Alan Edmund William Edwards AM

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(17 January 1925 – 14 January 2003) was a British actor and founding

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. He was considered a major contributor to the artistic life of Queensland and was appointed MBE (Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

) and

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 Gove ...

for his services to theatre. He was also made an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

by the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offe ...

. Edwards won a scholarship to the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

. He also obtained the same for the Old Vic School. After completing his training, he worked in various repertory theatres in England and Scotland before joining the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. From 1956, he worked mainly in London in film, theatre and radio. He also directed many plays, especially when Artistic Director of the Queensland Theatre Company.

Career

In 1960, he appeared in the British film, ''

The Unstoppable Man ''The Unstoppable Man'' is a 1960 British crime drama film directed by Terry Bishop and starring Cameron Mitchell, Harry H. Corbett, Marius Goring and Lois Maxwell. Plot A gang of criminals kidnaps the son of James Kennedy, who is an American ...

'', as the Station Constable. He began his teaching career at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He also taught at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

, Rose Bruford College and Toynbee Hall. In 1964 he was brought to Australia to teach at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney. During this time Edwards also managed to act with The Old Tote Theatre Company, The Theatre Royal, Hobart and played many roles on television for the ABC and commercial networks. Edwards founded and built up the first state theatre company in

in 1969 and in the process helping to establish the career of future star

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy ...

as well as

Bille Brown William Gerald Brown AM (11 January 195213 January 2013) professionally known as Billie Brown was an Australian stage, film and television actor and acclaimed playwright. Early life Brown was born in Biloela, Queensland and studied drama at t ...

Carol Burns Carol Ann Burns (29 October 1947 – 22 December 2015) was an Australian actress, theatre director and patron of the arts, with a career spanning 50 years. She worked extensively in theatre and television serials, as well as telemovies and min ...

and many others. He was so highly esteemed that celebrity actors such as

Diane Cilento Diane Cilento (2 April 1932 – 6 October 2011) was an Australian actress. She is best known for her film roles in ''Tom Jones'' (1963), which earned her an Academy Award nomination, '' Hombre'' (1967) and '' The Wicker Man'' (1973). She also r ...

came back to

to work with him. In 1988 Alan Edwards was succeeded in the post of Artistic Director by

Aubrey Mellor Aubrey Mellor is an Australian theatre director, dramaturge and teacher. Mellor has had a multi-disciplinary practice, having also worked as a writer, adapter, set designer, translator, producer, and stage manager. Early life and training ...

. Edwards served on the Theatre Board of the Australia Council and was also Chairman of the Steering Committee which brought into being the Confederation of Australian Performing Arts (CAPPA) and later served as its vice-chairman. He was a board member of the Queensland Performing Arts Trust for 10 years, Inaugural President of the Actors' & Entertainers' Benevolent Fund (Qld) Inc., Patron of the Queensland Theatre of the Deaf, a Member of the Immigration Review Panel (Queensland) and was a Justice of the Peace. In 1994 Edwards became a recipient of a Brisbane Theatre Critic's Matilda Award. In 1997 he received The Glugs of Gosh Award for Excellence in Theatre and in 1998 he was awarded a Doctorate of Letters (honoris causa) by the University of Southern Queensland. As the Founding Director of the Queensland Theatre Company Alan made many appearances with the company and was acclaimed for his performances in such roles as Salieri in ''Amadeus'', The Psychiatrist in ''Equus'', Professor Higgins in ''Pygmalion'', Dr Alfred Feldman in ''Duet For One'' and The Chorus in ''Henry V''. Other roles have included Judge Don Gusman in ''The Marriage of Figaro'', Baptista in ''The Taming of the Shrew'' for Queensland Ballet, Cicero in ''Julius Caesar'', Sir Peter Teazle in ''The School For Scandal'', Richard Noakes in ''Arcadia'' and Mr Diagilsmith in ''Tightrope''. Edwards also appeared in a variety of roles with companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Northside Theatre Company, Phillip Street Productions, La Boite Theatre, The House is Live, Opera Queensland, Queensland Performing Arts Trust and Seymour Productions. As a Director some of his favourite productions were the musicals ''Annie'' and ''Hello Dolly!'', ''Blithe Spirit'', ''Henry V'', ''Long Days Journey into Night'' and ''Caravan''. Edwards final appearance was as part of ''The Way We Were'' in the Playhouse Theatre at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex, a special performance that looked back and saluted the rich arts and entertainment history and performers of Queensland. He was and will remain an indelible part of that history. The charity The Actors' & Entertainers Benevolent Fund of Queensland was started by Edwards in 1975 and he was the inaugural president of the organisation. Edwards served in that role until 1994.

Interviews and historical information

*History of the Queensland Theatre Compan
Queensland Theatre Company website
*Interview about the late Alan Edwards by Anne O'Keeffe with Bille Brown and Marjorie Ford, ABC612 Australia, Radio – 15 January 2003

References

External links

*

Queensland Theatre Company website

Actors' & Entertainers' Benevolent Fund (Qld) website
* https://web.archive.org/web/20060917185639/http://www.ozco.gov.au/arts_in_australia/artists/artists_major_performing_arts/queensland_theatre_company/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Alan Australian male stage actors Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of Australia 1925 births 2003 deaths Place of birth missing Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British emigrants to Australia