Katharine Brisbane: The Doyenne of Australian Theatre

Abstract

Katharine Brisbane has served as a journalist, reviewer, critic and publisher for over 50 years. She began her career at the West Australian and quickly developed a talent for writing about the theatre. After Francis Evers, she became the second national theatre critic in 1967, writing for the Australian during a time of expansion and newly acquired subsidy within the theatre. Her previous experience as a journalist and theatre critic for the West Australian during the late 1950s and 1960s prepared her for these changes and she was able to provide guidance to the emerging Australian theatre through her weekly columns and presence as national theatre critic. In 1971, Brisbane launched Currency Press with her husband Philip Parsons. Despite significant setbacks, both financially and personally, Brisbane has continued to foster Currency Press as the publisher of Australian drama. Brisbane has remained an important figure in Australian theatre and continues to inform the theatre, despite retiring from Currency Press in 2001. This thesis explores the influence and impact of Brisbane on Australian theatre over the past five decades, utilizing her newspaper reviews and articles at the West Australian, the Australian and at Currency Press as evidence of her overall impact. It identifies key trends as well as problems that Brisbane emphasised as a commentator on Australian theatre, arguing that she was aware very early of the need to develop the theatre to an international standard. It demonstrates the rigour of Brisbane's advocacy and discusses her continual passion for developing Australian theatre. This thesis also presents the personal and professional sacrifices that Brisbane made to ensure that a record of the theatre was preserved in print.