Phil Boas said YES in 1979 to seeing this new thing called Playback Theatre in New York and loved it. He invited the company to come to Australia in 1980 and Jonathan Fox, Jo Salas, Judy Swallow and Michael Clemente (d. 1992) said YES.
When Phil rang Bridget Brandon and Francis Batten (d. 2006) and asked them to sponsor the Sydney leg of the trip - a big undertaking and a big financial and organisational risk, they said YES.
Lots of individuals said YES to attending workshops in Playback Theatre and attending the first of three performances in Melbourne on June 28th and the first of two performances in Sydney on July 6.
And finally when Bridget, Francis and Mary Good (d. 2020) said they would like to start a Playback company in Sydney, Jonathan and Jo said YES.
I was inspired to speak to some of those involved in that trip in 1980 by a conversation with Bridget Brandon in 2015. I was part of a group from Sydney Playback that was presenting a workshop at the Montreal IPTN conference on company life. Bridget’s reflections on what were key elements of the Sydney company getting established and building the kind of foundation that would last 40 years were really thought provoking, and it was fascinating to hear how they dealt with some of the challenges the company was still facing all those years later.
All the people mentioned above (and many others) were instrumental in starting Playback in Australia. I hope you enjoy these reflections from a few of those involved in that trip in 1980 - Bridget Brandon, Mary Good, Peter Hall, Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas.
