The Southern Highlands has lost one of its most colourful and kind characters. Actor, director, mentor and artist Dave Letch, 68, passed away in early August at his Hill Top home. The Southern Highlands performing arts community will be a sadder space for the loss.
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It would be fair to say that Dave was destined from birth for a career in entertainment. He was born in Guy Hospital within earshot of Bow Bells, on December 1, 1953. His mother sang in a band and his father was an engineer. They lived in a big Edwardian house in North London with his grandparents and uncles who were also musicians, but had 'day jobs' to make ends meet.
His Uncle Keith, who was only ever a musician, was a pianist and session musician to Dusty Springfield and Eartha Kitt.
"It ran in my blood. My Great Uncle Heber was one of Charlie Chaplin's vaudeville troop on the London variety circuit. Poppy was by day, a baker. He made the best rice pudding ever. But, at night, he was a cracker banjo player," Dave once told the Southern Highland News.
"I grew up listening and falling asleep to the thump, thump, thump - coming from our upstairs parlour - of my Uncle Keith hitting the pedals and Mum rehearsing. As a five year old, I knew what I wanted. To perform, paint and earn money. Given the family I had, I guess it was sort of inevitable that performance was in the blood."
Dave started tap classes when he was five years old and progressed from there, performing at Gang Shows and London Palladium-style shows. He migrated with his family to Australia when he was 13. His Aussie life began in Victoria.
Dave's first acting job was as an extra on 'The Box' for Channel O as it was then. Now it's Channel 10. He played a clown sitting in the canteen.
He once told the News "I absolutely sweated on having my inner clown focused! Lol!" A month later, he auditioned for the Victoria Opera Company and was offered a contract as their lyric tenor in their young adults opera, which he described as an amazing gig that changed his life.
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Dave had long-term contracts with the Melbourne Theatre Company, The Mercury Theatre Company in New Zealand, Queensland Theatre Company and Omerta Theatre Company in the UK.
He worked with Jane Campion - An angel at my table; on Gaylene Preston's iconic feminist thriller Mr Wrong; and the cult sci-fi and Grand Prix winner at the Paris Festival Death warmed up in which he played the role of the super nasty Spider. Dave was nominated as Best Actor, by British Vogue, for Jock in the Zenith/Channel 4 Heart of the high country.
He enrolled in university to study Fine Arts and Sociology, but threw that away to write for Crawfords. He was contracted and writing Homicide and Division Four at 19.
Life in Queensland
In the early 90s Dave and and his life partner Jonathan Hardy (now deceased) found themselves in Brisbane. It was an opportunity to engage with the new look Queensland Theatre Company under Artistic Director, Aubrey Mellor. Brisbane at the time was still emerging from the Fitzgerald Inquiry hangover. There was a theatre scene, but it was much smaller than it is today. There were two funded theatre companies, an opera company and a bunch of small, but very active, independent companies.
Dave didn't waste any time in making connections. In 1991 Dave acted in the Queensland Theatre Company's production of The Crucible, directed by Roger Hodgman, and in 1992 he was again on stage in Mirandolina for La Boite. He made his biggest mark, however, as a dramaturg for the Queensland Theatre Company, working alongside David Berthold on a number of new plays in development, most notably Elaine Acworth's Composing Venus and Daynan Brazil's The Surgical Table.
In 1994 Dave directed the Opera Queensland schools tour of Aesop's Fables, after Billie Brown pulled out after landing an acting gig at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Actor Vince Atkinson remembers the first time he encountered Dave in the rehearsal room:
"He was creative, fun, supportive, yet demanding, and would not allow you to get away with anything less than your best. If he was frustrated and not eliciting the best out of everyone he would throw a tantrum, which consisted of him lying face down on the floor, dead still and silent for about 60 seconds. It seemed to re-centre him and provide clarity, but gave us all a spot of confusion the first time it happened. But I loved that show and loved working with Dave. I will miss his influence in my life."
A key period of the Brisbane years began when Dave became Co-Artistic Director of the independent theatre company, Renegade Theatre in 1995. Started by Shaun Charles, and based at Metro Arts, Dave and Jonathan had attended a couple of rehearsals of Andrew McGahan's Bait, which the company was producing. It was here where he met Shaun Charles who, looking for a creative partner, suggested that Dave join the company as Co-Artistic Director.
Renegade operated on a shoestring budget, but both Dave and Shaun found common ground in their passion for new playwriting. Dave continued his work as dramaturg on Daynan Brazil's The Surgical Table, and most notably directed the Queensland premiere of Elaine Acworth's Solitary Animals. Elaine Acworth remembers the process warmly:
"Dave was nuggety - but never small. He had too much fury and passion to ever strike one as a small man. Rehearsing at Metro Arts, he would stand on a milk crate to see the rehearsal room. He said it gave him a wider picture. His hands were usually in motion, pointing, flicking, gathering in. During rehearsals and performance, when the cast and crew were called back from lunch/prep/anything, he insisted that we all be addressed formally, or by our roles. He said it returned the world to "neutral"; and centred everyone before work recommenced."
Dave also directed Fiona Munro's extravagant and sexually charged, The Mutt for the controversial season of short plays entitled Fourplay. One theatre critic, Alison Coates, suggested watching this show was like watching a child smear its faeces on the wall. Alison and Dave, as history would have it, eventually became great friends. Dave could hold a grudge, for sure, but never for too long. He loved all aspects of theatre making, even the criticism.
"It was a seminal period for me personally, I learnt a lot from Dave," says Shaun Charles. "Those Renegade years were something we would proudly reminisce about whenever we caught up. Indeed, in the last few years he suggested starting Renegade up again. The thought made me tired just thinking about it, but not Dave, I'm sure he would have jumped into the Renegade rehearsal room in a heartbeat. Such was his boundless energy and enthusiasm."
Dave was also heavily involved in local film development during the 90s. He became the Chair of Brisbane Independent Filmmakers (BIF). Defrim Isai was the manager at the time and they went on to become great friends and collaborate on many projects. Together they also served as Co-Creative Directors of the The Exposure Film Festival and Silents on the Mall in Fortitude Valley.
Defrim described Dave as "the consummate creative spirit. A master of the Alexander Technique and a devotee of Federico Garca Lorca. His philosophy was that creative artists must begin and end their exploration with a commitment to process as a way of accessing what Lorca called the 'duende'."
"Dave mentored and supported many actors, writers and artists over his life-time. His goal as he saw it was to help artists access their internal creative spirit and realise it in the external world we share."
The film projects Dave had a hand in developing during this time are too many to count. Actress and filmmaker, Sally McKenzie, wrote a feature film that Dave helped develop. She recalls with fondness the creative wrestling of ideas she had with him. "Dave was always extremely supportive in his role of script editor, and it was inspiring to watch him continue this in his later years."
Throughout the Renegade years Dave also continued working across the country. For Aubrey Mellor at Playbox Theatre Company in Melbourne, he dramaturged Jonathan Hardy's adaptation of Dymphna Cusack's novel, Jungfrau.
Mellor recalls Dave's talent as immense, "Dave was a rare renaissance man whose contribution to the arts in Australia was much larger than most people know."
Overall, Dave's time in Brisbane was filled with projects and people, many of whom he would continue to collaborate with over the years.
Just before the pandemic Dave directed the short film, Wednesday. Produced by Defrim Isai, the script was written by celebrated Australian author, Andrew McGahan. This project, while filmed in the Southern Highlands, began its life in Brisbane decades earlier, and it can now be viewed as Dave taking care of unfinished business from his Brisbane years.
"Dave was deeply saddened by the passing of Andrew McGahan" says Shaun Charles. "Re-watching the film now it holds extra poignancy - it's a meditation on regret and the knowledge that time passes swiftly, that everything ends."
The short film Wednesday is a fitting and thematically perfect (Dave would have it no other way) full stop to the remarkable period Dave spent creating in Brisbane.
At home in the Southern Highlands
Dave and Jonathan moved to the Southern Highlands about 25 years ago, making their home in Hill Top. Jonathan was also a well known Australia/New Zealand film and television actor who featured in the Mad Max films and is best known as the cowriter of the Breaker Morant screenplay.
It was as a director that Dave made a name for himself in the Southern Highlands where he worked as a freelance actor and director.
Dave loved the opportunity to mentor and inspire other performers. His wealth of knowledge was generously shared with members of local theatre groups, in particular the Southern Highlands Youth Arts Council Inc, Pigs Fly Productions and teaching breathing techniques to young singers/performers involved with the Wingecarribee Vocal Muster.
Vocal Muster founder Richard Lane extended a special thank you to Dave for guiding and inspiring young people in their "sacred playground". "Know that what you taught them will become obvious to them all in 20 years! One of your many legacies," he said. "Thank you for your friendship, your ideas and insights. The young people of the Vocal Muster don't know how lucky they are to have spent time with you and learnt. I do and am forever grateful."
SHYAC manager Mandy Bransgrove described Dave as "passionate and dedicated to his craft."
"He was accessible, honest, excitable, mischievous, and above loyal to those he performed, directed or collaborated with," she said.
"The brilliant Dave Letch, or dd - known to those fortunate enough to work with him, was generous with his time, his knowledge, his expertise and his love. He shared his passion for the arts with an open heart, with no agenda.
"SHYAC will forever be grateful to have been touched by his genius, his teaching and mentorship. His legacy will live on through our Southern Highlands youth for generations to come."
Among his greatest productions in the Southern Highlands was the community film, Wishbone. This project featured many a local budding performer. It was a grand project that reinforced Dave's and Jonathan's desire to promote artists of all ages wherever they were. More than one local kid found a confidence and voice they did not have before by participating in this project.
And even as he worked in the Southern Highlands he continued working across the country. Another long-term collaborator was celebrated playwright Ron Elisha. Their work together saw Dave direct in Melbourne and Sydney, directing Ron's plays A Tree, Falling, Wrongful Life and Rennaissance.
Friend Ian Scandrett described Dave's passing a "real loss".
"A true Gentleman especially with his UK heritage. A lover of the Southern Highlands and his beloved Northern Village of Hill Top. A staunch Performing Arts advocate with a fantastic resume and a willingness to assist people in the Arts such as the young folk in The Vocal Muster," he said.
"I first met Dave when I was elected to the council and I chaired the Arts and Culture Committee. We became good friends. Dave was a great supporter of the vision for a Southern Highlands Performing Arts Centre and was passionate about the renovation of another great venue, the Bowral Memorial Hall.
"Dave was always looking at venues and loved using different theatre opportunities. It was only last month we were enthralled with his directing of David Cole's "The Waltz" at Centennial Vineyards, which easily could have toured regionally. Vale Dave."
One of Dave's final projects involved working on the play, The Waltz, written by Goulburn's David Cole. The play was performed to a sell-out crowd at Centennial Vineyards on July 27 and will be showcased at Goulburn Performing Arts Centre on October 2.
David Cole described Dave as a "much-loved mentor to me"
"We collaborated on The Waltz for the past three years, making it a reality. It is hard to accept that he will not be around anymore," he said.
As much as he was creatively itinerant, as far as Dave was concerned nothing was better than "coming home to Hill Top, my cottage and Nika the pooch in the Southern Highlands. I love it. God's own."
Details of his funeral service are yet to be confirmed.
- With Shaun Charles
