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About the Author of Dimboola: Jack Hibberd Born in Warracknabeal in 1940, Jack Hibberd came to the theatre in the late sixties while studying at the University of Melbourne, where his first play White with Wire Wheels was produced. In 1967, Hibberd's Three Old Friends launched the La Mama theatre and shortly thereafter a season of short plays, Brain Rot, was perfomed there. Hibberd went on to co-found The Australian Performing Group (APG). Jack Hibberd was a member of the APG for ten years and chairman for two. Plays produced by the APG included Dimboola (still Australia's most popular play, 1974), A Stretch of the Imagination (a pioneering monodrama, 1972), Peggy Sue, The Les Darcy Show, A Toast to Melba (premiered at the 1976 Adelaide Festival), and an adaption of Gogol - The Overcoat (1976). After leaving the APG, Hibberd wrote SIN (commissioned by the Victorian State Opera, 1978), two female melodramas: Mothballs and Lavender Bags (1981) then Liquid Amber (a golden wedding celebration and satire, 1982). After this came Duets: Glycerine Tears and The Old School Tie, Malarky Barks and Odyssey of a Prostitute (an adaptation of a de Maupassant story). A collection of short plays for schools, Squibs, found publication in 1984. In 1983, Jack co-authored The Barracker's Bible, a dictionary of Australian sporting slang. The same year he co-foundered the Melbourne Writer's Theatre, which still thrives. Jack Hibberd has also written poetry. 1977 saw the publication of a collection of versions of Baudelaire: Le vin des amants. In 1998 he published a collection of his own poems: The Genius of Human Imperfection (Black Pepper Press, 1998). Around 1985 Hibberd left off writing for the stage, returned to medical practice as a clinical immunologist (publishing The Great Allergy Detective Book in 1995), and switched to fiction. The following novels then appeared: Memoirs of an Old Bastard (1989), The Life of Riley (1990) and Perdita (1992). Over the years he has also published short stories. Jack Hibberd has since returned to writing for the stage and recommenced work on his grand integrated cycle of plays, Musical Parts. These include more monodramas Female Rhapsodies and also Slam Dunk, Prodigal Son and it's twin piece Dutiful Daughter, Legacy, Blood Bath, Domestic Details, Repossessions and Mona, Gertrude & Mary-Lou. Jack's major interests are music, books, wine, gardening, cooking and football. For more information about Jack Hibberd and his works, you can have a look at the webpage about him on the website of the Bryson Agency Australia Pty Ltd.
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Dimboola Performing Group Inc. |
