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With Hollywood ‘royalty' attending the birth of theatre at The University of Western Australia 60 years ago, it is no wonder that the tradition of theatre in the Sunken Garden has had such a happy life.

In 1948, film legends Sir Laurence Olivier and his wife, Vivien Leigh - the screen nobility of the day - were in the audience when the first of many plays was performed in the Sunken Garden by the University Dramatic Society.

The Oliviers were so impressed with UDS' Oedipus Rex, with Australian actor Neville Teede in the cast, that they urged the further development of theatre on campus.

Some of the original crew who staged Oedipus Rex -- the Greek tragedy about a young man who inadvertently murders his father and marries his mother - will be partying in the Garden at a Diamond Jubilee Celebration, from 5pm to 7pm, on Tuesday, February 19.

Media references

Leigh Grant 61 8  6488 4774
Simone Hewett / Sally-Ann Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  61 8  6488 7977
0420 790 097 / 0420 790 098