The Library’s Oral History and Folklore collection records the voices that describe our cultural, intellectual and social life.
Among those interviewed for the over 55,000 hours of recordings are performers and creative artists, some of whom feature in the Library's On Stage exhibition.
Robert Helpmann
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Actor, dancer, choreographer, artistic director—Sir Robert Helpmann (1909–1986) did it all.
Born in Mount Gambier, South Australia, in the 1930s he found success with the Vic-Wells Ballet in London. He starred in two of the great 1940s films: Laurence Olivier’s Henry V (1944) and The Red Shoes (1948), the latter of which he also choreographed.
Helpmann was named Australian of the Year for 1965, the year he was appointed co-artistic director (with Peggy van Praagh) of the Australian Ballet.
Listen to Sir Robert Helpmann interviewed by Hazel de Berg
Peggy Van Praagh
After Edouard Borovansky died, British dancer and teacher Peggy van Praagh (1910–1990) was invited to be artistic director of his ballet – The Borovansky Ballet.
In 1962 she became the Australian Ballet’s inaugural artistic director, a position she held until 1974 (and again in 1978). Praagh was stubborn and plain-speaking, with an ambitious vision for the company.
Listen to Van Praagh interviewed by Hazel de Berg
Kristian Fredrikson
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Born Frederick John Sams in New Zealand, Kristian Fredrikson (1940–2005) designed costumes and sets for Australian ballet, theatre and opera companies.
He was passionate about ballet and formed a productive artistic partnership with choreographer Graeme Murphy, the long-time artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company. In an oral history recorded with the library, Fredrikson said: ‘Graeme is like some magic thing that happened to me in my career’.
Listen to an excerpt from Fredrikson’s interview with Michelle Potter in the Esso Performing Arts Collection:
Irina Baronova
Irina Baronova (1919–2008) was one of the youngest members of the Ballets Russes when it toured Australia in 1938–39.
In an oral history recorded by the Library in 2007, she recalled what she remembered most: ‘The reception we were getting and the amount of people that came on the pier to see us off, people from the audience ... That was so touching … we never experienced [this] anywhere else’.
Listen to a different excerpt from Baronova’s interview with Michelle Potter in the Esso Performing Arts Collection:
Doris Fitton
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Doris Fitton ran Sydney’s bold experimental Independent Theatre for 47 years.
In an oral history recorded by Hazel de Berg, she said: ‘When I started the Independent Theatre in May 1930, I had two objects. The first one was to present the world’s best plays as well as we possibly could, and the other objects was the development of Australian talent’.
The Bushwhackers
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Folk historian and musician John Meredith was a major figure in folk music in Australia. In the 1950s he was a founding member of the folk group The Bushwhackers, which had an enormous influence in Australian folk music.
His extraordinary collection of recordings, manuscripts and instruments is held by the Library.
Listen to The Bushwhackers perform 'Click go the Shears'
Ruth Cracknell
Perhaps best known for her role in the much-loved television series Mother and Son (co-starring Garry McDonald), Ruth Cracknell (1925–2002) was a versatile star of the stage.
In 1977 she debuted her one-woman show Just Ruth, which she co-wrote with David Williamson and Alex Buzo for the South Australian Theatre Company. She played multiple characters in a series of sketches.
Listen to an excerpt from Cracknell’s address at the National Press Club:
On Stage is showing at the National Library of Australia from 4 March - 7 August 2022.
