Ruth Cracknell AM 1925-2002

In 1960 Cracknell appeared at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in a memorable production of Murder
in the Cathedral in Bonython Hall. It marked the start of a long working partnership between Cracknell and her co-star, Ron Haddrick. In spite of her increasing busy professional life, Cracknell still made time to appear at the Independent in productions such as A Delicate Balance (1968) and The Au Pair Man (1971). Similarly, in 1973, she, Ron Haddrick, Gordon Chater and Garry McDonald appeared at the unpretentious Australian Theatre in Newtown in a miscellany called Aurora Australis.

In 1970 Cracknell and Haddrick scored a major success in Sophocles’ King Oedipus. It was directed for the Old Tote in Sydney by the great Tyrone Guthrie, and toured widely. Cracknell’s other Old Tote engagements included Forget-Me-Not Lane (1972), Trelawney of the Wells (1972), Arsenic and Old Lace (1973) Home (1975) and Habeus Corpus (1976). She and Haddrick were in the Old Tote’s production of David Williamson’s What If You Died Tomorrow? (1974); it toured Australia and played in London at the Comedy Theatre. For Nimrod Cracknell appeared in The Seagull (1974) and The Sea (1979).

In 1977 Cracknell spent some time in Adelaide, appearing for the South Australian Theatre Company in her self-devised solo show Just Ruth, as well as The Cherry Orchard and The School for Scandal.  She again teamed with Haddrick in two Peter Williams productions at the Theatre Royal Sydney, Bedroom Farce (1978) and The Gin Game (1979).

In 1983 Haddrick and Cracknell played the theatrical Mr and Mrs Crummles in Richard Wherrett’s superb production of David Edgar’s two-part Dickens marathon, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby for the Sydney Theatre Company. This played at the Theatre Royal in Sydney and the State Theatre in Melbourne.

After this, Cracknell appeared in a solo piece, John Upton’s Machiavelli, Machiavelli, at Marian Street Theatre (1984) and All’s Well That Ends Well at the York Theatre in the Seymour Centre (1986). In 1987 she provided the English-language narration for the Australian Opera’s production of Cherubini’s Medée at the Sydney Opera House. She also appeared in the Sydney Theatre Company’s productions of Michael Hastings’ Tom and Viv (1987) and David Williamson’s Emerald City; Emerald City’s premiere in the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre was followed by an extensive tour that included a season at the Lyric Theatre in London.

In 1988 Cracknell created a memorable Lady Bracknell in Simon Phillips’ production of The Importance of Being Earnest for the Melbourne Theatre Company. This was seen in Sydney and played further seasons at the Comedy in Melbourne in 1991 and the Theatre Royal in Sydney in 1992, with Gordon Chater joining the cast in the dual roles of Lane and Merriman. It was telecast in 1992.