Founder of the iconic La Mama theatre, Betty Burstall died at the age of 87 last Friday, surrounded by her family. Many will remember her as the person who founded and funded an institution of historical, social and cultural value for Victoria and Australia. Following a visit to the La Mama Experimental Theatre in New York’s lower east side, Betty Burstall created Melbourne’s La Mama in 1967; an institution that for forty years provided a safe haven for upcoming artists – poets, playwrights, filmmakers, musicians – to experiment with their work.
Even more importantly, as a symbol of multicultural Carlton’s character, La Mama was a stage where migrants’ voices could be heard. Their voices were taken out of community theatres and made accessible to the broader public.
Many remember Greek, and later polyethnic, music nights with the brothers Ioannidis in the mid ’70s, that for five years used to be a place where both Greek Australians and Philhellenes would get together for an innovative and unique experience. For Christos Ioannidis – the first Greek Australian who, alongside his brother Tassos, entered the La Mama stage – founder Betty Burstall was a stepping stone in his career.
“She was a lovely lady, Betty. I met her when I was singing in Fanari tavern in Russell Street. She approached me and said ‘I have a place for you’. It was in mid ’70s, I had just arrived in Melbourne from Greece. She asked me if I wanted to come to La Mama theatre, and do anything that was Greek or polyethnic music. We had a very strong connection; she helped me a lot in my career. For two years, I lived with her son Tom, a cameraman and director, in North Fitzroy,” Christos tells Neos Kosmos.
For around five years, Christos and Tasos Ioannidis played their music at La Mama, promoting Greek and polyethnic music. For five years, every Wednesday was a Greek night.
“I felt very proud of doing what I did at La Mama. The 1970s and ’80s were the golden era of Melbourne’s Greek community. Everything, including the arts, was blooming. Especially La Mama – it was not only for Greeks, it was a place of meeting, getting together, it became a culture. Every Wednesday, Greeks knew they were going to La Mama. It was like a spiritual place for music. We played Hatzidakis, Theodorakis, Hatzis, entexno… There was no other place like La Mama in Australia. Original and different, first of its kind,” Christos says.
Well-educated and ‘incredible’ Betty, as Christos Ioannidis describes one of the most important people in his career, was born to do what she was doing – giving a chance to new artists.
Most of Melbourne’s directors and playwrights played their first works in her iconic theatre. If La Mama didn’t exist, Christos Ioannidis notes today, many Australian artists wouldn’t exist either.
“Anywhere you go, a new artist needs a push, someone to give a hand and say ‘Hey, make a first step’. Apart from our band, other upcoming Greek Australian musicians and composers like Kostas Sikaveris and Stelios Tsiolas had a place to come and play. La Mama was and still is a very respective place,” Christos says.
Some of Australia’s leading playwrights were first introduced to a wider audience on the La Mama stage in Faraday Street. Amongst Greek Australians are playwright Tom Petsinis, and writer and director Tes Lyssiotis. An AWGIE-nominated playwright, Lyssiotis also served on the board of La Mama Theatre.
In the opinion of many, La Mama’s friendly atmosphere and unique showcased art were of historic importance for Greek Australians, and even more so for Australian Philhellenes. It was a venue committed to diversity of artistic approach and exploration of minority, where artists could present new works without the worry of production costs.
Melbourne playwright and poet Tom Petsinis has had a 20 year relationship with the theatre. He first got involved with La Mama in the early ’90s when the theatre put on his play The Drought. His plays The Picnic, Elena and the Nightingale, and Salonica Bound followed. For Petsinis, the Carlton cultural institution was and still is as important, due to its democratic approach to theatre.
“Betty tried to implement the same philosophy of the New York La Mama here in Melbourne. And here we are, many years down the track, with La Mama still going strong and still displaying a great deal of wide democratic approach. By democratic, I mean that La Mama has always been open to diverse voices and cultures. Sometimes, marginalised theatre groups have had a forum of expression through La Mama. The theatre was also very receptive to all things Greek. In the ’70s and ’80s, La Mama hosted Greek musical evenings with the Ioannidis brothers. It’s been a stepping stone for a lot of playwrights to enter the mainstream theatrical world through La Mama’s encouragement,” Tom Petsinis tells Neos Kosmos.
“La Mama opened up a forum that wouldn’t have been possible through the major theatre companies. It was a very limited and restricted field – the plays that were performed at the Melbourne theatre company in the ’50s and ’60s were restrictive as far as migrants’ voices were concerned. It was only through La Mama that this became the avenue whereby the foreign voice, the migrant voice, could be heard in a wider context, beyond the community theatres that have always been around. That has continued to this day,” Petsinis says.
To celebrate the life of Betty Burstall, an open gathering at La Mama will be held in the coming weeks. For more information contact La Mama on (03) 9347 6948.