Vale Roz Hervey: ‘She was everywhere art was’
The passing of Adelaide-based arts figure Roz Hervey has left the creative community in mourning, with many sharing heartfelt tributes and memories of a woman who had a far-reaching impact through her career as a dancer, choreographer, producer, director and passionate arts advocate.
Roz Hervey, the creative producer of Restless Dance Theatre, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease two years ago and had spoken openly in the past about how it had affected her life.
In a farewell letter to her family, friends and colleagues, she wrote her symptoms had rapidly worsened in recent months. She was grateful “to have had control of the timing of things” and that in the end she qualified for South Australia’s voluntary assisted dying program, which meant she could “choose when I wanted to die, with dignity, surrounded by my beautiful family in my hometown”.
Hervey’s partner is Patch Theatre artistic director Geoff Cobham, and the couple have two children: Huey and actress Tilda.
In a social media post following Hervey’s death last Friday, Restless Dance Theatre said her Restless family was heartbroken at the loss of its “amazing creative producer extraordinaire”, adding: “Living with MND for the last two years she continued working incredibly hard. She poured her heart, creativity, and soul into our beautiful company until the very last day.”
Hervey had a long and successful career in the arts – as a dancer, choreographer, director and producer. She performed and toured nationally and internationally with companies including Meryl Tankard Company, DV8 and Dancenorth Australia, and directed works for many theatre companies. Hervey was an associate artist for 11 years with Sydney dance-theatre company Force Majeure, was director of the Adelaide Fringe parade from 2013-16, and also held director/producer and coordinator roles with a number of other festivals.
She was creative producer at Restless, a company that creates work for dancers with and without disability, for the past nine years.
“Roz was so much more than a creative producer; to us, she was our powerhouse, guiding star, confidant, and a dear friend,” says a statement provided to InReview on behalf of Restless’s CEO Julie Moralee, artistic director Michelle Ryan, associate artist Larissa McGowan, the board, staff, freelance creatives, company dancers, emerging artists, participants and families.
“Her influence lifted Restless Dance Theatre to new heights, shaping not only our work but also the hearts of everyone who had the privilege of collaborating with her. Roz was a passionate advocate for artists and seamlessly brought creative teams together to turn ideas into stunning pieces of art.
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“Though Roz may no longer be with us, her spirit, dedication, and vibrant energy remain deeply embedded in all that we do. Her legacy will continue to inspire and uplift, touching the lives of those who knew her, worked alongside her and experienced her artistry from the audience, including future audiences yet to come.
“We are profoundly grateful to have shared this journey with Roz, to have felt her light and strength in our orbit, and we are deeply honoured to call her part of the Restless family. Her memory will always remind us to stay solution-focused, and always come from a place of love, honesty, joy, and passion, traits she brought to every project, every conversation, and every moment. Vale Roz.”
Many of the other companies, individuals and festivals with whom Hervey worked or had an association have shared tributes over the past week, including Force Majeure, Windmill Theatre, Australian Dance Theatre, Creative Australia, Adelaide Festival, Flinders Drama Centre Graduates, Adelaide Fringe, Brink Productions, Vitalstatistix, Illuminate Adelaide, Slingsby, and Holden Street Theatres.
Creative Australia acknowledged Hervey’s work as a choreographer and her long association with both Force Majeure and Restless, as well as her success as a director, which saw her win awards as the co-director of Patch Theatre shows Me and My Shadow and Zooom.
“Roz Hervey was a powerhouse of Australian dance who wowed audiences around the world as a dancer, choreographer, producer and director over nearly 40 years,” said Creative Australia head of dance Sarah Greentree.
State Theatre Company of South Australia’s outgoing artistic director, Mitchell Butel, described Hervey as “uniquely beautiful and classy and talented and angelic and funny and brilliant”.
“Her work on [the Adelaide Festival show] Private View this year for Restless Dance Theatre helped make it one of my favourite festival shows ever and her input to and work in so many other shows moved many of us,” Butel wrote in a social media post.
“She made great work and she supported others’ work. No matter what Adelaide show I saw or foyer I was in this year, there would be Roz with her beloved Geoff, Tilly or Huey, supporting and imbibing the work and dissecting it afterwards. She saw everything. And this all while her health was taking new turns.
“Her mode of getting around changed this year but what didn’t change was the light she brought to every show, foyer, occasion and friendship. She sprinkled magic dust on so many and I feel privileged to have been in her magical orbit. What a loss but my, what a teacher of how to live an excellent life. My love to all who loved her.”
Hervey had served on the boards of independent Adelaide company Theatre Republic and Port Adelaide-based multidisciplinary arts company Vitalstatistix, both of which shared public tributes.
Theatre Republic said that Hervey was also the movement choreographer on its inaugural production, LINES, and had continued to support its work in recent times, including attending the opening night of The Almighty Sometimes in September. The company “benefited enormously from her vast experience as a creator, director, dancer, creative producer and advocate”.
“Roz was the embodiment of everything good about us humans. Generous, courageous, big hearted, passionate, loyal, intelligent, selfless and full of joy. You won’t find a bad word spoken about Roz and rightly so. We are all the richer for having had her in our lives.”
Roz Hervey working with Theatre Republic.Vitals noted that the last time it hosted Hervey was also in September, at its annual Adhocracy hothouse: “Roz had incredible integrity, kindness, insight and skill. As has been noted in many tributes, she was everywhere art was.”
A tribute by Access2Arts said Hervey “played a major role in the inclusion of disability arts within the mainstream Australian arts scene”, while performer Paul Capsis shared photos of himself and Roz working together in Adelaide on Brink Productions’ The Bridge of San Luis Rey, writing “My heart is breaking for her family. A beautiful soul”.
As Geoff Cobham told SALIFE in an interview in 2020, he and Roz met around 38 years ago at the Adelaide Festival when they were both working for One Extra Dance Theatre on tour from Sydney. The couple often worked together during their careers, with Cobham commenting in the same story that “art is our work and our hobby”.
Daughter Tilly has also forged a successful career in the arts as a theatre and film actress, with credits including the stage production of The Dictionary of Lost Words and movies such as Hotel Mumbai and I Am Woman.
In a statement accompanying a portrait taken for a project as part of this year’s SA History Festival, Hervey wrote that living in a tight-knit community like Adelaide had helped her to swap between roles such as dancer, producer, director, dramaturg and teacher.
“I’m a huge believer in the power of the arts to change perspectives,” she wrote. “I have always used my art to challenge, and ignite audience discussion. I have seen how the arts has changed people.”
In her farewell letter, Hervey said throughout her life she had been deeply focussed on making art, and her passion for her work was the reason she continued working until the end:
“It’s what I love, it’s kept me going, and it’s surrounded me with incredible humans. I believe that the beauty and meaning in the work I have been involved in will live on in people’s memories.”
Fittingly, she also included a quote from Dr Seuss: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”