William Archibald Constable (1906-1989) was raised with two younger brothers in the family of the Reverend Archibald Henry Constable, rector of St. John’s Church of England. Bill Constable took watercolour lessons from Meta Townsend, followed by studying at the National Gallery of Victoria School of Art, and later at London’s St. Martin’s School of Art. His involvement with the most advanced experimental theatres in England set his passion for life.
On his return to Australia, Constable took up several commercial design projects and was noticed after the very first theatrical commission in 1933: the cubist ‘stage decorations’ for the Gregan McMahon Players’ production of Bridie’s Jonah and the Whale at the Garrick in South Melbourne featuring Coral Browne, a famous English actress. The play was directed by Alec Coppel, who later returned from London, and also included actress Kathleen Robinson. The press claimed that the “production will be notable for the unusual settings by William Constable, a young artist who recently reached Melbourne from abroad… Constable’s stage settings are great fun. They are simple and attractive.”
Constable met Borovansky in late 1940s and a lifelong creative partnership and personal friendship began. As artistic director of the Borovansky Ballet Company for 15 years, William Constable was behind most productions as artistic director, designer and painter. Frank Salter described Borovansky and Constable working together “in total harmony over his [Constable] entire Australian career.” Constable “was always fascinated by Boro’s method of working with him” and often was entertained by Boro’s comments, such as “You clever bastard, Bill; you’ve realised exactly what I had in mind”.
Constable created a portfolio of over 100 stage productions before departing Australia again in 1955. He returned to Sydney in the 1970s and only then was able to dedicate himself to painting. The designer was known for his illustrations, drawings and paintings. He designed and closely supervised the production of the backdrop for the Empire Theatre in Sydney that unfortunately burnt down. Just as unfortunate was the demolition of his mural for the lower foyer of the Theatre Royal. However, the curtain he designed and supervised production of for Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne was recently located in Adelaide packed inside a box.
Sydney Ure Smith claimed that Constable “... has unbounded enthusiasm, and does everything with distinction.” And later: “He has imagination and individuality which, allied to an unerring colour sense, place him in the front rank as a stage designer.” With such artistic abilities and taste Constable created almost 160 dramas, operas (16 of these for Sir Eugene Goossens), ballets (mostly for the Borovansky ballet) and films.
The culmination of Constable’s professional and artistic career was his backdrop design for the ballet, Corroboree. Creating a rock motif, he used bold organic shapes, strong details, variation in textures, and a very successful combination of light and contrasting colours. He created a minimalistic composition that accurately translated the desert of Central Australia in contrast with nightly sky. The inclusion of a full solar eclipse added drama and mystery, and possibly represented the everlasting life cycle. The highlighted top of the stone is the visual focus of the composition, where a pastel pink sandy foreground grounds the centre of action during the dance. The fine lines of dried trees, a ritual pole and still sand waves make a statement of human presence and support the greatness of the rock. The rock motif became a classic symbol of the newly established Australian stage design industry.
In 1948 Constable and Eugene Goossens realised that the Sydney public needed “a theatre for the quadruple purpose of opera, legitimate theatre, ballet, and orchestra.” Goossens saw his “dream child” Opera House in the style of a Greek amphitheatre built at Bennelong Point as the Australian National Theatre. In April 1949 Constable completed a visual interpretation of Goossens’ idea on the Sydney Opera House, a long time before the official competition for the architectural project was announced by the New South Wales Government. The two published an illustrated article with the proposal and a promise to realise the project within 5 years at Bennelong Point. With Constable’s departure for Europe and the scandalous conclusion of Goossen’s career in Australia, the project was left behind and the proposed design is now is held in Opera House archives.
In his article for the souvenir program, Constable claimed that ballet “is a blending of three arts” as “on the ballet stage we see a meeting of the poetry of movement, music and painting – a poem distilled of these three arts and beyond the need of the spoken word.” The career of Constable is a great illustration to his motto.
William Constable was significant in his contributions to Australia theatre design for his retention of the great traditions of style, authenticity and perfection that were established by the Ballet Russes and its artists. His legacy in stage decor, his input into Australian theatrical design and the establishment of the stage designer as a profession, deserve recognition.
- Writers:
- Kerr, Joan
- Date written:
- 1996
- Last updated:
- 2014
