Doris Fitton

Dame Doratea^[1] Alice Lucy Walkden Fitton (3 November 1897 – 2 April 1985) was an Australian actress and pioneering theatre entrepreneur, and theatrical director and producer who became best known for establishing with 19 other actors The Independent Theatre Ltd. in Sydney in 1930, which operated for some forty-seven years and produced over 400 productions from Shakespeare to the literary classic reportoire and contemporary American and European theatre

Dame Doris Fitton DBE
Fitton in 1950
Born	Doratea Alice Lucy Walkden Fitton (1897-11-03)3 November 1897 Santa Ana, Manila, Philippines
Died	2 April 1985(1985-04-02) (aged 87) North Sydney, New South Wales
Other names	Doris Mason, Mrs "Tug" Mason
Occupations	Actress theatre impresario theatrical director producer
Years active	1915-1977
Known for	Establishing with 19 other members The Independent Theatre

The Independent staged a diverse range of local and international dramas, many for the first time in Australia, during its tenure playing host to plays including Gwen Meredith's, Shout at the Thunder, Sumner Locke Elliott's wartime comedy, Rusty Bugles and Max Afford's thriller Lady in Danger

Early life

Fitton was born in Santa Ana, Manila, Philippines, to English-born accountant and broker Walter Albert and Janet Frazer (née Cameron) Fitton. Her father died when she was young and in 1902, aged five, she relocated to Melbourne, Australia, with her mother and elder sister, Janet. She was educated at Loreto Convent, Ballarat and took acting classes at the Melbourne Repertory Company under director Gregan McMahon. Fitton had her first acting role in Melbourne with J. C. Williamson in 1915.

In 1922, Fitton married law clerk Norbert Keck "Tug" Mason in Sydney, where they lived in Chatswood, New South Wales and Potts Point, New South Wales before moving to Berry Street, North Sydney in 1953.

Doris Fitton in 1930

Doris Fitton 1950

Career

Fitton joined the Turret Theatre in 1929, where she was secretary as well as performer.^[2]

She helped found The Independent Theatre (known then simply as Independent Theatre) in St James' Hall in 1930, taking its name from the Independent Theatre Society founded in London by J. T. Grein. As the company developed, they progressively moved to better premises until in 1939 they took over the old Coliseum in Miller Street, North Sydney.

Doris Fitton was usually producer and director, and frequently acted in productions as a leading lady, and in each of these roles she won praise from the critics.

She appeared in the film The Stowaway.^[3]

With Doris's failing health, The Independent closed in May 1977. It was reopened in 1998, continuing its tradition as a training ground for young actors and playwrights.^[4]

Independent Theatre alumni

Alumni of the theatre include:^[5]

• Reg Livermore
• Garry McDonald
• Maggie Dence
• Helen Morse
• Gwen Plumb
• John Appleton, stage and radio producer
• Sumner Locke Elliott, stage producer and writer^[6]
• Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress
• Jeannie Little

Honours

She gained public recognition for her commitment to theatre in Australia with her appointments as Officer of Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1955,^[7] as Commander (CBE) in 1975,^[8] and as Dame Commander (DBE) in 1982.^[9]

Personal life

Doris and "Tug" Mason had two sons, Ewen Richard Cameron Mason (born 19 February 1925) and Malcolm John (born 26 July 1933).^[10][11]

In 1952, they were living at a three-storey flat in Pott's Point before moving to North Sydney in 1953.^[12] They then lived in a house in Berry St, North Sydney. This house was later demolished to make way for the Northern Expressway. They then moved to Ridge Street, North Sydney, around the corner from The Independent Theatre.

Death and legacy

Doris Fitton published her autobiography, Not Without Heat and Dust, in 1981. She died in North Sydney, on 2 April 1985, aged 87.^[1]

A commemorative plaque was unveiled on 17 December 1986 on the footpath in front of the Independent Theatre in her honour, with the famous stanza from William Shakespeare As You Like It: "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances..." ^{[citation needed]}

Doris Fitton Park at 1 Little Walker Street, North Sydney, is named after her.

Sources

• Fitton, Doris (1981). Not without dust and heat: my life in theatre. Sydney: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-312035-6.
• Parsons, Philip; Chance, Victoria, eds. (1995). Companion to Theatre in Australia. Sydney: Currency Press, in association with Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-86-819357-7.