AustLit

Scenic artist, actor, theatrical manager/lessee, entrepreneur.

OVERVIEW

One of Australia's leading scenic artists and theatrical managers of the late nineteenth century, W.J. Wilson was associated with many of the leading dramatists and industry practitioners to work the local stage. Notable were W. M. Akhurst, George Darrell, Garnet Walch, Walter H. Cooper, W. Horace Bent, Eduardo Majeroni, Luscombe Searelle, Williamson, Garner and Musgrove, F. E. Hiscocks, and Percy St John. During his career, he also collaborated with prominent scenic artists such as Alexander Habbe, William Pitt and Alfred Clint. After establishing himself as a scenic artist in Melbourne in the late 1850s, he cemented his reputation in Sydney, basing himself there as an entrepreneur/manager from the early 1870s onwards. His operations were based at various times out of the Queen's Theatre, Royal Victoria Theatre, the Alhambra Theatre, and, later, the Garrick Theatre. Although his career faltered during the difficult economic times of the early 1890s, he eventually recovered and returned to management at the Alhambra in 1898, in partnership with Percy St John. His last-known whereabouts are in 1907, at which time he was engaged by James Brennan as scenic artist at the National Amphitheatre.

BIOGRAPHY

1855-1880: W. J. Wilson's earliest association with Australia's theatre industry is believed to have occurred when he arrived in Melbourne in 1855 (possibly from England). Among his theatrical paintings during the late 1850s were at least three W. M. Akhurst pantomimes: Harlequin Whittington and His Cat (1857), in collaboration with William Pitt and Charles Fry; Harlequin Robin Hood (1858), with Alexander Habbe and P. M. Tannett; and The Yellow Dwarf (1859). In addition to his work as a scenic artist, Wilson also occasionally appeared on stage as an actor up until the early 1870s (Sydney Morning Herald 22 October 1895, p.6).

Around 1870-1871, Wilson and Habbe leased Sydney's old Queen's Theatre. The two men had collaborated on several productions at the Royal Adelphi in late 1869, including Charles Young's comedy A Model Husband and three works by Garnet Walch: the pantomime Love's Silver Dream (1969) and the burlesques Conrad the Corsair and Prometheus (1870). Sometime during that period, Wilson also undertook the part of Glavis in The Lady of Lyons, then being produced by the Bandmann-Palmer Company. A short time later, Wilson and Habbe leased the Royal Victoria, running both theatres simultaneously up until sometime around 1873 (Sydney Morning Herald 22 October 1895, p6). By this point in the partership, Habbe concentrated on scenic art production while Wilson focused more on various business aspects. One of the highlights of the Royal venture was the engagement of Mary Gladstone for her Australian debut (Sydney Morning Herald 22 Oct. 1895, p.6). Although the lease of Queen's Theatre was subsequently taken over by W.B. Gill (ca. 1873), Wilson remained there as the resident scenic artist. Among the productions Wilson painted during the 1870s were The Butcher Baronet (1972), Walter H. Cooper's Hazard (1872), and a number of works written by George Darrell, notably Friends of the Flag (1874), Back from the Grave (1877), and The Forlorn Hope in 1880.

1881-1889: For three years beginning in 1881, Wilson was sole lessee/manager of Sydney's Opera House. Among the companies to play seasons under his management was the Bent and Bachelder minstrel troupe (1882), co-run by leading Australian comic W. Horace Bent. He was joined in the management of the Opera House in 1884 by Eduardo Majeroni, with that partnership lasting for a further three years. Among the more significant productions staged by the pair were Luscombe Searelle and Walter Park's opera Bobadil (1884), and several more dramas by George Darrell, notably a revival of Back from the Grave (1884) and The Naked Truth and Man and Wife (both 1885). The management also took their own company, billed as Majeroni and Wilson's Grand Comic Opera Co, to Melbourne's Bijou Theatre in 1885. One of the productions staged was Searelle's Isidora. Wilson and Majeroni also presented the Bijou Comedy Company at the Opera House during the year, and contracted Searelle and Harding's Comic and English Opera Company to play there the following year. 1886 also saw them return to the Bijou with another company, staging such productions as George Darrell's The New Rush (27 Dec.) and The Soggarth (15 Jan. 1887). Another notable production staged by Majeroni and Wilson in 1887 was Walter S. Craven's Hide and Seek (Opera House, Syd; 26 Feb.).

In 1888, Wilson collaborated with George Gordon, John Brunton, and James Peake to produce scenic art for Williamson, Garner and Musgrove's Christmas pantomime, Sinbad the Sailor (Theatre Royal, Melbourne).

Following his Melbourne commitments with Williamson, Garner and Musgrove, Wilson returned to Sydney in 1889, taking over the lease of Sydney's Alhambra Theatre. The Sydney Morning Herald reported in August 1889 he was 'making a spirited bid for liberal patronage' (26 Aug. 1889, n. pag.) by engaging the Anglo-American Frolics. Two members of that troupe were his son, the actor/mimic Frank Hawthorne (see Historical Notes below), and Harry Clay (billed then as Henry Clay). Later that same year, Wilson engaged the popular Faust-Perman Combination to play the theatre.

1890-1907: In 1890, Wilson formed a partnership with F. E. Hiscocks to lease and manage the newly built Garrick Theatre in Castlereagh Street, Sydney. It later became Harry Rickards' first Tivoli Theatre. Seating 1,000 people (ctd. Thorne p.198), the Garrick opened on 23 December with Henry Hamilton's play Moths, with Charles Cartright (also director) and Olga Nethersole playing the lead roles. Wilson provided the scenic art for acts 1 and 4, while W. B. Spong painted acts 2 and 3. One of the partnership's big productions the following year was the John F. Sheridan burlesque Black Eyed Susan. Wilson also provided the scenic art for the production.

It appears, however, that sometime after the season closed, Wilson was forced to retire from full-time management, possibly as a result of the economic depression that had by then begun to decimate the local theatre industry. Evidence supporting this suggestion comes from comments published in the lead-up to a benefit accorded Wilson in October 1895 at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. At a meeting organised for the purpose of arranging the benefit, W. J. Trickett alluded to the lack of any organised assistance for fellow practitioners in times of need, and thanked those who had already pledged support for the event (Sydney Morning Herald 1 June 1895, p.10). Among those who donated their time were Frank Hawthorne, Carden Wilson, Johnson Weir, Arthur Garner, Irve Hayman, George Lauri, Marrietta Nash, and George Selwyn, along with members of the Tivoli and Empire theatres. The Woods and Marshall Dramatic Company, which had the lease of Her Majesty's, also provided representation, along with the use of the theatre.

In 1898, Wilson returned to theatrical management, forming an entrepreneurial partnership with well-known burlesque/pantomime writer and actor Percy St John. After taking over the lease of the Alhambra Theatre (formerly the Alhambra Music Hall and headquarters of Frank Smith), they presented St John and Wilson's Alabama Minstrels and Burlesque Company. The opening production, Sinbad the Sailor, ran for two weeks from 1 October. Comprising a number of leading Australian (or Australian-based) performers, notably John Coleman and Maud Fanning, the company was accorded good patronage throughout the season. The Sydney Morning Herald noted in this regard:

• 'The Alhambra Theatre, once well-known to theatre-goers, was reopened on Saturday night. Messrs Percy St John and W. J. Wilson are the new lessees. Their object in opening this theatre was to tap a population that never comes to the city theatres. It is well-known that the people of George Street frequent their own quarter only. Messrs St John and Wilson have every reason to feel gratified at the success which on the opening night attended their venture. The house was crammed in every department. There was a minstrel and variety concert followed by a burlesque' (3 October 1898, p.3)

Among the other feature productions staged that year were St John's pantomime Humpty Dumpty (5-18 Nov.) and a burlesque of his Cinderella pantomime, entitled Cinder-Ellen. Wilson and St John ended their season at the Alhambra in early January 1899. The lease was subsequently taken up by R. and W. Whitfield.

Little is known of Wilson's career after 1899, apart from his association with James Brennan at the National Amphitheatre (Sydney) around 1906/1907. Advertising from that period indicates that he was engaged as the theatre's permanent scenic artist (see, for example, Sydney Morning Herald 23 Feb. 1907, p.2). He died at his home in Sydney from bronchitus aged 75 years.