Gregan McMahon
Encyclopedia
Gregan McMahon, CBE
(2 March 1874 - 30 August 1941)
was an Australia
n actor and theatrical producer
.
McMahon was born in Sydney
, elder son of John Terence McMahon, a clerk, and his wife Elizabeth, née Gregan. Both parents were emigrants from Ireland
. McMahon was educated at Sydney Grammar School
and St Ignatius' College, Riverview
. McMahon played in the Riverview football team, and took first-class honours in classics at his matriculation examination. McMahon graduated with a B.A.
at the University of Sydney
in 1896 and during his course, established a reputation as an amateur actor — a critic on one occasion spoke of his performance being so artistic that he seemed like a professional in a company of amateurs.
After university, McMahon was articled to a firm of solicitors at Sydney
, and remained there for some years. On 4 October 1899 McMahon married Mary Kate, daughter of Thomas Hungerford. In May 1900 he was invited by Robert Brough to join his comedy company. His first professional appearance was as the waiter in The Liars at Brisbane
in the beginning of June, and during the next 12 months he toured India and China playing a variety of small parts. Returning to Australia McMahon played with the William Hawtrey and Brough companies, and, by 1902 he was more important roles, including that of "Horace Parker", in A Message from Mars.
McMahon's establishment of the Melbourne Repertory Theatre Company (of which he was artistic director from 1911-1918 and 1926-1928) as an artistically and financially successful company is seen by some as the first Australian theatre company. Seasons followed in New Zealand
and Australia, largely in companies under the J. C. Williamson
management. Early in 1911 McMahon, who had been playing in Melbourne
, organized a repertory theatre movement. The first performances took place in June, the plays selected being St John Hankin
's The Two Mr Wetherbys, the second act of Sheridan's The Critic, and Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman
.
Among the plays McMahon produced from 1911-1917 were Candida, Getting Married, Major Barbara
, The Doctor's Dilemma, Man and Superman
, Fanny's First Play, You Never Can Tell, and Pygmalion
, all by George Bernard Shaw
; Rosmersholm
and An Enemy of the People
by Henrik Ibsen
; The Voysey Inheritance
and The Madras House by Granville Barker; The Pigeon, Strife and The Fugitive by Galsworthy; The Seagull
by Anton Chekhov
; The Mate by Arthur Schnitzler
, and many other plays by leading dramatists of the period, including several by Australian authors. McMahon is also seen as having brought the techniques and approaches of the Russian and Soviet theatre practitioners like Stanislavski and Meyerhold to Australian theatre.
World War I
had a significant effect on theatre and several leading actors enlisted. After the war McMahon returned to the professional stage and acted as producer for Williamson and other managers. In 1920 he arranged with the Messrs Tait to start a repertory movement in Sydney. This was carried on for several years, the productions including The Dover Road by Milne; Abraham Lincoln by John Drinkwater; Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman; Franz Molnar's Liliom
; Galsworthy's Foundations, Loyalties, and Windows; and many others.
With the break-up of the Sydney Repertory Theatre, the Sydney Players' Club was formed from its members, notably W. F. Jackson and S. R. Irving. Another notable alumnus was Doris Fitton
, who went on to found the Independent Theatre
.
In Melbourne in 1929 McMahon revived the repertory movement under the "Gregan McMahon Players" and in 11 years placed about 90 plays on the stage, including several of the later Shaw plays; Pirandello
's Right You Are and Six Characters in Search of an Author
; several plays by James Bridie
; and others by Galsworthy, Drinkwater, W. Somerset Maugham
, G. K. Chesterton
, Eugene O'Neill
, Sean O'Casey
, Daviot and Casella, in the presentation of which a generally high standard was reached. In spite of difficulties caused by war breaking out again, McMahon was still keeping up his standard of production when he died suddenly on 30 August 1941.
McMahon was survived by his wife, Mary Hungerford McMahon, whom he had married in 1899, and a son and a daughter. He was created CBE
in 1938.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(2 March 1874 - 30 August 1941)
was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n actor and theatrical producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
.
McMahon was born in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, elder son of John Terence McMahon, a clerk, and his wife Elizabeth, née Gregan. Both parents were emigrants from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. McMahon was educated at Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
and St Ignatius' College, Riverview
St Ignatius' College, Riverview
Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school for boys, located in Riverview, a small suburb situated on the Lane Cove River on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
. McMahon played in the Riverview football team, and took first-class honours in classics at his matriculation examination. McMahon graduated with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
in 1896 and during his course, established a reputation as an amateur actor — a critic on one occasion spoke of his performance being so artistic that he seemed like a professional in a company of amateurs.
After university, McMahon was articled to a firm of solicitors at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, and remained there for some years. On 4 October 1899 McMahon married Mary Kate, daughter of Thomas Hungerford. In May 1900 he was invited by Robert Brough to join his comedy company. His first professional appearance was as the waiter in The Liars at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in the beginning of June, and during the next 12 months he toured India and China playing a variety of small parts. Returning to Australia McMahon played with the William Hawtrey and Brough companies, and, by 1902 he was more important roles, including that of "Horace Parker", in A Message from Mars.
McMahon's establishment of the Melbourne Repertory Theatre Company (of which he was artistic director from 1911-1918 and 1926-1928) as an artistically and financially successful company is seen by some as the first Australian theatre company. Seasons followed in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Australia, largely in companies under the J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
management. Early in 1911 McMahon, who had been playing in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, organized a repertory theatre movement. The first performances took place in June, the plays selected being St John Hankin
St John Hankin
St. John Emile Clavering Hankin was a British Edwardian essayist and playwright. Along with George Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy, and Harley Granville-Barker, he was a major exponent of Edwardian "New Drama"...
's The Two Mr Wetherbys, the second act of Sheridan's The Critic, and Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman
John Gabriel Borkman
John Gabriel Borkman is the penultimate composition of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, written in 1896.-Plot:The Borkman family fortunes have been brought low by the imprisonment of John Gabriel who used his position as a bank manager to illegally speculate with his investors' money...
.
Among the plays McMahon produced from 1911-1917 were Candida, Getting Married, Major Barbara
Major Barbara (play)
Major Barbara is a three act play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907.-Setting:*London*Act I: Lady Britomart's house in Wilton Crescent*Act II: The Salvation Army shelter in West Ham...
, The Doctor's Dilemma, Man and Superman
Man and Superman
Man and Superman is a four-act drama, written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to calls for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. Man and Superman opened at The Royal Court Theatre in London on 23 May 1905, but with the omission of the 3rd Act...
, Fanny's First Play, You Never Can Tell, and Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
, all by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
; Rosmersholm
Rosmersholm
Rosmersholm is a play written in 1886 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. In the estimation of many critics the piece is Ibsen's masterwork, only equalled by The Wild Duck of 1884...
and An Enemy of the People
An Enemy of the People
An Enemy of the People is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen wrote it in response to the public outcry against his play Ghosts, which at that time was considered scandalous...
by Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
; The Voysey Inheritance
The Voysey Inheritance
The Voysey Inheritance is a play written by the English dramatist Harley Granville-Barker. Originally written in 1905, it was revived at the National Theatre in 2006.It is currently in the public domain.- See also :*...
and The Madras House by Granville Barker; The Pigeon, Strife and The Fugitive by Galsworthy; The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
; The Mate by Arthur Schnitzler
Arthur Schnitzler
Dr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
, and many other plays by leading dramatists of the period, including several by Australian authors. McMahon is also seen as having brought the techniques and approaches of the Russian and Soviet theatre practitioners like Stanislavski and Meyerhold to Australian theatre.
World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
had a significant effect on theatre and several leading actors enlisted. After the war McMahon returned to the professional stage and acted as producer for Williamson and other managers. In 1920 he arranged with the Messrs Tait to start a repertory movement in Sydney. This was carried on for several years, the productions including The Dover Road by Milne; Abraham Lincoln by John Drinkwater; Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman; Franz Molnar's Liliom
Liliom
Liliom is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was very famous in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.- Plot :...
; Galsworthy's Foundations, Loyalties, and Windows; and many others.
With the break-up of the Sydney Repertory Theatre, the Sydney Players' Club was formed from its members, notably W. F. Jackson and S. R. Irving. Another notable alumnus was Doris Fitton
Doris Fitton
Doris Alice Fitton Mason, DBE was an Australian actress and theatrical director who founded and for 35 years headed Sydney's Independent Theatre, staging a diverse range of local and international dramas, many for the first time in Australia, including Sumner Locke-Elliott's wartime comedy, Rusty...
, who went on to found the Independent Theatre
Independent Theatre
The Independent Theatre was a dramatic society founded in 1930 by Doris Fitton , and was also the name given to the building it occupied from 1938. It was named for London's Independent Theatre Society founded by J. T...
.
In Melbourne in 1929 McMahon revived the repertory movement under the "Gregan McMahon Players" and in 11 years placed about 90 plays on the stage, including several of the later Shaw plays; Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
's Right You Are and Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...
; several plays by James Bridie
James Bridie
James Bridie was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and surgeon whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor....
; and others by Galsworthy, Drinkwater, W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
, G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
, Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
, Sean O'Casey
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
, Daviot and Casella, in the presentation of which a generally high standard was reached. In spite of difficulties caused by war breaking out again, McMahon was still keeping up his standard of production when he died suddenly on 30 August 1941.
McMahon was survived by his wife, Mary Hungerford McMahon, whom he had married in 1899, and a son and a daughter. He was created CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in 1938.