stagesetting

In the mountain village where the waters of the River Styx flow, the young Golfo and Tassos swear eternal love to one another. True to her word, Golfo rejects a nobleman who wishes to marry her, but Tassos breaks his oath and agrees to wed a rich young woman instead. When he changes his mind, it is too late and the forces of destiny continue to their inevitable conclusion. Linked with the historical tradition of travelling theatre troupes, Golfo is almost synonymous with this aspect of Greek theatre. However, despite its unusual language and localised character, Peresiadiss play is charged with emotion and technically is every bit as proficient as dramas from better-known names. Romantic rivalries, moral dilemmas and heartrending choices run through this important example of Greek theatrical heritage. Nikos Karathanos and his cast and crew approach Golfo with sensitivity and reveal it to be a genuine theatrical gem. Source: www.n-t.gr/en/events/oldevents/golfw_

Golfo is a 1914 Greek silent film directed by Konstadinos Bahatoris. It is the first Greek feature film. It was based on a popular Greek bucolic play written by Spyridon Peresiadis. Plot Tasos is a young shepherd in love with Golfo and intends to marry her. However, the rich shepherdess Stavroula with the help of her father manages to lure him with the promise of a dowry. Eventually he realises his mistake and returns to Golfo, but she has poisoned herself. Driven by guilt, Tasos commits suicide. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golfo

Moncrieff made highly successful gramophone recordings in Australia for the Columbia Graphophone Co. between 12 October 1928 and 4 June 1935. She was a regular visitor to the company studios at Homebush, Sydney, making eighty-four titles that were released on either Regal, Regal-Zonophone or Columbia labels as ten-inch discs. These well-known musical comedy favorites sold far better than similar material by many famous overseas artists. Most of these recordings were reissued by EMI Records Australia and enjoyed healthy sales. Gladys Moncrieff had a powerful, wide-ranging, rich soprano voice, and excellent diction. Undemonstrative in behavior, she approached her singing like a craft, meticulously and unostentatiously. She dressed simply and did not shun menial tasks. Her large, informal parties were memorable for her superb cooking, especially for her pie with seventy dozen oysters. Perhaps it was also her sense of fun and tender-heartedness that attracted her large following of 'gallery girls', women who queued for standing room and followed her movements with flowers and mail. She became a legend in Australia in her lifetime, respected by her professional colleagues, and loved by her devoted public. Her autobiography, My Life of Song (Adelaide, 1971), was ghosted by Lillian Palmer. Source: adb.anu.edu.au/biography/moncrieff-gladys-lillian-7621

REX THEATRE (Fortitude Valley) aka Town Theatre / Hoyts Rex / Rex Valley (1936-ca. 1974) Wickham Street (between Gipps and Brunswick streets). Although best remembered as a cinema, the Rex Theatre’s first lessee, Graham Mitchell, operated it as a vaudeville house for some 14 months. The building, situated on the northern side of Wickham Street, dated back to the late 1900s when it served as a warehouse. At the time of its purchase by E. Craft and A.J. Carter (Crafti’s Investments Pty Ltd), it was owned by Foy and Gibson. The basement was remodeled into a theatre, with the remainder of the building converted into three shops. The Rex was used for occasional live productions up until its closure. Sinbad the Sailor (featuring Peggy Ryan) was produced there in 1950, for example. Graham Mitchell’s Jesters opened the Rex on 9 May 1936. The feature artists were Nat Hanley, Syd Beck, and Len Rich. Source: ozvta.com/theatres-qld/2/ __________

Peggy Ryan worked hard for a living. She danced, she sang, she took her clothes off when required. She worked on stage and under canvas, entered competitions, opened dance schools, and directed. She helped out her father, an illusionist and character actor, and she was as versatile as all get out. And she was not, as one magazine put it rather brutally, A Star. In a human interest story in People in 1952, 26-year-old Peggy was described like this: “She is not a star; she never could be. Her stocks in trade are a warm, sometimes strident, voice, a pair of nimble feet, a stimulating smile, and a figure of considerable merit. Yet without her, and other backstagers like her, entertainment as we know it would collapse overnight. She is the indisputable unit of which a show is made, the foil, the prop, the silk-and-tinsel background against which the star gleams his brightest.” Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/hoofer-soubrette-and-nudie-cutie-...