Peter Scriven MBE 1930-1998

In 1965 Scriven’s dream of a full-time professional puppet company was realised. With the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and the Arts Council of Australia, he founded the Marionette Theatre of Australia. The board was chaired by Sir Howard Beale, president of the Arts Council, and included Dr H.C. Coombs, Dorothy Helmrich and Scriven, who was also artistic director. Apart from commissioning and presenting original Australian puppet works, the MTA was to establish a training school, encourage the development of other groups, and import overseas companies.

The Marionette Theatre of Australia debuted with a tour of a revival of the original Tintookies. In 1966 Scriven dusted off Little Fella Bindi and also created an entirely new production, The Explorers. In 1967, with backing from the Department of External Affairs, Little Fella Bindi toured for seven months through 14 South East Asian countries; this was one of the first international tours undertaken by an Australian theatre company. Bindi was manipulated by Scriven; he was supported by a team of five young puppeteers supervised by Igor Hyczka, a stage manager, a sound technician and a tour manager – Tony Gould, later to head the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Special soundtracks in appropriate languages were recorded for each leg of the tour. After this came another Australian tour.

Around this time, Scriven, like many others, became increasingly disgruntled with the Trust’s management and policies. In 1968 he stood for the board, but his election was thwarted by the chairman, Sir Ian Potter, who claimed that as an employee of the Trust he was ineligible. There was more trouble ahead.

On 30 September 1969 a fire swept through the Trust’s Botany storehouse. All Scriven’s productions were lost, except for The Explorers, which was away on tour. Fortunately, however, the soundtracks of Scriven’s shows survived, preserving the voices of performers such as Valda Bagnall, Ray Barrett, John Bluthal, Gordon Chater, John Ewart, Ray Hartley, Reg Lindsay, Tex Morton, Max Oldaker, Neil Williams and Stuart Wagstaff.

For the MTA’s contribution to the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, Scriven devised Tintookies 2000, using large rod puppets instead of the more familiar marionettes. This production and The Magic Pudding travelled on to other South East Asian centres. Tinkookies 2000 failed to excite audiences; this, and his continually deteriorating relationship with the Trust, led to Scriven’s resignation.