Doreen Warburton

Evelyn Doreen Warburton OBE (22 March 1930 – 19 July 2017) was an Australian actress, director, and theatre co-founder.

Doreen Warburton

OBE
Warburton in 1953
Born(1930-03-22)22 March 1930
London, England
Died19 July 2017(2017-07-19) (aged 87)
West Gosford, New South Wales, Australia
Occupations
  • Actress
  • artistic director
  • theatre co-founder
Years active1948-1989
EmployerQ Theatre
SpouseBen Gabriel

Biography

Evelyn Doreen Warburton was born in London, England on 22 March 1930.[1] At 18 she began her theatre career with the Theatre Workshop, a company where all performers received equal pay and which toured, not just England but also to Scandinavia and Germany.[2]

In 1953 she migrated to Australia to join her family, who had arrived in 1949 and seeking radio work.[3] She made her Australian stage debut in The Shop at Sly Corner at the opening of the Apollo Theatre in Manly[4] and then toured New South Wales in Love From a Stranger.[5][6]

Warburton became a full-time actress in 1959 when she joined the Young Elizabethans and toured Australia for three years bringing Shakespeare's plays to school children.[3]

With actors Ben Gabriel, Edward Hepple, Robert McDarra, Terry McDermott and Walter Sullivan, she was co-founder of the Q Theatre in 1963. Initially giving lunchtime performances at Circular Quay, the company also visited building sites and factories across Australia to bring theatre to the workers.[3] In 1977 the company moved to a permanent venue in Penrith, opening with the musical Lock Up Your Daughters.[7]

As artistic director, Warburton oversaw 81 productions for Q Theatre from 1977 until her retirement in 1989.[3] In 1979 she was the first woman to direct a play at the Sydney Opera House.[8]

Warburton was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1979 Birthday Honours for service to theatre.[9]

Personal

Warburton married fellow actor Ben Gabriel in 1969, who predeceased her in 2012.[10] She died at West Gosford on 19 July 2017.[1]

Selected filmography

References
  1. "Warburton, Doreen". The Dictionary of Sydney. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  2. "No star system in unique stage group". The Sun. No. 13, 441. New South Wales, Australia. 9 March 1953. p. 14 (Late Final Extra). Retrieved 10 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Doreen Warburton, stalwart of Sydney theatre for more than three decades". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  4. "Films and Theatres". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XVIII, no. 15. New South Wales, Australia. 9 April 1953. p. 24. Retrieved 10 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Love From A Stranger". Lithgow Mercury. New South Wales, Australia. 30 June 1953. p. 4 (City Edition). Retrieved 10 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Thriller-Comedy on Monday Night". The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder. Vol. 43, no. 4233. New South Wales, Australia. 10 July 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 10 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Q Theatre". The Dictionary of Sydney. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  8. Turner, Bunty (30 May 1979). "Doreen Warburton making history at the Opera House". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 46, no. 52. p. 12. Retrieved 10 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Mrs Evelyn Doreen Warburton". It's an Honour. 16 June 1979. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  10. Anderson, Doug (30 May 2012). "All-rounder was always on a role". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
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