A Quarter-Century Later, A Groundbreaking Role Finds New Life on Stage
Fifty years ago, a theatrical poster featuring a boy with a cigarette sparked a young Simon Burke’s ambition. He’d seen Nimrod Theatre Company’s poster for The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin and, having recently worked with the play’s director, Richard Wherrett, on Kookaburra and even played a prince in Richard III, he couldn’t fathom why he hadn’t been considered for the role. Little did the aspiring actor know that the poster was somewhat misleading; the groundbreaking play by Steve J. Spears didn’t feature a teenage boy. Instead, it called for a single, middle-aged man, a role famously brought to life by Gordon Chater in the 1976 premiere.
Fast forward to the present day, and Burke, now 50, finds himself inhabiting the same intimate Downstairs Theatre at Belvoir, but this time he’s portraying the larger-than-life character of Robert O’Brien. O’Brien is an elocution teacher who navigates a clandestine existence as a gay man and transvestite during a period when homosexuality was still a criminal offence.
Declan Greene, artistic director of Griffin Theatre Company, believes the timing is particularly poignant for a revival. With a palpable sense of renewed danger for queer individuals, he felt it was an “interesting time to pick up the play and re-examine it.”
Greene also situates The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin within a significant cultural moment in Australia. This era saw a surge of flamboyant, queer-oriented entertainment on Australian stages, including The Rocky Horror Show, which starred the iconic Reg Livermore, and Livermore’s own Betty Blokk Buster Follies. The provocative rock band Skyhooks, whose music the play references, also contributed to this vibrant cultural landscape.
Both Burke and Greene hold Robert O’Brien in high regard, considering it one of the most significant roles in Australian theatre history. Burke expresses his astonishment that the character was penned by a “23-year-old straight guy!” He elaborates on the richness of Spears’ writing, noting, “In terms of the experience of the life that he’s investigating and portraying, you look at the writing and the vernacular, and every line is filled with so much possibility of how to play that. It’s like Mozart writing symphonies when he’s seven.”
This role, Burke’s most substantial to date, necessitated a departure from his usual rehearsal preparation. Burke admits to a peculiar habit: “I hate to come to rehearsal knowing the script.” He prefers to allow the director and fellow actors to shape the work organically, explaining, “I usually carry a script until the fourth week – longer than anyone else. Even if I know my lines, it’s some kind of security blanket.”
However, the demands of O’Brien’s character compelled a shift. “Then I realised, about three or four weeks before rehearsals, that this wasn’t going to cut it,” Burke confesses. “So I tried to get down as much of it as possible. I didn’t go out Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve. I was just studying it.”
This intensive preparation laid the groundwork for a deeply collaborative process between Burke and Greene. Their work involved delving into the nuances of O’Brien’s world, including devising backstories for the unseen and unheard characters with whom O’Brien interacts.
Greene describes the creative journey as “really fun.” He draws a parallel to Gordon Chater’s own experience with the play, recalling Chater’s autobiography. “He talks about the demands that he made before he started rehearsing it,” Greene explains. “He said to Richard Wherrett that he would come in completely off book on the first day, but he also wanted every single prop and costume on stage, right from the beginning of the process.”
Inspired by this approach, Greene aimed to replicate a similar immersive environment for Burke. “Reading that, I went, ‘There’s a sense in that.’ So we’ve tried to have everything Simon needs on the floor from day one of rehearsal because there’s a complex choreography that goes along with the text, with countless props.”
Greene’s admiration for the play dates back to his teenage years. His collaboration with Burke in 2017 solidified his belief that Burke possessed the necessary “dexterity, theatre-making craft, charisma and all the things that you need to tackle this huge role.”
Initially, Greene proposed the idea to Burke without immediate pressure. However, when it became clear that the play’s 50th anniversary would align with Griffin Theatre Company’s residency in the Downstairs Theatre, the decision to stage the production became undeniable.
The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin is showing at the Downstairs Theatre, Belvoir, until March 29.
