Lorna Forbes (1 February 1890 – 26 May 1976) was an Australian actress. She toured Australia with Allan Wilkie's company playing Shakespearean roles. In 1945 she co-founded the Melbourne Repertory Theatre.
Lorna Forbes | |
|---|---|
.jpg) details unknown | |
| Born | Ada Lorna Forbes 1 February 1890 |
| Died | 26 May 1976 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse | Frederick Charles Chute Chapman |
| Children | one |
Life
editForbes was born in North Melbourne in 1890. Her mother was Ada Emily Windson (born Lawrence) and her father was Wilson Duff-Forbes. She was a fourth generation actress. Both of her parents were actors born in Australia,[1] and she had a younger brother.[2] In 1910, she married a musician named Frederick Charles Chute Chapman and they had a son.[1]
In 1916 she joined the British actor Allan Wilkie who led George Marlow's new Grand Shakespearean Company. They first performed The Merchant of Venice in Sydney.[3] She continued with Wilkie in 1920 when he formed the Allan Wilkie Shakespearean Company[4] of thirty players who for eight years toured Australia giving around 14000 performances. His leading lady was his wife Miss (Frediswyde) Hunter-Watts.[5] Forbes was able to play roles including Cleopatra, but she was generally overshadowed by the company's leading lady.[1] Wilkie maintained a varied Shakespearean programme and no play was performed on consecutive nights.[6]
She formed the Lorna Forbes School of Drama in Melbourne in 1924, and six years later Wilkie disbanded his troupe in October 1930[7] at the onset of the Great Depression and the emergence of the "talkies".[6] She and Alexander Marsh went to Tasmania with their own troupe where they performed farces and melodramas.[1]
In 1945 theatre enthusiast Sydney Turnbull leased the Arrow Theatre and installed over two hundred tip-up seats using volunteer labour.[8] She and Turnbull created what was called the Melbourne Repertory Theatre.[9] The first production was School for Scandal which Forbes directed and starred in.[10]
In 1961 the new musical play, The Sound of Music, was staged in Melbourne, and Forbes took a minor role.[11]
Forbes died a widow in East Camberwell in 1976. Her only son had joined the RAF, and he died in 1942.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Colligan, Mimi, "Ada Lorna Forbes (1890–1976)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2024-08-02
- ^ "FORBES L.W.G." Kew Remembers Project. 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
- ^ West, John Theatre in Australia Cassell Australia ISBN 0-7269-9266-6
- ^ Rickard, John, "Allan Wilkie (1878–1970)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2024-08-02
- ^ Wilde, W H The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature 2nd ed. ISBN 0-19-553381-X
- ^ a b Hough, David A Dream of Passion His Majesty's Theatre Foundation, Perth 2004 ISBN 1-920843-09-4
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald 4 October 1930
- ^ "'LITTLE THEATRE" AT MIDDLE PARK". Record. 1945-03-31. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
- ^ "Movements in Music Developing Talent". Argus. 1947-01-25. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
- ^ "Behind the Plaque: The Arrow Theatre, Middle Park - Theatre Heritage Australia". theatreheritage.org.au. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
- ^ "Theatre Heritage Australia Digital Collection". digital.theatreheritage.org.au. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
External links
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