Richard Bruce Wherrett AM (10 December 19407 December 2001) was an Australian

stage director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, whose career spanned 40 years. he is known for being the founding director of the Sydney Theatre Company in 1979.

Early life, education and family

Richard Wherrett was born on 10 December 1940, the younger brother of motoring journalist Peter Wherrett. Their father was an abusive and violent

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

. He was educated at Trinity Grammar School in Sydney, before attending the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1961. His contemporaries at the university included Clive James,

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Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...

, Mungo McCallum,

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, John Bell, John Gaden,

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and Les Murray. He taught English and Ancient History at Trinity Grammar for four years. Wherrett knew he was gay from the age of 17. Nevertheless, he had a well-publicised relationship with the actress

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

in the 1970s.David Leser, "The Demons That Drive Richard Wherrett", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', CorkFloor, 9 June 1995
Retrieved 9 July 2013

Career

In 1965 Wherrett went to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and worked with the E15 Acting School in

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. On return to Australia he became associate director to Robin Lovejoy at the

Old Tote Theatre Company The Old Tote Theatre Company (1963–1978) was a New South Wales theatre company that began as the standing acting and theatre company of Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). It was the predecessor to the Sydney Theatre Company ...

. In 1970 he joined John Bell at the

Nimrod Theatre Company The Nimrod Theatre Company, commonly known as The Nimrod, was an Australian theatre company based in Sydney. It was founded by in 1970 by Australian actor John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "g ...

. He was the founding director of the Sydney Theatre Company. He directed 127 professional theatre productions. In 1972, he directed the first performance of ''The Sweatproof'' ''Boy'', first play written by

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, of whom he directed most of early works. In 1987, he directed his first grand opera for the Victoria State Opera at the State Theatre Melbourne. ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...

'',

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

's final opera, was a lavish production starring Corneliu Murgu, Olivia Stapp and

Glenys Fowles Glenys Rae Fowles AM (born 4 November 1941; some sources say 1946) is an Australian operatic soprano who sang with Opera Australia and its predecessors for many years. She also sang at Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, and for the New York City Opera ...

, with the State Orchestra of Victoria conducted by Richard Divall. Wherett was the creative director for the lighting of the torch segment of the Opening Ceremony for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Publications

With his brother Peter he wrote a memoir, ''Desirelines''. He also wrote ''The Floor of Heaven: My Life in Theatre'' in 2000.

Honours

He was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

in 1984 for his services to the theatre as a producer and director.

Death and legacy

Wherrett died of liver failure on 7 December 2001, three days before his 61st birthday, after 15 years warding off the effects of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

. His funeral service was held at St John's Anglican Church, Darlinghurst, with ushers provided by the Sydney Opera House. The General Manager of the Opera House, Michael Lynch, dimmed the lights on the Opera House sails in what Jacki Weaver called "a movingly fitting tribute". The Richard Wherrett Fellowship was created in his memory by the STC in his memory. It was awarded to Jessica Arthur in 2017, and to Shari Sebbens in 2020.

References

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Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wherrett, Richard 1940 births 2001 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Australia Australian theatre directors Gay men LGBT theatre directors LGBT writers from Australia Members of the Order of Australia People educated at Trinity Grammar School (New South Wales) Australian memoirists LGBT memoirists 20th-century memoirists 20th-century LGBT people