May Hollinworth

May Hollinworth (1 May 1895 – 19 November 1968) was an Australian theatre producer and director, former radio actress, and founder of the Metropolitan Theatre in Sydney. The daughter of a theatrical producer, she was introduced to the theatre at a young age. She graduated with a science degree, and worked in the chemistry department of the University of Sydney, before being appointed as director of the Sydney University Dramatic Society, a post she held from 1929 until 1943

She founded her own company the Metropolitan Theatre, which she directed from 1944 to 1950 in which she presented a range of dramatic works, from Shakespeare and other classics, to contemporary plays from Australia and around the world. She premiered several Australian plays. She retired from the Metropolitan Theatre in 1950 due to illness, but was later invited to direct plays at the Independent Theatre and the Elizabethan Theatre in Sydney. She had a reputation as a superb producer, known for her highly effective use of lighting, and her abilities to arrange actors on stage to convey dramatic meaning visually, to overcome the challenges of large and small stages with minimal facilities, and to select and nurture a cast. Many actors who became notable in Australia and other countries played under her direction at the start of their careers.

Early life and education Hollinworth was born in the Sydney suburb of Homebush to William Haley Harper Hollinworth, a wool clerk, and theatre producer, and his wife Alice Ida Louisa (née Dansie or Dansey). Hollinworth made her first stage appearance at the age of two. While training in dance, she broke a leg, a prominent teacher of speech and drama. She was also associated with companies led by Australian actor and director Gregan McMahon, English actor-manager Cyril Maude, Australian actor Julius Knight, and English Shakespearean actor Allan Wilkie. She attributed much of her acting ability and production knowledge to the two English actors,

Career In 1926 and 1927, while employed in the chemistry department at Sydney University, Hollinworth acted in and directed several plays for the Sydney University Dramatic Society (S.U.D.S.) amateur theatre group. Hollinworth also directed the S.U.D.S. in a controversial performance of As You Like It, staged with modern dress and accessories, One review of the production commented that "now and again, 'As You Like It' becomes recognisable through this veil of modern customs and modern manners", but did concede that it had "been handled delicately". Their reviewer also observed that "the audience, after the initial feeling of strangeness ... were not conscious of any incongruity." a post she held for fourteen years. Her first production following her appointment was Aristophanes' The Frogs. or not making the lines meaningful.

However, Hollinworth was noted as "a wizard with lighting effects", 1931 The Last of Mrs. Cheyney Frederick Lonsdale The Savoy Theatre, Sydney "a real success" 1933 L'Aiglon Edmond Rostand "May Hollinworth, had much to do with this success, her arrangement of scenes which required many characters on the stage being excellent." 1934 The Piper Josephine Preston Peabody New South Wales Conservatorium of Music "an impressive effect ... The first scene ... was set forth with unusual opulence of colour; some of it contributed by the elaborate costumes which crowded the stage and some by the admirable distribution of the lighting. ... The grouping was always finely balanced and artistic." 1935 As You Like It Shakespeare The Savoy Theatre, Sydney "splendid work, and the applause which followed the final curtain was proof of the audience's appreciation." 1936 Don Juan James Elroy Fletcher The Savoy Theatre, Sydney "a first-rate piece of work." 1937 Twelfth Night Shakespeare 1938 Lucrece André Obey, translated by Thornton Wilder S.U.D.S. clubrooms "One might even call this production distinguished .... one could hardly hope to see it better done .... a very moving performance." 1938 Death Takes a Holiday Alberto Casella, adapted in English by Walter Ferris S.U.D.S. clubrooms "With a clever manipulation of the permanent set, two smallish articles of furniture and ingenious lighting, they have created the illusion of space. .... this production has style". 1938 Hotel Universe Philip Barry "Outstanding was the performance of a most unusual play ... Miss Hollinworth is to be congratulated on the highly arresting way in which she unravelled its meaning." 1939 Come of Age Clemence Dane S.U.D.S. clubrooms An "ambitious and difficult" production, "The completeness of the performance, which retained to the end its mystic eerieness, reflected very great credit upon the director, May Hollinworth." 1939 Shallow Cups Dymphna Cusack Independent Theatre clubrooms "An evening of five one-act plays by Australian authors presented by five repertory groups. Shallow Cups .. was certainly the best material in the programme." 1940 The School for Scandal Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1940 Fear Ruth Bedford New Theatre League (formerly Workers' Art Club) "at times .. quite a beautiful flow of language ... a remarkably smooth performance, and the producing end was most capably handled by May Hollinworth." 1940 Shadow and Substance Paul Vincent Carroll An "electrically charged production ... Miss Hollinworth does a service in putting on such a play ... John Bushelle's Canon ... had a towering stature, at times a terribleness that galvanised the audience. The Brigid of Shiela Sewell ... became a figure of utmost lovely pathos, one of the rare repertory performances of a year." 1940 The Frogs Aristophanes Great Hall, University of Sydney "a large, eloquently conceived, scholarly, worthwhile enterprise"; "The .. stage .. was used to full effect by May Hollinworth ... The visual impression was complex, multifarious and satisfying." 1941 Saturday Kathleen Carroll S.U.D.S. clubrooms An Australian play showing suburban residents engaged in SP betting, including a bank clerk who bets with money stolen from the bank. "The play builds up to a second-act climax of listening-in to the big race and the immediate sequel of the clerk's suicide. ... May Hollinworth's handling of this high spot had such calculated crescendo that, in the tenseness, the cliché of situation took fresh emotional life." 1941 Cousin Muriel Clemence Dane Melbourne University Theatre, Melbourne 1942 The Blister Henrietta Drake-Brockman Bryant's Playhouse S.U.D.S. won the Fay Compton Cup for best group performance in the British Drama League annual festival. 1942, 1943 Ned Kelly Douglas Stewart

Freelance directing and acting in radio drama During the years in which Hollinworth worked for the Sydney University Dramatic Society, she also directed some other plays on a freelance basis. A reviewer commented that, while the subject of the play was profound, the plot was flimsy and some of the acting melodramatic; however, Hollinworth "had provided an attractively simple setting".

She formed the Leonardo Theatre Group in 1935, and with them she directed productions of Lucrece (1935) and Beggar on Horseback by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly (1935).

She was the producer of The Thirty-Eight Theatre, an amateur group which formed in 1938, which gave play-readings as well as two stage productions, Dodie Smith's Bonnet Over the Windmill in May 1939, and Rosamond Lehmann's No More Music in August 1939. A review of Bonnet Over the Windmill commented, "Much of the credit for the success of the presentation must go to the producer, May Hollinworth, who, in several recent productions, has proved her ability to handle casts with skill and judgment."

Hollinworth worked with the Impressionist Theatre company, as director or as stage manager, for a number of productions, including Cyrano de Bergerac and Death Takes a Holiday. and performances by school associations, and 1934, fundraising performances for what was then called the Sydney Industrial Blind Institution, including a production of Marguerite Dale's play Meet as Lovers.

The Metropolitan Players and the Metropolitan Theatre, 1944–1950 In 1944, Hollinworth founded the Metropolitan Players. who, as a former student, had appeared in The Frogs (1940), Cousin Muriel (1941) and Julius Caesar (1941); Lyndall Barbour; Others in the first year who later became well-known included Carlotta Kalmar; John Dease; As the theatre was tiny (it seated seventy), and Douglas Stewart's Shipwreck. She intended to produce all of Shakespeare's major plays, believing that there was no better experience for actors than playing Shakespearian character parts. another wrote in 1946, "the Metropolitan is doing some very fine work which deserves attention ... A well-knit team gave a very satisfactory performance ... the numerous small parts were carefully cast and integrated ... the atmosphere of the period and setting was captured." In a 1947 profile of the company, Pix magazine wrote, "May Hollinworth is distinguished in the world of serious theatre. If she were working in England or America, by now she would have won national acclaim. Many people who have worked under her direction have made names for themselves in radio ... Given the chance, Miss Hollinworth and her Metropolitans could contribute on a large scale to our culture."

Reviewers did not hesitate to comment on what they considered mistakes, however. Leslie Rees wrote of a performance of Twelfth Night in 1946, "I count it a grave error on Miss Hollinworth's part to require [David Saxby's Sir Andrew] to sustain a monotonous and unfunny falsetto." Another reviewer wrote, "May Hollinworth, who has to wrestle with the limitations of a severely cramped stage and a small stuffy room, deserves at least air conditioning, and at best translation to a more spacious and sound-proof realm for the working of her magic unhampered by the noise of dust-bins and by the soporific discomfort of wedged-in humanity."

Despite this, the Metropolitan Theatre was "considered one of the finest training grounds for young artists in Australia". Actors who belonged to the Metropolitan Players during the remaining years of Hollinworth's directorship and later became notable included Betty Lucas, Richard Meikle, which was seen by more than 12,000 Sydney children. In 1947, she staged Shakespeare's As You Like It at an open air theatre in a city park in Sydney, to an audience of more than one thousand. The following year, an article about children's theatre in Australia reported that Hollinworth planned to present an annual series of open-air performances in school grounds across Sydney city. George Johnston reported that she planned "to establish a full-time touring repertory company to give performances of the best drama to the school children in New South Wales .. envisag[ing] 84 performances a year to more than 100,000 school children". The first production there was considered by critics as disappointing, "a smooth and enjoyable performance" 1944 Dangerous Corner J. B. Priestley Killara Memorial Hall "exceptionally good ... in spite of limitations, the producer has successfully conveyed the atmosphere in which Uncle murders his sister." 1945 Suspect Edward Percy and Reginald Denham Killara Memorial Hall "With plenty of scope for a deep undercurrent of suspense, production and acting were both very sound, with Enid Lorimer cleverly cast in the central role." 1945 Housemaster Ian Hay Killara Memorial Hall; St. John's Hall, Wahroonga "a great success"; "The performance, though patchy and often far too slow, was well received by the audience." 1945 Sons of the Morning Catherine Duncan Killara Memorial Hall; S.U.D.S. clubrooms "the thematic threads of idealised love, patriotism, and sacrifice were cleverly integrated into a single coherent skein of poetic ideas by well-judged acting and May Hollinworth's production." 1945 Our Town Thornton Wilder Killara Memorial Hall; Mosman Town Hall; private theatre "a most attractive performance .... May Hollinworth's production was excellent. Her choice of cast, her groupings of character and above all the strategy by which she arranged the play for the tiny stage were exceptionally clever. The wedding and the cemetery scenes in particular were skilfully contrived." 1946 Othello Shakespeare 1946 Liliom Ferenc Molnár "he acting is of a high standard throughout, and the direction is intelligent. ... It is really staggering to see a play of this quality in a tiny hall at Darlinghurst while the big professional theatres show only trivial and meaningless potboilers." 1946 Twelfth Night Shakespeare "May Hollinworth is a[] .. fine producer, and the play is ... well cast, well played and intelligently presented." 1947 The Country Wife William Wycherley Metropolitan Theatre, Reiby Place, Sydney "a delightful entertainment. And an illuminating one." 1947 Ned Kelly Douglas Stewart Metropolitan Theatre 1947 Lady Windermere's Fan Oscar Wilde Metropolitan Theatre "there were many things to make this revival worth-while. ... May Hollinworth again proved herself able to impose the quality of Style on her little world. The ball scene moved in a kind of slow-motion, allowing every minutest move in the situation to be observed carefully and estimated for its effect by the audience." 1947 Hamlet William Shakespeare Metropolitan Theatre "Shrewdly imaginative qualities in production that brought the story clearly and convincingly into view, and acting that was nourished by alert intelligence ... a performance of real artistic value." 1948 The First Joanna Dorothy Blewett Metropolitan Theatre 1948 Love for Love William Congreve Metropolitan Theatre, Reiby Place "a very good performance ... to producer May Hollinworth .. credits for the Olivier-like pace the actors gave their lines with not a word lost to the audience." 1949 The Rivals Richard Brinsley Sheridan Tour of south Queensland and northern NSW "a splendid presentation ... From the principals to the supporting players, the players proved themselves to be artists of more than usual ability" 1949 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare Metropolitan Theatre, Christ Church St. Laurence Hall, Pitt St, Sydney " disappointment ... lacks unity of design and current of passion." "esigned for an unramped, ungalleried auditorium; and much of the .. action .. cannot be properly seen ... much of the dialogue .. cannot be clearly understood". "isappointingly presented ... There was a lack of gusto and vitality ... the actors indulged in individual character studies .. without any unifying mind to control aberrations ... The effectiveness of the final tomb scene illustrates the producer's capacity to use light Rembrandt-wise to create a sense of mystery; but for the most part she robbed the production of this invaluable aid." 1949 Shipwreck Douglas Stewart Christ Church St. Laurence Hall "fairly pulsates with life and raw action ... The whole production of this fine new Australian play is capably handled by all concerned... and the whole performance shows the firm, intelligent hand of its producer, May Hollinworth." 1949 Heartbreak House George Bernard Shaw Christ Church St. Laurence Hall "The cast chosen by May Hollinworth ... proceed through the marathon conversations dutifully, carefully, and with much stamina. But .. [without] the range of virtuosity to give wing sting or piercing pointedness to the incessant talk. ... [it was] acting below the Metropolitan's best standard". 1950 She Stoops to Conquer Oliver Goldsmith Christ Church St. Laurence Hall "May Hollinworth .. ensured the production would have plenty of visual appeal ... But the action of the comedy was stolid and tiring .... she went too far .. in toning down the comedy." "isappointing. Although well staged and competently directed .. the play fails to engage the audience's attention completely." 1950 The Chinese Lantern Laurence Housman Christ Church St. Laurence Hall "Miss Hollinworth keeps an excellent balance .. between Housman's urge to say something deep and the flippant sentimentalities that keep the profundities smothered. The acting is adequate, the occasional incongruities in it being no more ludicrous than the deliberate incongruities in Housman's writing."

Illness, retirement and guest directing Hollinworth became seriously ill during rehearsals for the Metropolitan Theatre's September 1950 production, Raymond, Lord of Milan She was hospitalised, and forced to hand over direction of the play to its star, Nigel Lovell. Benefit performances for a May Hollinworth Testimonial Fund were held by the Metropolitan Theatre and other Little Theatres. It was hoped that Hollinworth would return to directing the following year; I Am a Camera, also in 1955 (about which one reviewer wrote "May Hollinworth [..] took over from Miss Fitton when the production was in its early stages. In her own right each is a capable producer but the two styles did not mix, unfortunately, and the result was one of the most mundane productions to come from this theatre for some time"); Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo in 1956 (described as "a most lively and finished production by May Hollinworth, with precision and excellence of detail rare in repertory work"); William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba in 1957 ("another achievement for May Hollinworth as producer, and an achievement for the well-knit cast ... [they] fully earn the enthusiastic applause and the excellent house"); and Do You Know the Milky Way? by Karl Wittlinger in 1964 ("James Dibble and Robert Levis .... both .. achieved complete credibility in .. a play remarkable for its cohesion all well tended by the producer, Miss May Hollingworth."

In 1957, Hollinworth was invited by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust to direct the world premiere in Sydney of Richard Beynon's play The Shifting Heart, This fully professional production, in which the author played a key role, was considered "close to spectacular success", in which Hollinworth "directed her strong cast with sensitiveness and strength".

Hollinworth experienced ill health again from 1963, and joined the All Nations Club, which promoted cultural exchange between established and New Australians.

Hollinworth died in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, on 19 November 1968; her funeral, according to Anglican rites, was held at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney.