Black Opal by Frances Burke

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Black Opal by Frances Burke

Canberra Theatre’s Original Curtain

The vibrant pattern that you see now on the carpet throughout the foyer once adorned the original curtain of the main stage inside the Canberra Theatre, transforming it into a visual spectacle for audiences as they waited for their show to begin.

The curtain was specially commissioned from leading textile designer Frances Burke in 1965 by the lead architect of the Theatre, Roy Simpson of the firm Yuncken & Freeman Brothers, Griffith & Simpson to act as a striking counterpoint to the theatre’s refined, original minimalist interior of white textured painted brick.

The creation of an original work on this scale was remarkable for its time and demonstrated the aspiration for the Canberra Theatre Centre to play a leading role in presenting the best of contemporary national and international works for the stage.

From the 1930s, Frances Burke had flourished as Australia’s leading textile designer and her work was noted for developing repeat patterns with uniquely Australian references. She had also worked in collaboration with architects for large interiors and had designed sets for several theatre productions in Melbourne.  Personally, she was a devoted ‘first nighter’ at the theatre, who loved the special sense of occasion that only a live performance can give.

Despite her experience, the scale and the long distance involved to make site visits from Melbourne, made the Canberra curtain a uniquely challenging commission, but the final design ‘Black Opal’ which acknowledges the Opal as Australian’s national gemstone, is now regarded as one of the most complex and vibrant of her long career.

Frances Burke (Born Melbourne 1904 Died Melbourne 1994)
Frances Burke (designer) working at her desk, 3 June 1952, by Gordon F. De Lisle, State Library of New South Wales

Comprising just over 900 meters of linen printed with five different colours, it features a repeating motif that captured the effect of peering into the fiery depths of the gemstone.  Burke’s gestural technique evokes the intriguing flickering play of light within the stone and also responds to the dynamics of coloured theatre lighting, appearing to shimmer and change pattern depending on the colour of the projection cast upon it.

For a generation of Canberrans, Burke’s design became synonymous with the experience of live theatre, adding to the atmosphere before each performance, until its eventual retirement in the mid-1980s.

We continue to celebrate this unique part of the story of the Canberra Theatre Centre, though the revival of the design for this specially commissioned carpet in our foyer spaces.

Thanks to Virginia Rigney Senior Curator, Visual Arts for CMAG for her vital research and support in bringing Frances’ story to life.