John McKellar (writer)

John Alan McKellar (13 August 1930 – 6 September 2010) was an Australian writer, primarily of comedy revues or musical theatre. His most critically acclaimed and popularly attended work was A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down which premiered at Sydney's Phillip Street Theatre on 18 September 1965 and ran for more than 250 performances. He was the resident writer at that theatre in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s he provided the slogan, "The drink you have when you're not having a drink" to advertise Claytons non-alcoholic beverages. Most of his humour involved social satire where typical self-mockery was developed into an art form. Some of his works provided vernacular phrases used in Australian English including "is Australia really necessary", "A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down", and "But I wouldn't want to live there".

John McKellar
BornJohn Alan McKellar
(1930-08-13)13 August 1930
Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Died6 September 2010(2010-09-06) (aged 80)
Sacred Heart Hospice, Darlinghurst, Australia
OccupationWriter
Alma materSydney Teachers College
Period1953–2006
GenreComedy revue, musical theatre
SubjectSocial satire
Notable worksA Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down

Biography

McKellar was born on 13 August 1930 in Orange to Rupert McKellar, a commercial traveller, and Winifred née Lehman.[1][2] He grew up with his sister Margaret and brother Clive in Waverley.[2] McKellar was educated at St Charles School and Waverley College – run by the Christian Brothers.[1][2] At the same school were two of his neighbours, Jerry Donovan and Lance Mulcahy and when McKellar attended Sydney Teachers College, Donovan and Mulcahy were enrolled at the adjacent Sydney University.[1][2] McKellar worked as a teacher before returning to Sydney to become a full-time writer.[1] The trio collaborated for university productions of musicals, with McKellar writing lyrics.[2]

On 12 February 1953 McKellar, Donovan and Mulcahy wrote and/or performed a musical revue, Metropolitan Merry-Go-Round, for their professional debut at the Metropolitan Theatre in Kings Cross.[3] It was produced by William Orr, who subsequently established the Phillip Street Theatre which show-cased works by McKellar.[2] Further revues followed and then, in 1955, the trio travelled to the United Kingdom where they wrote sketches and material for cabarets.[2] McKellar returned to Phillip Street Theatre and became its resident writer.[2] From 1964 McKellar periodically travelled to the United States attempting to stage a Broadway production. From February to April 1965, Is Australia Really Necessary?, was staged at the Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne with McKellar providing lyrics.[4] The title provided a vernacular phrase in Australian English.[2]

On 18 September 1965 his play, A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down, premiered at Phillip Street Theatre and ran for more than 250 performances.[5][6][7] The cast included John Ewart,[5] Gloria Dawn,[8] Ruth Cracknell and Reg Livermore.[9][10] McKellar's play popularised the phrase, "A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down", which "quickly became a common Australian saying".[11] The play is McKellar's most critically acclaimed and popularly attended work.[2][11]

In the 1970s he provided the slogan, "The drink you have when you're not having a drink" to advertise Claytons non-alcoholic beverages. McKellar moved to the US and became involved in antique textiles, setting up a business there for almost 20 years.[1] In 1981 McKellar reconnected with Mulcahy for a musical-comedy, Keystone, which was composed by Mulcahy with book by McKellar who also co-wrote the lyrics with Dion McGregor.[12] In January 1982 it was performed at the McCarter Theater in Princeton. The New York Times' reviewer, Mel Gussow found "[it] is an intimate vest-pocket musical ... smallness leads to some novel double-teaming". Overall Gussow was disappointed as "the approach demands a much keener sense of style and of comedy than is demonstrated ... [o]n a very basic level, Keystone is just not funny enough".[12]

In 1996 McKellar returned to Australia where he wrote and directed a play, Virtual unReality, which was performed in May at the Tilbury Hotel, Woolloomooloo.[13] In December 2006, he wrote Attack of the Granny Boomers, which was performed at the Parade Theatre, Kensington.[14] McKellar died on 6 September 2010, aged 80 years.[2][11] Most of his humour involved social satire where typical self-mockery was developed into an art form.[2]

References
  1. Stephens, Bill; McKellar, John (19 July 2005). "John McKellar interviewed by Bill Stephens". Canberra. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  2. Brown, Malcolm (16 September 2010). "Writer made us laugh at ourselves". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  3. "Metropolitan Merry-Go-Round". AusStage (Flinders University (Jenny Fewster)). Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  4. "Is Australia Really Necessary?". AusStage (Flinders University (Jenny Fewster)). Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  5. "Prompt – Phillip Street Theatre" (PDF). National Library of Australia. February 2012. p. 7. Retrieved 22 November 2012. Commencing 18 September. A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down. Starring: Gloria Dawn, John Ewart, Reginald Livermore, Brigid Lenihan, Kevan Johnston, Judith Roberts, Donald MacDonald, Barbara Wyndon. 7 programs.
  6. "Social Roundabout". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 29 September 1965. p. 11. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  7. "A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down". AusStage. Retrieved 22 November 2012. There are six programmes for this production in the Wolanski file with no cast differences. The programmes contain brief biographies and photos of the cast. Programmes at the National Library of Australia indicate that this production ran well into 1966 and was performed over 250 times during its extended season.
  8. Newton, Gloria (8 March 1967). "Gloria Dawns Anew". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. p. 2. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  9. Newton, Gloria (18 October 1967). "Three children, a husband, and a revue to rehearse". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. p. 12. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  10. Musgrove, Nan (12 October 1966). "A Fun Show for all the Family". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. p. 19. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  11. Morgan, Clare (15 September 2010). "Comedy Writer McKellar, 80, Dies". The Age. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  12. Gussow, Mel (26 January 1982). "Stage: Keystone, Musical-Comedy Mack Sennett". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  13. "Virtual unReality". AusStage (Flinders University (Jenny Fewster)). Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  14. "Attack of the Granny Boomers". AusStage (Flinders University (Jenny Fewster)). Retrieved 22 November 2012.
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