Though much younger, Angel was a longtime friend and correspondent, and spent some years as his advance publicity agent. His third wife, Kate, donated his extensive personal archives to the same library.
Allan and Frediswyde's son Douglas
Douglas Wilkie
Douglas Wilkie was a respected columnist for The Sun News-Pictorial . The son of travelling Shakespearean actors Allan Wilkie and Frediswyde Hunter-Watts, he began his newspaper career as a copy boy with the Hobart Mercury. This period was followed by Sir Keith Murdoch appointing him as Geelong...
was a noted print journalist and commentator.