Michael Edgley

Edgley International is a theatre and concert promotions company from Australia, first started in the 1930s. It has also been known as Edgley & Dawe Attractions, Edgley Ventures, and Michael Edgley International. The company is noted for bringing to Australia many foreign acts not previously seen in the country, particularly dance companies from Russia.

English vaudeville brothers Eric Edgley and Clem Dawe were invited to Australia in 1920 by J&N Tait to appear in a production of Sinbad the Sailor at King's Theatre, Melbourne. Born Eric and Clem White, they changed their names in their early years to stage names, considering that "White" was uninteresting. The partnership later toured Australia for theatre manager J. C. Williamson and played in shows including Robinson Crusoe, Love Lies and So This Is Love. Eric married in 1925, was widowed in 1930 and remarried in 1940. Throughout this period he and Clem toured Australasia, the United Kingdom and South Africa, doing shows under various arrangements, and moving from performers to promoters.

In 1951 they moved to Perth, Western Australia to manage His Majesty's Theatre. They took a lease on the venue in 1954 and Clem died the following year. In 1958 the company purchased His Majesty's and undertook extensive renovation work. From the early 1960s Eric arranged tours to Australasia from Russian performing troupes including the Bolshoi Ballet, the Georgian State Dance Company and the Moscow Variety Theatre. Edgley also promoted local talent including the West Australian Ballet.

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