Lorraine Bayly

 ( 1937 Births ) 

The family moved south to Narrandera after her father, who worked for police force, was transferred. Her father was also an amateur magician and ventriloquist. When Bayly was five, the family moved again, to Batemans Bay, 280 kilometres south of Sydney. From age five, she wrote, directed and starred in plays in the local jail.

At the age of six, Bayly's parents divorced and she went to live in more than 180km away in Batlow with her father, while her younger sister stayed with her mother in Batemans Bay. They were only able to see each other during the school holidays. From the age of nine, Bayly had her own Ventriloquism act, which 35 years later she performed on The Parkinson Show, using host Michael Parkinson as her dummy.

At the age of eleven, Bayly moved to Sydney with her father, where she "endured" two stepmothers. From age 11 to 12, she played classical piano Saturday afternoons live on Radio 2UE.

When Bayly left home, she worked in the ledger department of a bank in Sydney's Martin Place. In her late teens, she undertook free acting classes under Hayes Gordon for 18 months, while she helped convert a Kirribilli boatshed into a theatre, together with other students. This led to her becoming one of the founding member of Sydney's Ensemble Theatre, which she helped launch at the age of 21.

Bayly's father never got to see her acting, as he died several days before he was due to watch her perform in her first professional play, in 1958.

Further plays with Ensemble Theatre included The Rehearsal (1965) for which Bayly also won critical acclaim, as well as Invitation to a March (1967), The Rimers of Eldritch (1968), The Daughter-in-Law (1969), Come Laughing Home (1969), We Bombed in New Haven (1970), Three Months Gone (1970) and Who's Who (1974).

She also appeared in several plays for J. C. Williamson's including The Season at Sarsaparilla (1963), Mary, Mary (1963–1964), which also included a long tour of New Zealand and Chase Me Comrade (1965).

While filming Play School, Bayly appeared on stage in D. H. Lawrence play The Daughter-in-Law for Ensemble Theatre in 1969. and would head home after the show to study the Play School script. Further J. C. Williamson's productions followed, with Who Killed Santa Claus? (1971), Suddenly at Home (1973), The Male of the Species (1975) opposite English actor Edward Woodward and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1980–1981), playing the role of Mona in the latter.

In 1991, Bayly performed in a touring production of Gas Light with Theatre of Comedy. She then played Mrs Patrick Campbell in Dear Liar (1992), and Margaret in a 1996 Ensemble Theatre staging of Rough Justice (1996). In 1997, she went on to play the role of Linda Loman, opposite Max Cullen as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman at the Sydney Opera House, again for Ensemble Theatre. The staging won best production in the Sydney Critics Circle Awards.

Bayly took a hiatus from acting in 2003, after the closing night of a production of David Williamson Birthrights, at the Sydney Opera House. She returned to the stage during a 2007 production of Rabbit Hole with Ensemble Theatre.

In 2010, Bayly starred in the play Calendar Girls, a stage adaptation of the Calendar Girls, alongside an all-star cast including Rhonda Burchmore, Cornelia Frances and Jean Kittson. In 2012, she appeared in David Williamson When Dad Married Fury.

In 2015, Bayly featured in an Ensemble Theatre staging of John Misto The Shoe-Horn Sonata, reprising her lead role as Sheila from an earlier performance back in 1997. The same year, Bayly played Frau Schmidt in a 2015 national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, alongside Cameron Daddo as Captain Von Trapp and Marina Prior as Baroness Schraeder. The production, which marked the 50th anniversary of the film, was also Bayly's 50th stage show.

Her other stage credits include Arthur Miller The Last Yankee and David Williamson Travelling North.