David Branson
Encyclopedia
David Branson was an Australian
theatre director, actor, and writer.
David Branson's father John was an Antarctic scientist, and his mother Margaret a school librarian. Branson attended Hackett
Primary School, Watson
High, and Dickson College
in Canberra. He was regular churchgoer and a member of many youth groups.
Branson was a dynamic thespian and theatre-worker. He worked with community groups, youth theatres, Repertory Theatre, and groups of his own devising to create innumerable productions. He played the violin in the Canberra Youth Orchestra and in many local bands such as The Black Dogs, The Plunderers, and The Gadflys. He was a member of among others: the Doug Anthony Allstars, Found Objects, and the Performing Arts Cafe.
In 1985 Branson, Ross Cameron, John Utans, and Patrick Troy founded Splinters Theatre of Spectacle
which had its origins in mediaevalist antics in Canberra's inner north
.
Splinters staged several large productions, sometimes involving hundreds of people, fire sculptures, giant puppets, & large moving metal sculptures.
Early Splinters performances were at a now-demolished weatherboard cottage in Downer, and the Causeway Hall at Kingston, as well as backyards in the inner north. Splinters made good use of crowd manipulation
.
During his time with Splinters he was involved in more than 20 productions including Cry Stinking Fish (1987) as part of the Melbourne Spoleto Festival, Gumboot Full of Blood (1988), Cathedral of Flesh (1992) (winner Best Promenade Theatre Performance Award in the Adelaide Fringe Festival
, Guardians of the Concourse (1993, National Festival of Australian Theatre, Canberra), Utopia/Distopia (1995, Springbank Island, Canberra), and Faust - The Heat of Knowledge (1996, 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Australian National University).
After theatre studies in Melbourne, Branson worked as an actor with many different companies including La Mama Theatre. As a director he staged The Threepenny Opera
and Handel
's Ariodante
. His Ribbons of Steel used a mix of archival material, interpretive art, sculpture and photographic exhibits, to mark the closure of Newcastle's BHP Steelworks. Under the pseudonym 'Senor Handsome' he was a founding member, and violinist, of the cabaret group Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen. He also directed works by Daniel Keene, Grahame Henderson, Alison Croggon
and Christos Tsiolkas
.
Branson remained with Splinters until 1996 when he became the Artistic Director of Culturally Innovative Arts, which he founded with Louise Morris.
Branson remained a Canberra identity, and divided his time largely between Canberra and Melbourne. In Canberra he hosted the "Terrace Sessions" at the Terrace Bar, the Gypsy Bar and the "Salons at the Street" at the Street Theatre, where many avant-garde performances were staged. Branson often accompanying others with impromptu violin or off-the-cuff poesy. Branson coined the moniker "Brian Desire" for Canberra artist/poet Brian Hincksmann.
He died in a car accident in Anzac Parade
. An extraordinary eight hundred people attended his funeral at St Margaret's Anglican Church in Hackett, the inner-north suburb of Canberra where he grew up. And a large crowd performed and attended Memorials at the Street Theatre in Canberra and the Trades Hall in Melbourne. A street in the satellite town of Gungahlin, Canberra is named after him.
Theatre in Australia
Theatre of Australia incorporates the theatrical arts produced in the area of, on the subject of or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia...
theatre director, actor, and writer.
David Branson's father John was an Antarctic scientist, and his mother Margaret a school librarian. Branson attended Hackett
Hackett, Australian Capital Territory
Hackett is an Inner North suburb of Canberra. It was named after Sir John Winthrop Hackett , who was a newspaper editor and worker for the Federation of Australia. Streets in Hackett are named after scientists....
Primary School, Watson
Watson, Australian Capital Territory
Watson is a suburb of Canberra, Australia in the North Canberra district. Watson is named after the third Prime Minister of Australia, John Christian Watson. The suburb name was gazetted on 7 April 1960. Streets in Watson are named after Australian judges and other legal professionals...
High, and Dickson College
Dickson College
Dickson College is a two-year secondary college located in the Canberra suburb of Dickson, Australian Capital Territory. It was created in 1976 when Dickson High School closed....
in Canberra. He was regular churchgoer and a member of many youth groups.
Branson was a dynamic thespian and theatre-worker. He worked with community groups, youth theatres, Repertory Theatre, and groups of his own devising to create innumerable productions. He played the violin in the Canberra Youth Orchestra and in many local bands such as The Black Dogs, The Plunderers, and The Gadflys. He was a member of among others: the Doug Anthony Allstars, Found Objects, and the Performing Arts Cafe.
In 1985 Branson, Ross Cameron, John Utans, and Patrick Troy founded Splinters Theatre of Spectacle
Splinters Theatre of Spectacle
Splinters Theatre of Spectacle was an Australian Performance Troupe formed in Canberra in 1985 by David Branson, Patrick Troy, Ross Cameron, and John Utans, that was known for large outdoor spectacles. Between 1985 and 1996, Splinters produced more than 20 works that played at Australian theatre...
which had its origins in mediaevalist antics in Canberra's inner north
North Canberra
North Canberra, also known as the Inner North, is a district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, comprising 14 suburbs with 19,115 dwellings housing 42,113 people of the 324,034 people in the Australian Capital Territory...
.
Splinters staged several large productions, sometimes involving hundreds of people, fire sculptures, giant puppets, & large moving metal sculptures.
Early Splinters performances were at a now-demolished weatherboard cottage in Downer, and the Causeway Hall at Kingston, as well as backyards in the inner north. Splinters made good use of crowd manipulation
Crowd manipulation
Crowd manipulation is the intentional use of techniques based on the principles of crowd psychology to engage, control, or influence the desires of a crowd in order to direct its behavior toward a specific action. This practice is common to politics and business and can facilitate the approval or...
.
During his time with Splinters he was involved in more than 20 productions including Cry Stinking Fish (1987) as part of the Melbourne Spoleto Festival, Gumboot Full of Blood (1988), Cathedral of Flesh (1992) (winner Best Promenade Theatre Performance Award in the Adelaide Fringe Festival
Adelaide Fringe Festival
The Adelaide Fringe Festival is an arts festival held annually in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The event is the Southern Hemisphere's largest arts event and the second-largest fringe festival in the world, second in size only to the Edinburgh Fringe...
, Guardians of the Concourse (1993, National Festival of Australian Theatre, Canberra), Utopia/Distopia (1995, Springbank Island, Canberra), and Faust - The Heat of Knowledge (1996, 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Australian National University).
After theatre studies in Melbourne, Branson worked as an actor with many different companies including La Mama Theatre. As a director he staged The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
and Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Ariodante
Ariodante
Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...
. His Ribbons of Steel used a mix of archival material, interpretive art, sculpture and photographic exhibits, to mark the closure of Newcastle's BHP Steelworks. Under the pseudonym 'Senor Handsome' he was a founding member, and violinist, of the cabaret group Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen. He also directed works by Daniel Keene, Grahame Henderson, Alison Croggon
Alison Croggon
Alison Croggon is a contemporary Australian poet, playwright, fantasy novelist, and librettist.-Life:Born in the Transvaal, South Africa, Alison Croggon's family moved to England before settling in Australia, first in Ballarat then Melbourne. She has worked as a journalist for the Sydney Morning...
and Christos Tsiolkas
Christos Tsiolkas
-Biography:He was born and grew up in Melbourne and was educated at Blackburn High School and the University of Melbourne where he completed an Arts Degree in 1987. www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 2007-07-22. He edited the student newspaper Farrago in 1988....
.
Branson remained with Splinters until 1996 when he became the Artistic Director of Culturally Innovative Arts, which he founded with Louise Morris.
Branson remained a Canberra identity, and divided his time largely between Canberra and Melbourne. In Canberra he hosted the "Terrace Sessions" at the Terrace Bar, the Gypsy Bar and the "Salons at the Street" at the Street Theatre, where many avant-garde performances were staged. Branson often accompanying others with impromptu violin or off-the-cuff poesy. Branson coined the moniker "Brian Desire" for Canberra artist/poet Brian Hincksmann.
He died in a car accident in Anzac Parade
ANZAC Parade, Canberra
This article is about the road in Canberra. For other uses, see Anzac Parade .ANZAC Parade, a significant road and thoroughfare in the Australian capital Canberra, is used for ceremonial occasions and is the site of many major military memorials.Named in honour of the Australian and New Zealand...
. An extraordinary eight hundred people attended his funeral at St Margaret's Anglican Church in Hackett, the inner-north suburb of Canberra where he grew up. And a large crowd performed and attended Memorials at the Street Theatre in Canberra and the Trades Hall in Melbourne. A street in the satellite town of Gungahlin, Canberra is named after him.
External links
- http://www.melbournecityopera.com.au/People/Branson_Bio.htm
- Another bio
- A picture of David Branson, from the film The Sequence, directed by David Branson
