AustLit

'Robert Helpmann: The Many Faces of a Theatrical Dynamo supplements the three existing biographies of Helpmann with its variety of authors’ perspectives, which afford reflection upon a rich period of twentieth-century theatre and dance, with Helpmann as protagonist. This collection of essays and interviews, deriving from a symposium held by the Royal Ballet School in 2013, celebrate a remarkable performer with amazing range and a prodigious international career of accomplishments across ballet, theatre and film, as dancer, actor, director and choreographer. The volume is dedicated to the late David Drew, who ‘ardently wished to see Helpmann’s ballets re-staged and his theatrical genius re-discovered by a younger generation’ (xvii). If this were the aim of this book – to share the legacy of this Australian-born star of stage and screen with a younger generation of performance viewers/ consumers/ practitioners – I am doubtful whether it would achieve the stated goal. The book offers some very interesting chapters and a lot of beautiful photographs, but with this appeal to new readers and  viewers in mind, I did hope that the editors would focus their reflections through contemporary performance discourse and go further to draw out Helpmann’s legacy through the lens of now.' 

 (Introduction)