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John Hackman Sumner, CBE, AO (27 May 1924 – 24 May 2013) was an English-born director and producer and theatre impresario, who was the founder and artistic director of Melbourne Theatre Company in Australia, gathering a group of later internationally famous stars including Ray Lawler, Zoe Caldwell, Barry Humphries and Fred Parslow.

Biography

Sumner was born in England in May 1924. At an early age he attended the National Opera Studio (known then as London Opera Studio). He served in the British Merchant Navy in World War II before commencing his career in theatre in 1947 in Dundee, Scotland as assistant stage manager. He later became stage director and manager with H. M. Tennent Theatres in the west end of London before emigrating to Australia in 1952. In 1959, he married actress Patsy King.

In 1953, Sumner established the Union Theatre Repertory Company (UTRC), which later became the Melbourne Theatre Company, where he served as artistic director until 1955. After a short time in Sydney managing the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust he returned to Melbourne and resumed his role as artistic director in 1959, continuing until 1987.

He directed more than a hundred plays from Australia and overseas and having established the Melbourne Theatre company as a model for other state theatre companies.

Death

Sumner died in Melbourne on 24 May 2013, at the age of 88. He was survived by two daughters, Alice and Victoria. John also had a son, Justin, by his first wife, Karis Mond, granddaughter of the ICI founder Ludwig Mond, Lord Melchet. Justin Sumner currently lives in Cornwall.

Honours and awards

He was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 1971 and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1985.

In 2009, the main performance space in the Melbourne Theatre Company's Southbank Theatre was named in his honour.

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. In 2004, Sumner received the JC Williamson Award, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance.

References

1. "John Sumner".
2. ^ "John Sumner AO CBE b.1924". Hall of Fame. Live Performance Australia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
3. ^ "MTC Founder John Sumner Passes Away at 88". Broadwayworld.com. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
4. Hownslow, Thomas (25 May 2013). "Melbourne Theatre Company loses founder". The Age. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
5. 'Bridal Group at University' Melbourne Age 21 November 1959 p.7
6. "John Hackman Sumner". Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
7. "John Hackman Sumner, CBE". Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
8. "The Sumner". Melbourne Theatre Company. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
9. "Events & Programs". Live Performance Australia. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
10. "JC Williamson Award recipients". Helpmann Awards. Live Performance Australia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2022.

• 1924 births
• 2013 deaths
• Australian theatre directors
• Officers of the Order of Australia
• Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
• British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II
• British emigrants to Australia
• Helpmann Award winners