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by Boomert - Robert Helpmann by Anna Bemrose 12 Jan 2010
Robert Helpmann achieved so much in the arts in one life that he should be more highly regarded in Australia than he is—but then, he didn’t play cricket, he danced. He danced, he acted, he directed, he created and he was held in international high regard which, for a boy from Mt Gambier, made him one of the great Australian achievers. This is not the first book I have read on Helpmann and I found it to be thorough, obviously vastly researched and full of interesting contemporary comments and reviews. It’s lots of fun and I am sure Helpmann had a great time living his life. It is hard to look back 70 years and fully understand the enormity of setting off to the UK just before WWII, begin dancing with the newly established Royal Ballet, dance through the war, act in Shakespeare in the West End and return to Australia to co-direct the Australian Ballet in 1965. I hope that this biography reaches the market that it deserves and helps in continuing to keep the name of Robert Helpmann at the top of the list of great Australians who have contributed internationally beyond what may fairly be expected of any one person.

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Author Biography: Anna Bemrose
Anna Bemrose is an honorary research adviser in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History at the University of Queensland.

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Robert Helpmann, Hardback (October 2008)