Seesaw Magazine is honoured to have been the forum for the wit and wisdom of David Zampatti for six wonderful years.

David, who died recently at the age of 70, was an outstanding writer and a perspicacious assessor of the performance artistry that graced our stages over the time he was a Seesaw reviewer.

His reviews were always highly anticipated by Seesaw readers, particularly by nervous artists awaiting his opinion, and they contributed much towards earning Seesaw’s reputation for fair, forthright and well-informed arts criticism.

Esteemed UK critic Michael Billington once wrote: “What exactly gives one the right to criticise?”

“Absolutely nothing”, Billington said but added: “In the end you earn the right to be a critic by the passion, commitment, moral zeal and verbal felicity you bring to your job. In my experience the charlatan, the show-off or the con-artist is quickly detected…criticism, to me is not the last word: simply part of a permanent debate about the nature of the ideal theatre.”

And David, or Zed as many knew him, always loved the debate, as many who wrestled ideas and opinions with him in foyers and forums around Perth can attest.

David loved the arts, theatre and music – as well as the great drama, comedy and tragedy that played out in the sporting arena. All the world was indeed a stage for the Dockers tragic. An actor in his UWA student days, he later managed bands, including the legendary Dave Warner From the Suburbs, and managed events and marketing at the Dockers from their beginning (he initiated the famous song, anchor emblem and Len Hall Anzac Day event) and for the Hole in the Wall and WA Theatre Company.

He began his life a s a professional theatre reviewer at The West Australian in 2010. I was The West’s Arts Editor at the time, and we had been introduced by a mutual friend who felt The West could benefit from his insightful writing. It was a match made in heaven for me.

I bathed in the reflected glory of his diligence, erudition and voracious fervour for the job. My arts pages were utterly elevated by his work. He made me and The West look better.

I remember my tears – having seen the magisterial Denis O’Hare solo show The Iliad at 2015 Perth Festival then reading Zed’s review the next morning which took me straight back into the heart-rending beauty of the night before.

That was a rare five-star review – another memorable one was Hipbone Sticking Out, the epic amalgam of myth and raw documentary from BigArt and the Roebourne community in 2014.

As prodigious with a spreadsheet as with a well-thumbed thesaurus, David was a true master in the dark arts of Excel. The intricate Fringe World and Perth Festival wish-list schedule he submitted every December was finely calibrated down to the last minute and number of metres he had to walk to maximise his attendance at any remotely noteworthy show.

David was central to the early development of Seesaw, working with co-founder Nina Levy, Rosalind Appleby, Gabrielle Sullivan and others as a member of the Advisory Group and then the inaugural Board that steered its incorporation as a not-for-profit association. He also was highly valued as a mentor to the Seesaw team and to its emerging writers.

David loved an opening night. A born networker, he would scan the crowd for people he just had to catch up with. He was on a mission to connect people – with each other and with ideas.

Big of heart, mind and stature, he was a roguish optimist. His ever-twinkling eye was always looking for the best in humanity. A talent spotter and effusive promoter, he was a massive fan boy of so many of Perth’s great creative voices.

For all his wit, wordplay and love of a good laugh, he took his reviewing responsibilities very seriously. He knew that a culture of strong analysis and public discourse was vital for the good health and growth of the sector.

As he noted in a highly entertaining 2020 Seesaw article about the “best worst reviews”, no-one in their right mind becomes a theatre critic for the money. “But neither is the hope of compliments from the artists we review likely to lure anyone with an understanding of risk versus reward to our beleaguered vocation,” he said.” So, when they come, like the appearance of Halley’s Comet, they’re worth going outside and gazing into the firmament in wonder for.”

David’s reviews were always an urgent invitation to get people off their couches and into the theatre, and to encourage even better work from the artists whose passion, talent and hard work he loved so much – from those emerging from WAAPA to The Blue Room and beyond.

David has left us a gold mine of brilliance – astute observations, socio-political critiques, philosophical musings and crafty comic zingers – in his hundreds of reviews for The West, Seesaw and his From the Turnstiles blog. I’d really urge you to go fossicking for yourselves.

As his author biography in Seesaw notes: “He goes to every show he’s reviewing with the confident expectation it will be the best thing he’s ever seen.”

I think David would be amused by the fact that now – after years of getting free premium seats in the stalls – he has finally found himself comfortably seated up In The Gods. Vale, David. 

Photos: David Zampatti with actor Paul Grabovac.