Opening November 5, Reg Livermore – Take a Bow is a free exhibition which celebrates the remarkable career of iconic performer and theatre legend Reg Livermore, applauding his unique contribution to Australian performing arts as an actor and writer.
Reg Livermore – Take a Bow reflects on his journey from a young stage-struck boy with theatrical ambitions to his place as one of Australia’s foremost performers. It traces his first decade of professional acting with repertory theatre companies in the late 1950s and 1960s, his early roles on television and his subsequent move into rock musicals, which began with Hair (1969) and led to his role as Australia’s first Dr Frank’n’Furter in The Rocky Horror Show (1974).
Said Livermore about the exhibition: “I've been called many things over the course of my theatrical career...a national treasure... the King of the Boards... a genius at work... a legend ... etc etc (notice I only mention the good things). NOW they're telling me I'm a Museum Piece. Actually I take this as a compliment and very great honour. I am looking forward to the exhibition immensely, I'll be able to see exactly what I've been getting up to during the past 50+ years. I think you should find it interesting too. Put me in your diary."
Reg Livermore – Take a Bow features items from the Arts Centre’s Performing Arts Collection, including stage costumes donated by Livermore in 2006. Since 1975, the Arts Centre has assembled one of the best collections in the world, comprising more than 400,000 items relating to circus, dance, music, opera and theatre.
The priceless collection comprises costumes, posters, programmes and other personal memorabilia from artists ranging from the legendary Dame Nellie Melba to Dame Edna Everage, and her cultural successor, Kylie Minogue.
Highlights of the Performing Arts Collection which feature in the upcoming exhibition include those worn for Livermore’s best-known characters including Betty Blokk Buster, Vaseline Amalnitrate, Tara the Incredible and Carmen Marahuana.
In addition, Reg Livermore has provided access to his personal archive of photographs, posters, scripts, correspondence and production footage.
Livermore’s groundbreaking solo shows, which he wrote and performed during the 1970s and 1980s, are central to the exhibition. Innovative, outrageous and often controversial, these cabaret-style productions simultaneously entertained and challenged his audiences, and elevated Livermore to stardom. The creativity and reception of these shows is explored within the exhibition, beginning with Betty Blokk Buster Follies (1975), as well as Wonder Woman (1976–77), Sacred Cow (1979–80), Son of Betty (1980), Sacred Cow II (1982) and Firing Squad (1983).
The exhibition also pays tribute to Livermore’s second series of one-man shows in which he developed his long-term character, Leonard. Initiated in 1989 with Wish You Were Here, these followed Leonard’s escapades for over a decade, concluding with Home Sweet Home: Leonard’s Last Hurrah (1998–99). Other works written and performed by Livermore such as The Thank You Dinner (2001 & 2008) and Turns (2011) are also depicted in the exhibition.
Reg Livermore’s on-going involvement in musical theatre, both on and off stage, is also honoured. His contribution as a writer of musicals such as Ned Kelly (1977–78) is acknowledged, along with his success as a star of major productions including the title role of Barnum (1981–82), as Max Bialystock in The Producers (2004–05) and Professor Henry Higgins in Opera Australia’s My Fair Lady (2008). Livermore’s expert portrayal of character roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas for the Victorian Opera and Opera Australia is also represented.
Reg Livermore – Take a Bow is part of the Arts Centre’s Icon exhibition series; a major annual exhibition that celebrates the careers of Australia’s most recognised performing artists. Since the inaugural exhibition in 2005, the Icon exhibition series has been an outstanding success, attracting over two million visitors to the Arts Centre. Previous exhibitions have celebrated Australian icons including Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, Dame Edna Everage, and more recently women in the Australian music scene with the Rock Chicks exhibition.
Reg Livermore – Take a Bow 5 November 2011 – 26 February 2012 A FREE exhibition the Arts Centre, Gallery I