The Never Ending Vacation Continues

I write this on New Years Eve from what has become a regular house sitting visit to Melbourne, Australia. This is the fourth house sit for the same owners in as many years, and I have begun looking forward to my stay in the city as I explore its numerous alleys and cultural institutions (and bookshops), more and more. Here in no particular order are my favorite Melbourne haunts - places I return to again and again on each visit.

The National Galley of Victoria
Each year I return to the National Galley of Victoria to take in the latest exhibition, and to reacquaint myself with the permanent works of art on display there. However, like all major museums and galleries, the NGV pulls works out of storage and returns some of the items currently on show back to their storage vaults, so visitors never see exactly the same artists or work on return visits.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image
I wrote about the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) after my first visit there in January 2010, so I won't repeat myself again. Suffice to say, that I always enjoy returning to the Centre, not least because there is an excellent cinema complex on site, showing an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary movies.

Federation Square
The heart of Melbourne's revitalized downtown area, Federation Square features live music and arts performances on a regular basis throughout the summer months, and the giant outdoor screen is used for a variety of live broadcasts including tennis, Australian Rules Football, the Grand Prix, and numerous other events. Oh, and both the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and the National Gallery of Victoria are part of this massive complex.

Melbourne Museum
Completed in 2001, and located in the Carlton Gardens, the Melbourne Museum is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, and "provides a place for education, history, culture and society to engage with each other in a contemporary setting". The museum has seven main galleries, including a Children's Gallery and temporary exhibit space. Along with a couple of theatres, the museum is also home of the city's IMAX Theatre.

Queen Victoria Market
The QVM is a Melbourne institution covering several city blocks. There are hundreds of stalls selling everything from tea to T-shirts, exotic soaps, faux aboriginal trinkets, CDs and DVDs, and so much more. A section of the market is devoted to fresh fruit and vegetables, and the indoor food and delicatessen departments are a gourmands delight.

Arts Centre Melbourne
While I have never been to the Arts Centre to catch a performance in any of its venues, I have made a point of visiting to see free exhibitions that take place over the summer inside the main building. Over the past couple of years I have seen the raucous AC/DC exhibition and the wonderful Reg Livermore Take A Bow exhibition which I wrote about in an earlier post. I don't know who or what the current free exhibits feature but I am looking forward to checking them out as soon as possible.

Reg Livermore – Take a Bow

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Reg Livermore has been entertaining Australian audiences for over 50 years. Sadly, I have missed the majority of the many, many shows he has appeared in – either as part of an ensemble cast or in his one man shows – because Reg lives and performs mostly along the eastern seaboard of Australia, and rarely it seems, does he make it to Adelaide.

However, I count myself lucky to have at least seen him in his seminal one man shows Betty Blokk Buster Follies in 1976, and Sacred Cow II in 1981. I also saw his production of Ned Kelly when it toured to Adelaide in 1978, a show for which Reg was writer, director, and designer.

So I was absolutely delighted to see that the Arts Centre Melbourne, was staging an exhibition celebrating his extraordinary career, and that my visit to Melbourne coincided with the exhibition, which as of this writing I have already visited three times.

Reg Livermore – Take A Bow, showcases his groundbreaking solo shows that began with Betty Blokk Buster Follies, and features some of the many stage costumes worn during that, and other shows. Also on display is material from his personal archive, including show posters, manuscripts, interviews, and awards, all of which allow the visitor a rare glimpse into the creative talent of a true Australian theatre legend.

The centre piece of the exhibition features a giant screen replaying songs from Betty Blokk Buster Follies. And it is these songs and performances that have drawn me back to the exhibition several times already.

Betty Blokk Buster Follies DVD
Here is the promotional video for the Betty Blokk Buster Follies DVD:

Some of the costumes on display include those of the characters Tara The Incredible, Carmen Marahuana, Allison Diesel, Captain Jack, Joan of Arcadia, Vaseline Amalnitrate, and the immortal Betty Blokk Buster herself.

As an occasional performer myself, I have always been drawn to other singers and actors who are not afraid to completely inhabit the characters they play and give them full expression. Reg Livermore not only does that but he has never been afraid to tread where many other performers are afraid to tread. In recognition for his many years in theatre, Livermore was honoured as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1996, and in a special ceremony at Melbourne’s Docklands in 2006, Livermore was named one of 100 Australian Entertainers of the Century.

His latest show and tour Turns (with another legend of the Australian theatre Nancye Hayes), took place in 2011. At 73. Reg Livermore doesn’t look like he is ready to stop performing anytime soon, and Turns was just the latest in a long career that began in 1957 with Around The Loop, and has gone on to included television (as an actor and presenter), and appearances in more than 100 theatre and television shows.

Apart from his one person shows, and the dozens of other theatre performances he has been in, Reg Livermore has appeared in some of Australia’s biggest theatre productions including Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Rocky Horror Show, Barnum, Iolanthe, The Producers, and My Fair Lady.

I was delighted to see that a collection of songs from the Betty Blokk Buster Follies show is now available on CD and DVD, and these can be bought via Possum Records. Reg has also written an autobiography, Chapters and Chances a coffee table style photographic history, published in 2003, and he is currently completing a second volume, There Are Things I Haven't Told You. Chapters and Chances can be bought directly from Reg Livermore via his website, and I note that he is more than happy to sign copies of the book if you request it.

Both the book and the DVD can also be purchased at the Arts Centre Melbourne during the exhibition.

"On of the most extraordinary events in Australian theatre history - A brilliant star"

~ The National Times on Betty Blokk Buster Follies

I have made my own humble tribute to Reg Livermore using footage from the Take a Bow exhibition, edited to his beautiful performance of the Charles Aznavour song, What Makes a Man?

More information:

Reg Livermore – Take A Bow at Arts Centre Melbourne, Gallery 1
November.5, 2011 – February 23, 2012.

Open Daily | Free entry

Arts Centre Melbourne…

Reg Livermore website…

Reg Livermore on YouTube…

Possum Records…

Reg Livermore on The Midday Show (1996)

In 1996, Reg Livermore appeared on The Midday Show, and was interviewed by the shows host Kerri-Anne about his career, his Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) award, and other topics. You can see that interview here: