Obituary: Jennie Tate
Jennie Tate was one of the most distinctive presences - in person and in her work - in Australian theatre. Her coppery bob of soft curly hair, quizzical smile, quick wit and eyecatching, stylish outfits were counter-balanced by a self-effacing outlook on the world that belied her singular visions for it.
Tate's designs - for all the major theatre companies and the Australian Opera - are instantly recognisable by their imaginative, humorous originality and breathtaking touches of beauty and whimsy. “Costumes and set design by Jennie Tate” was always something to read with a sense of anticipation and excitement and she never disappointed.
She began her career by training at Melbourne Theatre Company; for many years she has lived in a delightful Sydney terrace house tucked in behind CoFA (College of Fine Art) where she taught and has been a student herself over the years. She also taught design at NIDA.
In recent times, as well as a prodigious output (Bell Shakespeare, AO, OzOpera on her drawing board at the time of her death) she took her passion for Japanese design and art to another level by applying herself to an MA at CoFA. An Australia Council Fellowship to study the theatrical applications of digital imaging meant she was also exploring new ways of using technology to enhance her traditional skills.
Although she could and did earn more money by designing for film and television (she was several times nominated for AFI awards and won in 1987 for her costumes for The Umbrella Woman) her quirky, inquiring mind and unfettered imagination were most satisfied and probably at their best in the financial and structural confines of theatre. She rose to the challenge of grand opera with no apparent effort, yet could also overcome the logistics and strictures of designing a touring show for OzOpera or Bell Shakespeare - and do it beautifully.
Diagnosed with breast cancer some thirteen years ago, Tate managed to overcome the disease and continued working and living to the hilt until the cancer returned, irreversibly, late in 2007. It is customary to say a person will be sadly missed: Jennie Tate is a sore loss. A creative talent and unusually creative personality who touched all who came into her orbit with the wonder of her imagination.
At a time when grumpy old women (50-somethings) are more and more refusing to be put on the scrapheap, Jennie Tate was a dazzling beacon of how to go about staying off it and at the same time, turning the scrapheap into an artwork. Her work was going from strength to strength as she will be represented in Sydney theatres in 2008 with new major productions of As You Like It (Bell Shakespeare) and Don Giovanni (Opera Australia). The students she taught and inspired will ensure the best kind of immortality. But she will be sadly missed.
