Comments on: Coralie Condon’s contributions to theatre and television in WA

By: Iris Wood

Iris Wood — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 12:39:49 +0000

Am I mistaken? I have a vivid recollection of Coralie running a sort of “teenage hangout” in the late 50’s or maybe early 60’s. It was in an old part of Perth, probably the cultural centre as there were varies rooms and courtyards. The Old goal behind the museum comes to mind. I recall they had a performance of the Bee Gees when they were very very young. My mother told me a bit about Coralie’s career. Seems to me she never had time for this sort of thing. I would be interested to know if anyone remembers this venue.

By: Bruce Hartley

Bruce Hartley — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 01:27:21 +0000

Of course the Heath Ledger Theatre at the Perth Arts centre should have been named after one of the people named in this article, Coralie, Frank Baden-Powell, Ray Omodei and most of the others mentioned, did so much more than Heath Ledger, for local theatre andn aren’t recognised. Even the Subiaco Theatre Centre space, was to be amed after Frank Baden-Powell, but the conservatives got in and forgot about it. It’s a shame now that this space and most theatres around Perth are quiet, there is no live theatre to speak of in this cultural desert.

By: Leonie Stickland

Leonie Stickland — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 08:31:39 +0000

Coralie was my drama teacher at the St George’s Cathedral Children’s Drama Group on Saturday mornings from 1968 — I vividly remember the purple roneoed scripts she handed out on my first day, and the speech exercises we did, saying ‘Bob!’ and ‘Five!’ to stretch our jaws and vowels. Every Saturday was awaited impatiently, as Coralie and our subsequent teachers (Chris Winzar, Barry Underwood, Christine Mearing and others) led us into the wonderful world of theatrical make-believe.
My mother had known Coralie since the days of Patch Theatre in the 1950s, and spoke of how such amateur drama and dance groups had nurtured many later stars and stalwarts of Australian television.
Those first classes in the old buildings that used to stand behind the Cathedral implanted in me a passion for drama that has never abated, though my career has been in teaching Japanese language, though that, in turn, was inspired by a Japanese musical theatre company, the Takarazuka Revue, about which I eventually wrote a PhD thesis!
Much love to Coralie.
Leonie Stickland
Murdoch University

By: ken

ken — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 13:55:05 +0000

Thank you for the kind words Murray

‘Guys and Dolls’ was also the name of the four person dance group consisting of Judy Schonell, Dorothy & Bert Shaw and Reg Whiteman. Reg became the very first Fat Cat, though on the occasion of the above photo Reg was having a sickie and another chap stepped in.

Judy Schonell is the mum of the former Hollywood actor Marcus Graham, who most recently played Melbourne underworld figures in two Australian television dramas, 1995’s Blue Murder and 2008’s Underbelly.

Your kind words have been passed onto the birthday girl… whose memory beats us all when it comes to those early days.

By: Murray Jennings

Murray Jennings — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:42:10 +0000

Excellent material, Ken. Well done! Congratulations and Happy Birthday to Coralie.
But surely, the four dancers in 10 gallon hats were performing in ‘Oklahoma’, not ‘Guys and Dolls’.
Murray Jennings and Rosalind Jennings (nee Ord)

By: Megan

Megan — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:39:49 +0000

it was very interesting to read this, especially considering this is my great aunt! I managed to come across this article, and while I knew a lot of the information, it was very good to see all the old clips of “The Good Oil”.