Barbara Sisley (1878–1945) was an Australian teacher and theatre director in Queensland, Australia. She founded and operated the

Brisbane Repertory Theatre La Boite Theatre is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. Playing a vital role in the cultural landscape, La Boite Theat ...

Early life and education

Sisley was born on 19 March 1878 at

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, London, one of three daughters of Thomas Alexander Sisley, civil service clerk, and his wife Susan, née Sisley. Sisley moved to Australia when she was 11. She was educated at

Queen's College, Melbourne Queen's College is a residential college affiliated with the University of Melbourne providing accommodation to more than 300 students who attend the University of Melbourne, the Victorian College of the Arts, RMIT University and Monash Univers ...

and Manuel College in

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

Career

Sisley became one of Brisbane's first speech and drama instructors when she moved there in 1916, working at St Margaret's, Stuartholme and Somerville House. In the early-1900s Sisley helped establish the Young Women's Christian Association Drama Group and the Brisbane Shakespeare Society, where they performed an annual play. In 1923 Sisley went back to England to study with

Elsie Fogerty Anne Elizabeth "Elsie" Fogerty (16 December 1865 – 4 July 1945) was a British teacher who departed from the customary practice of “voice and diction” also called elocution. At that time “Voice and Diction” focused entirely on the mou ...

. Sisley and others, including Professor J. J. Stable founded the

in 1925. She organised tours of their productions to places like Ipswich, Toowoomba, Stanthorpe,

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

, and Townsville. She was a part of the Dramatic Society of the University of Queensland, founder of the Art of Speech Association, a member of the Shakespeare Society, the Dickens Fellowship, the Lyceum Club, Authors' and Artists' Association, C.E.M.A., and the advisory panel of the Australian Broadcasting Commission for Queensland. The Barbara Sisley Awards have been presented annually since 1947 by the Communication, Speech & Performance Teachers Inc. in her memory.

Death

Sisley died on 18 November 1945 as a result of a car accident in Brisbane. During the time following her death lectures were held in memorial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisley, Barbara People from Queensland Australian theatre directors 1878 births 1945 deaths 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women British emigrants to Australia