By KATH GANNAWAY
ACTOR John Derum will revisit his one man show ‘More Than A Sentimental Bloke’ as part of the seventh Toolangi C. J. Dennis Poetry Festival later this month.
Derum has had a long and distinguished career in theatre, radio and television and has become identified to some extent with his interpretation of the work of Australian writers, with a particular body of work paying tribute to Dennis.
The two-day festival will start with the poetry competition awards ceremony at 2pm on Saturday 18 October, followed by an ‘open mic’ session and other entertainment.
Derum will perform ‘The Singing Garden’ from around 4.30pm and ‘More Than A Sentimental Bloke’ as part of the evening entertainment, staying on to enjoy the Sunday events.
Sunday starts with the Poets’ Breakfast, guided tours of the gardens by Dennis and his fellow poets, Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson and a ballet performance by local students.
A physical resemblance to the man many regard as the quintessential Australian poet, introduced Derum to the world of C. J. Dennis.
Following a television show to mark the centenary of Dennis’ birth in 1976, Derum said the director handed over six boxes of research material with the suggestion “ … you should do something on this”.
“It took a while to develop “More Than a Sentimental Bloke’ which reflected what I had discovered – that there was a lot more to both the man and the material he wrote than The Sentimental Bloke,” Derum said.
He is looking forward to the festival when he will also perform “The Singing Garden” based on Dennis’ last book where he drew on the birds that regularly visited his Toolangi gardens.
Derum said Dennis’ observations of the birds and things he saw around his home were often funny, and entertaining.
“I have done this show in a number of other gardens and I ‘m really looking forward to bringing that material home in that garden where he actually sat and wrote it,” he said.
The festival is presented by the C. J. Dennis Society on the weekend of 18 and 19 October. For further information visit www.thecjdennissociety.com .
