Christine Dorothy Brunton (11 October 1890 – 5 June 1977), popularly known as Dorothy Brunton (or more familiarly as 'Dot'), was an Australian singer and actress prominent in musical comedy in Australia and England from the early-1910s to the mid-1930s. She was born into a theatrical family, her mother had been an actress and her father worked as a stage scene designer and painter. Her early roles were in melodramas for the Bland Holt touring company, for which her father worked. From October 1910 Brunton was engaged by J. C. Williamson's New Comic Opera Company, performing in musical comedy roles and acting as understudy to more established actresses.
By the outbreak of World War I, Brunton was playing leading roles in J. C. Williamson's productions. She became associated with recruitment and patriotic fund-raising efforts and became a favourite with Australian soldiers. In September 1917, Brunton travelled to the United States, where she appeared in several productions but achieved only moderate theatrical success. She arrived in London in June 1918, where she found a small part in a West End production. Her fame grew after rapturous responses to her performances by Australian soldiers on leave.
After the war ended, Brunton lived in London and the United States, occasionally returning to Australia where she was acclaimed as a much-beloved performer. After a nine-month tour of South Africa in 1926-7 and a couple of moderately-successful plays in London, Brunton returned to Australia in 1930 for theatrical engagements by J. C. Williamson Ltd. She married in 1931. In 1934, she retired from the stage and returned to London with her husband. After the death of her husband, Brunton returned to Australia in 1947 and lived in Sydney until her death in 1977, aged 86.
Biography
Early years
Christine Dorothy Brunton was born on 11 October 1890 in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Carlton, the third child of John Brunton and Cecily Christina Neilsen.Family records, Ancestry.com. Her father was an artist born in Edinburgh and her mother (known as 'Cissy') had been a Shakespearean actress in Edinburgh.Mrs. C. Brunton, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June 1933, page 15. John Brunton's relationship with Cecily Neilsen was a de facto spousal union, as Brunton had been married to Sarah Hotchkis in 1870 at Plymouth.Civil Registration Marriage Index, Marriages registered from April to June 1870, page 113. John and Sarah Brunton had three children (born from 1872 to 1881).1881 England Census: Registration district: West Derby, Lancashire; Class: RG11; Piece: 3704; Folio: 119; Page: 9; GSU roll: 1341887. Brunton's wife Sarah lived until January 1910 and there is no record of a divorce (nor is there a record of any marriage between Brunton and Cecily Neilsen).
Dorothy Brunton's parents had arrived in Australia in 1886, where her father was employed as a theatrical scene designer and painter. By the late-1890s, John Brunton was working for Bland Holt, the theatrical manager known for his spectacular touring productions of melodramas and pantomimes.Mr. Bland Holt's Season, The Queenslander (Brisbane), 7 August 1897, page 274. In an interview in 1912, Brunton recalled: "The stage has always had a fascination over me, and as you know, my father's vocation as scenic artist with Mr. Bland Holt's Company, brought me into contact with actors and actresses when I was but a little dot".A Chat With Miss Dorothy Brunton, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney), 30 October 1912, page 21.
Dorothy received part of her education at Alford House in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney. From 1905, she attended the Presbyterian Ladies' College in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Burwood.Hal Porter (1965), Stars of Australian Stage and Screen, Adelaide: Rigby Ltd.
In the 1912 interview, Dorothy recalled that her father "was at first inclined" to keep her on at school. However, "owing to the solicitations" of Bland Holt's wife Florence, her father "was persuaded to allow me to accompany him to New Zealand where I was soon smuggled into small parts". With her father painting the stage scenery for Holt, young Dorothy "travelled all over Australia and New Zealand with the company".Stage Gossip: When Dorothy Brunton Began, The Argus (Melbourne), 3 November 1923, page 13.Bland Holt Dead, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 June 1942, page 7.
Dramatic roles
On 18 April 1908, Dorothy Brunton "made her first appearance on any stage" as a flower girl in Bland Holt's production of The White Heather at the Theatre Royal in Adelaide.Amusements: Theatre Royal: "The White Heather", The Register (Adelaide), 20 April 1908, page 6. Following her debut in The White Heather, Brunton was cast in a series of productions presented by Bland Holt's Dramatic Company in the Theatre Royal in Adelaide: One of the Best, a melodrama written by Seymour Hicks and George Edwardes, which opened on 5 May 1908; Brunton was cast as 'Miss Maisie McTosh'.Amusements: Theatre Royal: "One of the Best", Evening Journal (Adelaide), 5 May 1908, page 2. The Great Millionaire by Cecil Raleigh, opened on 9 May 1908; Brunton was cast in the role of 'Beatrice de Grosvenor'.Amusements: "The Great Millionaire", The Register (Adelaide), 11 May 1908, page 7. The Breaking of the Drought, an Australian melodrama written by Arthur Shirley, which opened on 16 May 1908; Brunton "filled the minor part of waiting maid in a winsome manner".Amusements: Theatre Royal, The Advertiser (Adelaide), 18 May 1908, page 9. The Bondman, an adaptation of Hall Caine's novel, opened on 26 May 1908; Brunton played "a dainty Mona" in the play.Amusements: Theatre Royal, The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide), 26 May 1908, page 3; The Stage: Adelaide Theatres, Gadfly (Adelaide), 27 May 1908, page 9. The Great Rescue, an Australian melodrama, opened on 30 May 1908; a critic for Adelaide's The Advertiser commented that "clever Miss Dorothy Brunton hid her identity under the raiment of Wi Lung, the Chinese servant".Amusements: Theatre Royal, The Advertiser (Adelaide), 1 June 1908, page 9. The Flood Tide, Cecil Raleigh's "spectacular, sensational and amusing melodrama", opened on 6 June 1908; Brunton "was a pretty gipsy girl" in the play.Amusements: Theatre Royal, The Advertiser (Adelaide), 8 June 1908, page 8.
After their eight-week season in Adelaide, the Bland Holt Company played a short season in Broken Hill.Theatrical Notes, Barrier Miner (Broken Hill), 20 June 1908, page 6. From there, the company travelled to Perth in Western Australia. On 11 July 1908, they staged The Breaking of the Drought in His Majesty's Theatre where once again Brunton was cast as "the waiting maid".Entertainments: His Majesty's Theatre: "The Breaking of the Drought", The West Australian (Perth), 13 July 1908, page 3.
By June 1909, the Bland Holt Dramatic Company had returned to Sydney. The Great Rescue opened at the Theatre Royal in early June 1909, with Brunton again in the role of the Chinese servant, 'Wi Lung'.Royal – "The Great Rescue", Referee (Sydney), 9 June 1909, page 12.
Dorothy's father, John Brunton, died "from heart failure" on 22 July 1909 at his home in Darlinghurst.Death of John Brunton, Evening News (Sydney), 23 July 1909, page 12.Death of Mr. John Brunton, Referee (Sydney), 28 July 1909, page 15. On 12 August 1909, Dorothy participated in a grand theatrical event commemorating her late father. 'The Brunton Memorial Matinee', Bland Holt's production at the Theatre Royal in aid of the John Brunton Memorial Fund, was an event involving "over two hundred" performers from a number of theatrical companies.The John Brunton Memorial Fund (advertisement), Sydney Morning Herald, 7 August 1909, page 2; The Brunton Memorial Fund, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 August 1909, page 8. In September 1909, Brunton was performing the role of the gypsy fortune teller in Sydney performances of The Flood Tide, with the production using the scenery created by her late father.Bland Holt's Sensations, Sunday Sun (Sydney), 5 September 1909, page 3.
Musical comedy roles
In 1910, Brunton began taking singing lessons with Grace Miller Ward, the wife of actor and theatrical producer Hugh J. Ward. She later credited Mrs. Ward with the nurturing of her "singing and acting possibilities", training her voice to qualify for musical comedy roles.Dorothy Brunton, Singer, Sunday Times (Sydney), 17 June 1917, page 17. Brunton recalled that "Mrs. Hugh Ward arranged personally that my voice should be trained for singing, and kept me hard at it, taking the deepest personal interest in my development and helping me on in every way". Brunton also took dancing lessons with Jennie Brenan at her dance studio in Melbourne.
After the retirement of the popular performer Fanny Dango, the J. C. Williamson theatrical management company sought to find a replacement with a similar appeal to audiences. Grace Ward brought her protégé, Dorothy Brunton, under the notice of her husband, who was then a managing director with J. C. Williamson Ltd. Brunton was tried in roles formerly played by Dango, the first of which was 'Elaine' in A Knight for a Day.A Recent "Find", The World's News (Sydney), 14 October 1911, page 4. By October 1910, Dorothy Brunton had joined J. C. Williamson's New Comic Opera Company. She performed in the company's production of A Knight for a Day, described as "an American musical farce extravaganza", which opened in Adelaide at the Theatre Royal on 18 October 1910. She was cast as 'Elaine' (Mme. Woodbury's daughter) in the production. A critic commented that "she has an attractive personality, talent, and enthusiasm, and will succeed". Brunton's song in the musical, 'Baby Land', "with the pony ballet and the grotesque marionette dolls was thoroughly enjoyed".Amusements: Theatre Royal: "A Knight for a Day", The Register (Adelaide), 19 October 1910, page 8. After her father's death, Dorothy Brunton's mother Cissy became her constant companion and mentor as she travelled across Australia with the New Comic Opera Company.Interview: Five Minutes With Dorothy Brunton, Critic (Adelaide), 26 May 1915, page 20. Cissy Brunton remained an important supporter in her daughter's life and career until her death in 1933, "a loving but honest and helpful critic".Mrs. Brunton Dies, Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 23 June 1933, page 9.
Brunton's performances in A Knight for a Day "found immediate acceptance from the public". In June 1911, Brunton played the role of the attendant of the Princess (played by Florence Young) in The Balkan Princess at the Theatre Royal in Sydney.Amusements, Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 26 June 1911, page 9.Dorothy Brunton's Career, Arrow (Sydney), 8 September 1917, page 3. By October 1911, Brunton was playing 'Magda' (a charwoman at the palace) in The Balkan Princess when it played at His Majesty's Theatre in Brisbane."The Balkan Princess", Truth (Brisbane), 24 September 1911, page 8. The Merry Widow at His Majesty's Theatre in Brisbane in October 1911, Brunton playing 'Fi Fi'.His Majesty's Theatre: "The Merry Widow", The Telegraph (Brisbane), 18 October 1911, page 11. From November 1911, Brunton was engaged by the Julius Knight Company in a revival of The Sign of the Cross. Described by the Bulletin critic as an "irresistible medley of religion, bellow-drama and eroticism", the play was performed at the Theatre Royal in Sydney with Brunton in the dramatic role of 'Stephanus'.Sundry Shows, The Bulletin, Vol. 32 No. 1659 (30 November 1911), page 8.Now We Lose Her, Elmore Standard, 28 July 1917, page 6.
By January 1912, Brunton was back with J. C. Williamson's New Comic Opera Company, under the management of which she was to remain for the next five years. The following are early roles she played with the company: