Esson, Louis (1879-1943), did much to develop drama in Australia—both as a playwright and as a promoter of repertory theater. He was the first Australian playwright to write drama that was truly Australian in theme, character, and setting. Esson was inspired by the folk nationalism of the Irish playwrights William Butler Yeats and John Millington Synge. Under their influence, he tried to discover in the Australian bush some equivalent of the myths and folk traditions that shaped Irish theater in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Esson also wrote plays about the urban slums of Australia.
Thomas Louis Buvelot Esson was born on Aug. 10, 1878, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He immigrated to Australia as a boy with his parents. His first plays were The Woman Tamer (1910) and Dead Timber (1911). His later plays include The Drovers (1919) and The Southern Cross (1927). Esson was inspired by the idea of a national Australian theater. In 1921, he helped found the Pioneer Players in Melbourne. Several of his plays were staged by this company. Esson died on Nov. 27, 1943.
