Renowned Australian playwright Jack Hibberd has died aged 84.
Best known for the seminal Australian plays Dimboola and A Stretch of the Imagination, Jack penned almost 40 plays, along with three novels and three volumes of poetry.
Born in 1940 in the rural Victorian town of Wrrackanbeal, Jack moved to Melbourne in 1959 to study medicine.
While at the University of Melbourne, Jack honed his poetry skills while also a film critic for the university newspaper.
Jack completed his medical studies in 1964 and worked as a doctor throughout his life, parallel to his career as a playwright.
He was registrar at St Vincent’s Hospital’s Department of Social Medicine in Melbourne before working as a general practitioner, after which he specialised in clinical immunology.
Jack also played an integral role in establishing the Australian Performing Group – an experimental theatre ensemble based in Melbourne.
He remained active within the group for a decade, including a two-year stint as chairman.
Renowned Australian playwright Jack Hibberd has died, aged 84.
In 1983, Jack established the Melbourne Writers Theatre and he also sat on the Theatre and Literature Boards of the Australia Council.
Speaking on ABC RN’s The Stage Show, Australian Performing Group co-founder Bill Garner said that Jack was at the forefront of a ‘theatrical revolution.’
‘[He was] a writer who’s actually working in the midst of a theatrical revolution — for which he provided the voice, and the actors provided the bodies,’ he said.
While he was responsible for nearly 40 plays in his lifetime, Dimboola, which premiered at the iconic La Mama theatre in Melbourne in 1969, would prove to be his most well known.
The play follows the celebration of the wedding of Protestant Morrie McAdam and Catholic Reen Delaney in Dimboola, Victoria.
The family members try to preserve social grace and dignity in the face of impending disasters and audience members were also invited to participate in the onstage action as wedding guests.
Best known for the seminal Australian plays Dimboola and A Stretch of the Imagination, Jack penned almost 40 plays, along with three novels and three volumes of poetry.
Explaining the creative choice at the time, Jack said it was about breaking down stereotypes about theatre
‘Audiences come along and pretend to be at a social ritual and it breaks down all the old cultural barriers about going to the theatre,’ Jack said.
‘It just completely fragments and dissolves all the conventional fears about going to a theatre in the city and I think that’s the key to its popularity.’
The play was also adapted into a film in 1979, directed by John Duigan (The Year My Voice Broke, Sirens and starring Bruce Spence, Max Gillies, and Max Cullen.
While he was responsible for nearly 40 plays in his lifetime, Dimboola, which premiered at the iconic La Mama theatre in Melbourne in 1969, would prove to be his most well known. Pictured is Natalie Bate, Bruce Spence and Irene Hewitt in the 1979 film adaptation
