Limelight has been informed of the death this week of theatre producer Gary Penny.

Prolific in the 1980s and 1990s, Penny trained and worked as a lawyer and came to theatre via law firm partner David Ratner, a former actor who was Independent Theatre founder Doris Fitton’s lawyer. After Ratner became ill in mid-1970s, Penny took over his theatre clients and his interest in the field burgeoned.

While travelling overseas, Penny saw American writer John Pielmeier’s drama Agnes of God. He liked it, bought the rights, and joint-produced the first Australian production of the play in Melbourne in 1984.

After more joint ventures, Penny went solo as a producer and scored an early hit with David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross in 1986.

Speaking to a reporter after resigning from his law firm, Penny was enthusiastic about the demands of theatre production:

“It’s like three-dimensional, chess … There’s never a day when you can sit back: the show changes, the box office changes, problems occur that you hadn’t anticipated. You’ve got to reassess all the time. Theatre is seizing an opportunity. That’s the beauty of it. You must make quick decisions.”

Among the many plays Penny produced were Neil Simon’s...