Fool on the Hill (1975 - )

McKinnon, John: Robert Helpmann and dancers of the Australian Ballet in a promotional shot for 'Fool on the Hill' , 1975

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Choreographed by British choreographer Gillian Lynne, to a scenario by Lynne and Bob Hird, Fool on the Hill was created as a joint venture by the Australian Ballet and the Australian Broadcasting Commission. It was the first work created by the Australian Ballet expressly for television. Inspired by the Beatles’ song of the same name, the work employed a score based on compositions of the Beatles, arranged and orchestrated by John Lanchbery, Eric Cook and Neil Thurgoode. The production also featured costume and set designs by Tim Goodchild.

The television production of Fool on the Hill premiered by ABC-TV on Sunday 23 May 1975. The performance for television starred Kelvin Coe as ‘The Fool’, Paul Saliba as ‘His Alter Ego’, Ai-gul Gaisina as ‘Michelle’, Marilyn Jones as ‘Eleanor Rigby’, Joseph Janusaitis as ‘Father McKenzie’, Lucette Aldous as ‘Lucy in the Sky’, and Robert Helpmann as ‘Sergeant Pepper’. The full-length production also features characters from the Beatles’ lyrics, including ‘green devils’, ‘sunflowers’, ‘rocking horses’, ‘heavies’, and a ‘rising sun’.

The production follows ‘The Fool’, and his ‘His Alter Ego’ on a series of adventures through eleven scenes, including Opening, The Club, Strawberry Fields, Something in the Way She Moves, Eleanor Rigby, Blue Jay Way, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Yesterday, Circus Approach, The Circus, and Limbo.

The production was later revised for the stage, receiving its stage debut on 28 April 1976. The stage production retained the original television cast of leading characters, save for Robert Helpmann, whose role of Sergeant Pepper was taken by Jonathan Kelly.

Program notes for the stage production state: ‘The Fool sits on his hill lonely and remote, unable to communicate with life and especially with people. His alter ego materialises to jolt the Fool out of his lethargy and tumbles him off the hill and into a series of adventures.’

See also: Aldous, Lucette ; Australian Ballet, The ; Coe, Kelvin ; Helpmann, Robert ; Jones, Marilyn ; Lanchbery, John ; Saliba, Paul

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