13
December1949 – 6 March 2014
With
the passing of Naone Carrel the city’s theatre scene has lost an actress of
great warmth, range and quality, one who could deal with the comic, the tragic,
the classic and the contemporary.
She
was equally at home in the stylish sharpness of a Moliere like The Learned
Ladies (2008) as she was playing Blanche to David Branson’s Stanley in A
Streetcar Named Desire (1991). She took on roles as disparate as Winnie in
Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days (1991) and Lady Teazle in The School For Scandal
(1992). More recently she was seen in roles as contrasting as the Gertrude-
like mother Flora Humble in Humble Boy (2011), the morally questing Sister Aloysius in Doubt (2012) and Chris, the enthusiast for a
Woman’s Institute fundraising nude calendar, in Calendar Girls (2013).
Although
she also did shows with other companies and theatres such as Free Rain, The
Street and Papermoon, she had a large commitment to Canberra Repertory, serving
as president for seven years up to 2011. When not on stage she could often be
found working in the box office or front of house with efficiency and humour.
And
her lovely singing voice was also to be glimpsed from time to time at Gorman
House markets (and other venues), singing with local Celtic band Humbug.
Seeing
her name on a programme was always a sign that quality would follow. Naone was
a hugely active part of Canberra theatre and will be missed.
Alanna
Maclean
