Barbara Angell
Encyclopedia
Barbara Angell – also known as Barb Angell and sometimes wrongly credited as Barbara Angel – Australian writer and actor was Australia's first female television comedy writer-entertainer (See book citations below). She was born in Melbourne on 6 March 1935 and educated at Presbyterian Ladies' College
.
under Brett Randall and Irene Mitchell, for whom she debuted in their 1955 production of The Guinea Pig. She worked as a dancer-comedian with the Tivoli Circuit
from 1955–8, and in comedy sketches. She was in Melbourne’s first TV variety show, a live weekly program called Tivoli Party Time (1956–7), as one of the nuclear cast that featured her with Buster Fiddess, Iris Shand and Don Williams. In this show she wrote her own comedy material.
She visited the UK in 1959–60 where she performed a solo cabaret act, further featuring her comedy sketches, music and lyrics http://www.theartscentre.com.au/discover/collections-and-research/performing-arts-collection-directory/theatre-collection.aspx?filter=2566&view=list#listing. On returning to Australia she formed a Revue company at Melbourne's Arrow Theatre and co-wrote and produced a series of stage shows including Outrageous Fortune(see Harmer, Wendy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0868193836 It’s a Joke, Joyce], Pan Books 1989). On stage she starred again for the Tivoli in Lilac Time with John Larsen
and in The Wizard of Oz as Glinda the Good Witch opposite Reg Livermore
's Wicked Witch. Under the guidance of John McCallum
at J.C. Williamsons, she understudied Jill Perryman
in Carnival and Maggie Fitzgibbon
in Noel Coward
's Sail Away. She wrote TV sketches, music and lyrics for the satirical The Mavis Bramston Show
from Episode 1 throughout its 4 year run and starred in it with Ron Frazer during its last 2 years http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057767/.
Following the Australian tour with Madge Ryan
for J.C. Williamsons in Peter Schaffer’s play Black Comedy she returned to England in 1969, where she spent the next 20 years appearing on stage, in films and TV dramas and comedies http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0029623/. She was production co-ordinator of the Association of Australian Artistes
, based at the Australian High Commission in London. She leased The Arts Theatre in Great Newport Street, WC2, for lunchtime theatre in the 1970s and directed a series of plays including some of her own. She wrote TV sketches for Dave Allen
and became a script assessor for the BBC's light entertainment department. Her TV play Some Day Man won a nationwide competition in the U.K. and was produced by David Cunliffe
for Yorkshire Television
in 1987 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1393239/.
In 2005 Barbara played a Cameo Role in the movie "Superman Returns" filmed at Fox Studios Sydney Australia.
), her second, Voyage To Port Phillip, 1803 in 1983 (Nepean Historical Society)http://protocat.nla.gov.au/Record/2722600 her third book A Woman’s War in 2003 (New Holland Publishers
) but most of her writing career has been for television and the stage. Her latest book The Coral Browne
Story: Theatrical Life and Times of a Lustrous Australian was published in Sydney in May 2007 by her own company Angell Productions Pty Limited http://www.themonthly.com.au/tm/node/745
, her major paper being Another Coral Browne Story: analysis of the continuing export of Australia’s performing arts talent (yet to be published). She continues to teach and to write.
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne , is an independent,private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school predominantly for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
.
Career
She began as an actress with Melbourne's Little TheatreLittle Theatre
The Little Theatre in Rochester, New York, commonly known as "The Little" is a movie theatre located on historic East Avenue in downtown Rochester, New York and a modest non-profit multiplex specializing in art film, including independent and foreign productions outside the United States.Founded in...
under Brett Randall and Irene Mitchell, for whom she debuted in their 1955 production of The Guinea Pig. She worked as a dancer-comedian with the Tivoli Circuit
Tivoli circuit
The Tivoli Circuit was a successful and popular Australian entertainment circuit which flourished from 1893 and the 1950s. The circuit suffered a catastrophic decline in popularity after the introduction of television in Australia in 1956, and the last Tivoli show was staged in 1966.-History:The...
from 1955–8, and in comedy sketches. She was in Melbourne’s first TV variety show, a live weekly program called Tivoli Party Time (1956–7), as one of the nuclear cast that featured her with Buster Fiddess, Iris Shand and Don Williams. In this show she wrote her own comedy material.
She visited the UK in 1959–60 where she performed a solo cabaret act, further featuring her comedy sketches, music and lyrics http://www.theartscentre.com.au/discover/collections-and-research/performing-arts-collection-directory/theatre-collection.aspx?filter=2566&view=list#listing. On returning to Australia she formed a Revue company at Melbourne's Arrow Theatre and co-wrote and produced a series of stage shows including Outrageous Fortune(see Harmer, Wendy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0868193836 It’s a Joke, Joyce], Pan Books 1989). On stage she starred again for the Tivoli in Lilac Time with John Larsen
John Larsen
John Harry Larsen was a Norwegian rifle shooter who competed after World War II.He was born in Østre Aker and died in Oslo....
and in The Wizard of Oz as Glinda the Good Witch opposite Reg Livermore
Reg Livermore
Reginald Dawson Livermore AO is an Australian actor, singer, theatrical performer and television presenter.-Childhood:From a young age, Livermore demonstrated an interest in the performing arts...
's Wicked Witch. Under the guidance of John McCallum
John McCallum
John McCallum, PC, MP is a Liberal Canadian politician, economist and university professor. Following the 2006 Federal Election, he became the Liberal Finance Critic in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet...
at J.C. Williamsons, she understudied Jill Perryman
Jill Perryman
Jill Perryman AM MBE is an Australian stage actress and singer, born in Melbourne. Her parents and her sister were all prominent in Australian theatre. At the age of 19, she joined J.C...
in Carnival and Maggie Fitzgibbon
Maggie Fitzgibbon
Maggie Fitzgibbon, an Australian actress and singer, was born in Melbourne on 30 January 1929. Coming from a show-business family, Maggie is the sister of the late Smacka Fitzgibbon. She began her career as operatic soprano Margaret Fitzgibbon with the Tivoli Circuit in 1946 before graduating to...
in Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Sail Away. She wrote TV sketches, music and lyrics for the satirical The Mavis Bramston Show
The Mavis Bramston Show
The Mavis Bramston Show was a popular and award-winning Australian TV satirical sketch comedy series of the mid-1960s.-Introduction:The tremendous impact that The Mavis Bramston Show had in Australia in the mid-1960s was heightened because of its unique place in the history of the Australian TV...
from Episode 1 throughout its 4 year run and starred in it with Ron Frazer during its last 2 years http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057767/.
Following the Australian tour with Madge Ryan
Madge Ryan
Madge Ryan was an Australian film, theatre and television actress.-Career:Already an established theatre actor in Sydney, Australia, she emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1957 and starred in many British stage shows...
for J.C. Williamsons in Peter Schaffer’s play Black Comedy she returned to England in 1969, where she spent the next 20 years appearing on stage, in films and TV dramas and comedies http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0029623/. She was production co-ordinator of the Association of Australian Artistes
Association of Australian Artistes
The Association of Australian Artistes was established in London in 1975 by Australian expatriate James Hunt. It was based at Australia House and its aims and objectives were to present new Australian plays around London's Fringe featuring professional Australian actors then living in London...
, based at the Australian High Commission in London. She leased The Arts Theatre in Great Newport Street, WC2, for lunchtime theatre in the 1970s and directed a series of plays including some of her own. She wrote TV sketches for Dave Allen
Dave Allen (comedian)
David Tynan O'Mahoney , better known as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, very popular in Great Britain, Australia, and Canada in the 1960s and 1970s. He also became known in the United States through repeats of his shows on public television. His career had a major resurgence during the late...
and became a script assessor for the BBC's light entertainment department. Her TV play Some Day Man won a nationwide competition in the U.K. and was produced by David Cunliffe
David Cunliffe
David Richard Cunliffe is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party, and the sitting member of parliament for New Lynn, West Auckland. He served as the Minister of Health and Minister for Communications and Information Technology for the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand...
for Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
in 1987 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1393239/.
In 2005 Barbara played a Cameo Role in the movie "Superman Returns" filmed at Fox Studios Sydney Australia.
Publications
Her first book The Entertainment Machine was published in 1972 (HorwitzHorwitz
-People:*Bernhard Horwitz chess player*Brian Horwitz, American major league baseball outfielder* Harry Moses Horwitz, aka Moe Howard of the Three Stooges.* Jerome Lester Horwitz, aka Curly Howard of the Three Stooges....
), her second, Voyage To Port Phillip, 1803 in 1983 (Nepean Historical Society)http://protocat.nla.gov.au/Record/2722600 her third book A Woman’s War in 2003 (New Holland Publishers
New Holland Publishers
New Holland Publishers is an international book and map publisher with a head office in South Africa and offices in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.-External links:****...
) but most of her writing career has been for television and the stage. Her latest book The Coral Browne
Coral Browne
Coral Browne was an Australian-American stage and screen actress.-Career:Coral Edith Brown was the only daughter of a restaurant-owner. She and her two brothers were raised in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, where she studied at the National Gallery Art School...
Story: Theatrical Life and Times of a Lustrous Australian was published in Sydney in May 2007 by her own company Angell Productions Pty Limited http://www.themonthly.com.au/tm/node/745
Community work
Barbare Angell served on the Council of the Alzheimer's Disease Society in UK and Australia (now known as Alzheimer's Australia), was President of the NSW (1991–3) and National chapters (1993–4). She is currently Director of Performing Arts for the Hornsby Arts Council http://www.hornsbyartscouncil.org.au.Education
In 2008 she completed a professional research doctorate in Visual and Performing Arts with Charles Sturt UniversityCharles Sturt University
Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus university located in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. It has campuses at Bathurst, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Goulburn, Orange, Wagga Wagga and Burlington, Ontario...
, her major paper being Another Coral Browne Story: analysis of the continuing export of Australia’s performing arts talent (yet to be published). She continues to teach and to write.
Further reading
- History Magazine, No. 96, June 2008, P.15; North Shore Times, Friday, 18 January 2008; Sydney Observer, December 2007, p. 55; The Monthly, Issue 30, December 2007 – January 2008, p. 76; On Stage, Vol 8 No. 3, Winter 2007, p. 30
- Van Straten, Frank, Tivoli,Thomas C. Lothian Pty Ltd, 2003, p. 203; Harmer, Wendy, It's a Joke, Joyce, Pan Books, 1989, p. 57-60
External links
- The Mavis Bramston ShowThe Mavis Bramston ShowThe Mavis Bramston Show was a popular and award-winning Australian TV satirical sketch comedy series of the mid-1960s.-Introduction:The tremendous impact that The Mavis Bramston Show had in Australia in the mid-1960s was heightened because of its unique place in the history of the Australian TV...
: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057767/ - Some Day Man, TSW Education Dept, Plymouth, UK: http://www.kellybooks.net/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=53059&CLSN_1660=12192821611660afe5c2f93847c30d7a