A leader of his craft: theatre reviews by HG Kippax

Harry Kippax, AO, was a journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) from 1938. As foreign editor and leader writer he covered wars and politics over four decades. But his great love was for the theatre. From 1959 he traced the rise of the contemporary theatre, first for the journal Nation and from 1966–89 for the SMH. He spotted the talent of the young Mel Gibson, John Bell, Judy Davis, Geoffrey Rush and David Williamson. And his comments are revealing. He was eclectic in his taste, uncompromising in his standards and thunderously judgmental on the interpretation of the classics. This is a collection of 106 theatre reviews by Kippax. The book has an extensive biographical introduction, and a personal memoir by the critic and author Sylvia Lawson.