John Sumner (director)
{{Short description|English-born director}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2017}}
{{infobox person
| image=
| caption=
| name = John Sumner
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100|sep=,|CBE|AO}}
| birth_name= John Hackman Sumner
| education = National Opera Studio
| occupation = {{hlist|Director|producer|theatre founder|artistic director|theatre manager|costume designer|set manager|author|administrator}}{{cite web|url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/198|title=John Sumner}}
| years_active = 1947–1987 (retired)
| known_for = {{bulleted|Manager and stage director at H.M. Tennent Theatres|Manager of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust 1952-1955|Founder and director of the Melbourne Theatre Company 1953–1955, 1959–1987}}
| birth_place = England, United Kingdom
| birth_date = 27 May 1924
| death_place = Melbourne, Australia
| death_date = 24 May 2013 (aged 88)
| spouse = Patsy King (married, 1959– unknown-?)
| awards = Helpmann Award
}}
John Hackman Sumner, {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100|sep=,|CBE|AO}} (27 May 1924{{spaced ndash}}24 May 2013) was an English-born director and producer and theatre impresario, who was the founder and artistic director of Melbourne Theatre Company in Australia, gathering a group of later internationally famous stars including Ray Lawler, Zoe Caldwell, Barry Humphries and Fred Parslow.{{cite web|title=John Sumner AO CBE b.1924|work=Hall of Fame|publisher=Live Performance Australia|url=http://www.liveperformance.com.au/halloffame/johnsumner1.html|accessdate=25 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305194023/http://www.liveperformance.com.au/halloffame/johnsumner1.html|archive-date=5 March 2019|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=MTC Founder John Sumner Passes Away at 88|publisher=Broadwayworld.com|date=24 May 2013|url=http://australia.broadwayworld.com/article/MTC-Founder-John-Sumner-Passes-Away-at-88-20130524|accessdate=25 May 2013}}{{cite web|author=Hownslow, Thomas|title=Melbourne Theatre Company loses founder|work=The Age|date=25 May 2013|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-theatre-company-loses-founder-20130525-2n3fw.html|accessdate=25 May 2013}}
Biography
Sumner was born in England in May 1924. At an early age he attended the National Opera Studio (known then as London Opera Studio). He served in the British Merchant Navy in World War II before commencing his career in theatre in 1947 in Dundee, Scotland as assistant stage manager. He later became stage director and manager with H. M. Tennent Theatres in the west end of London before emigrating to Australia in 1952. In 1959, he married actress Patsy King.'Bridal Group at University' Melbourne Age 21 November 1959 p.7
In 1953, Sumner established the Union Theatre Repertory Company (UTRC), which later became the Melbourne Theatre Company, where he served as artistic director until 1955. After a short time in Sydney managing the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust he returned to Melbourne and resumed his role as artistic director in 1959, continuing until 1987.
He directed more than a hundred plays from Australia and overseas and having established the Melbourne Theatre company as a model for other state theatre companies.
Death
Sumner died in Melbourne on 24 May 2013, at the age of 88. He was survived by two daughters, Alice and Victoria.
John also had a son, Justin, by his first wife, Karis Mond, granddaughter of the ICI founder Ludwig Mond, Lord Melchet. Justin Sumner currently lives in Cornwall.
Honours and awards
He was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 1971{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=John Hackman Sumner|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1064455|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-21|website=Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet}} and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1985.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=John Hackman Sumner, CBE|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870085|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-21|website=Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet}}
In 2009, the main performance space in the Melbourne Theatre Company's Southbank Theatre was named in his honour.{{cite web|title=The Sumner|publisher=Melbourne Theatre Company|url=http://www.mtc.com.au/southbanktheatre/thesumner.aspx|accessdate=25 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419191714/https://www.mtc.com.au/southbanktheatre/thesumner.aspx|archive-date=19 April 2013|url-status=dead}}
=Helpmann Awards=
The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001.{{cite web | title=Events & Programs| website=Live Performance Australia | url=https://liveperformance.com.au/events-programs/ | access-date=17 August 2022}} In 2004, Sumner received the JC Williamson Award, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance.{{cite web |url=http://helpmannawards.com.au/default.aspx?s=recipients |title=JC Williamson Award recipients |accessdate=17 August 2022 |work=Helpmann Awards |publisher=Live Performance Australia |archive-date=21 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321094228/http://helpmannawards.com.au/default.aspx?s=recipients |url-status=dead }}
{{awards table}}
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| 2004 || Himself || JC Williamson Award || {{yes2|Awarded}}
|-
{{end}}
References
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Category:Australian theatre directors
Category:Officers of the Order of Australia
Category:Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Category:British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II