Alan Becher

---

Alan Alexander Becher Australian dramatist, writer, director, producer and actor. He was the Artistic Director (and co-founder) of The Perth Theatre Company, Perth, Western Australia from 1994 to his death in 2008.

Early Years

Born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 7 May, 1947, to Lt. Col. Jack & Peggy Becher. From an army family, he was the first to break tradition and went to university instead, but instead of attending classes, he ended up spending all his time with the drama society, realising his true calling. He moved to Australia when he was 19, working various odd jobs and touring the country by motorbike, eventually marrying and having a son in 1973.

Career

Alan Becher moved from the UK to the east coast of Australia in the 1970s, working mainly as an actor and best known for Razorback (1984) , The City’s Edge (1983) and Bliss (1985) . He re-located to Western Australia in 1983 to develop his career as a director and writer. He commenced with the Fremantle young people’s theatre company SWY Theatre in 1991 and guided its move to Perth and eventually its re-birth in 1994 as the Perth Theatre Company based at the Playhouse Theatre . Alan Becher directed over 40 productions of new Australian plays including 17 world premieres, and his productions often toured Australia and internationally . Writing credits include stage adaptations of, Paul Radley’s My Blue Checker Corker and Me, Tom Hungerford’s Stories from Suburban Road , Elizabeth Jolley’s The Newspaper of Claremont Street , Mudrooroo’s Wild Cat Falling and Fotini Epanomitis’ The Mule’s Foal . He also co-wrote Shadow of the Eagle and conceived Welcome to Dullsville , to which he contributed material, together with 14 members of Perth Theatre Company’s Writers’ Lab.

He established the Writers’ Lab (an adjunct to Perth Theatre Company) in 2003. The Lab offered a creative environment in which playwrights and emerging writers were able to test new works, access draft scripts and engage in debate about the practice of playwriting. The Lab expanded to bring together theatre practitioners from a variety of backgrounds to deconstruct and examine the art of theatre.

Alan Becher also designed productions for Swy Theatre Company and Perth Theatre Company. He cast and directed a young Tim Minchin as Mozart in the 2006 Perth Theatre production of Amadeus . He was also an amateur musician, having taught himself piano in the 80's, acting, directing and playing keyboard as manager for the band in the musical Living in the Seventies and commissioned composers to write musical scores to underpin theatre productions such as the adaptation of Elizabeth Jolley’s Milk and Honey (composer Iain Grandage) and Fotini Epanomitis’ adaptation of The Mule’s Foal (composer Veleka Algar). Alan Becher also wrote for corporate launches, promotional DVDs and museum exhibitions.

Stage Productions

• 1991- 1992: Wild Cat Falling, Stories from Suburban Road (including remount for northwest WA regional tour).

• 1993: Five Fingers, Hedda Gabler, Cargo, The Newspaper of Claremont Street. Perth Theatre Company

• 1994: Oleanna, Whispering Demons, The Heidi Chronicles, Brilliant Lies.

• 1995: Dead Funny, Double Act, Lockie Leonard, Human Torpedo.

• 1996: Lockie Leonard Human Torpedo, Communicating Doors, Double Act, The Shoe-Horn Sonata.

• 1997: Siren, Same time another year, Dead Funny, A Passionate woman.

• 1998: Silly Cow, Milk and Honey, Sweet Pheobe, Decadence.

• 1999: Third World Blues, Weekend Breaks, Social Climbers, The Censor, Speaking in Tongues.

• 2000: The Exploding Breakfast, Gasping, Miss Julie, The Mule's Foal, Stories from Suburban Road (revival).

• 2001: The Getaway Bus, Face to Face, Shopping and F***ing, Vagina Monologues.

• 2002: The Return, Stories from Suburban Road (revival), Cox Four, Face to Face, The Vagina Monologues.

• 2003: The Corporal's Wife, Skin Tight, Shadow of the Eagles, Covert.

• 2004: Bench, Talk about passion, Face to Face, The Chatroom.

• 2005: Tango, Soulmates, Skin Tight, Welcome to Dullsville!.

• 2006: Charitable Intent, Amadeus, Marmalade and Egg, Soulmates (re-mount).

• 2007: Bombshells, The Goat or who is Sylvia?, St Nicholas, Baby Boomer Blues.

• 2008: The Turning, Glorious!, Baby Boomer Blues (tour), Speed-The-Plow, Taking Liberty

Filmography

• 1985 Bliss -Surgeon (as Alan Beecher)
• 1984 Razorback -Counsel (as Alan Beecher)
• 1984 Mother and Son (TV Series) -Policeman
• (1984) Maggie Alone -Policeman
• 1983 The City's Edge (Video) -Williams
• 1983 The Dismissal (TV Mini-Series) -Ian Viner
• 1982 A Country Practice (TV Series) -Noel Matthews
• (1982) Field of Thunder: Part 2. -Noel Matthews
• (1982) Field of Thunder: Part 1. -Noel Matthews
• (1982) The Best of Friends -Tim
• (1982) Sons and Daughters (TV Series) -Doctor
• (1982)Episode #1.37 -Doctor
• (1982) Episode #1.36 -Doctor (as Alan Beecher)
• 1978 Chopper Squad (TV Series) -Band: Chalice
• (1978) Long Weekend - Band: Chalice
• (1978) Case for the Defence (TV Series) -Weston
• (1978) Second Time Around (1978) -Weston
• (1974) Parent Teacher Interviews
• (1973) Boney (TV Series) -Barry Elson
• (1973) Boney and the Strangler -Barry Elson

Writing credits

stage adaptations of;

Paul Radley’s My Blue Checker Corker and Me

Tom Hungerford’s Stories from Suburban Road

Elizabeth Jolley’s The Newspaper of Claremont Street

Mudrooroo’s Wild Cat Falling

Fotini Epanomitis’ The Mule’s Foal

co-wrote Shadow of the Eagle

conceived Welcome to Dullsville with 14 members of Perth Theatre Company’s Writers’ Lab

External links

• www.example.com

This article "Alan Becher" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Alan Becher. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---