Stage Whispers July/August 2025 edition

Dear theatre-goers and theatre-doers, Stage Whispers often takes me down a Memory Lane or two.

Our annual Performing Arts Course Showcase reminds me of myself as an eighteen-year-old, seeking out a university course where I could broaden my passion for theatre, at the same time as finding a secure career as a teacher. That journey drew me to the School of Drama at University of NSW, a BA and MA, and a Dip Ed, then many years of staging school musicals and creating other performing opportunities for my students.

A handful of my students went on to tertiary Performing Arts courses (and careers) like those we highlight in this edition. Many more carried their skills and passion forward into various careers, where they found other ways to integrate the collaborative creativity and confidence they’d developed through drama classrooms and shows.

Sometimes, out of the blue, other former students simply come up to me in the street, or maybe a café, recalling musicals as a high school highlight, or telling me how their own kids are now pursuing a passion for the performing arts. Others, I bump into around the Sydney community theatre scene we are part of, continuing to explore our shared passion.

Another Memory Lane I’ve wandered down in the last month came courtesy of the international production of Les Misérables, re-enforced by reliving some of my earliest memories of Cats thanks Coral Drouyn’s chat with Todd McKenney in this edition, recalling how feline performers slinking around the auditorium subverted all my preconceptions of musicals.

Going to the theatre, especially musicals, has been a big part of my life almost as far back as I remember; my parents took me to pantomimes, variety shows at the Tivoli, and my first big JCW musical, Funny Girl, at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney. As a drama teacher, I was keen on ensuring that my students had similar great theatre experiences, and then enjoying their responses. I organised numerous excursions, including musicals at Sydney’s Theatre Royal like Cats, Phantom and Les Misérables

During the opening night bows of the concert version of Les Mis, producer Cameron Mackintosh came onstage, then introduced a roll call of Australian Les Mis alumni, who thrilled us by recreating glimpses of their original roles with the current cast in a thrilling additional curtain call. Among them was the first Inspector Javert I ever saw, Philip Quast, with whom I chatted and grabbed a photo at the after party.

Down a somewhat more recent Memory Lane, I recalled a lovely interview I had with Philip, as he was about to open in Sydney as Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins, which I’d love to share with you (tinyurl.com/yl6khue4).

Yours in Theatre,

NeilLitchfield Editor

Online extras!

Philip Quast briefly reprises his role of Javert on the opening night of Les Mis. youtu.be/6LE6oVYt3xM

Cover image: Savannh Lind and Jake O’Brien in Cats (2025). Read Coral Drouyn’s interview with star Todd McKenney and choreographer Chrissie Cartwright on page 6.

Photo: Daniel Boud.

The cast of The Play That Goes Wrong catching up on the latest theatre news in Stage Whispers.

Coral Drouyn looks at the magic of Cats, both the animals and the much-loved show, as it hits our stages once more, speaking to ‘Gus’ Todd McKenney and choreographer Chrissie Cartwright.

Cats are strange and enigmatic creatures. They have a mystique that is like no other animal and are often difficult to connect with. There’s no ambivalence with cats you either love them or profoundly dislike them. I speak as someone who is currently in the service of three amazing creatures.

Remarkably, Cats as a musical has much the same effect on people. Audiences either adore it or plead that they’re allergic to stage dander and avoid it. The latter are in the minority and, as we all know, cats have nine lives Cats has many more than that.

T.S. Eliot adored cats (the animals) and was so taken by their individuality and unique characters that he wrote a book of poems named Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats for his grandchildren back in 1939, to humorously explain the psychology of how cats think (we cat lovers know, for example, that cats are way too

smart to do anything we tell them).

Twenty years later a young boy called Andrew Lloyd Webber began his love of the feline species when he read Eliot’s book, and some twenty years after that he began work on the phantasmagorical musical that we know and love.

ALW has had a lifelong love of cats currently two magnificent Turkish Vans though he more recently got a therapy dog to help get him through the trauma of seeing his beloved work butchered on screen.

Though some may claim that a dog is man’s best friend (while diamonds are a girl’s) the truth is a home without a cat is just…well…a house. It’s not by chance that there isn’t a musical about dogs it would be all plot and butt sniffing.

Cats the musical has basically no plot it’s all about the characters and why they are who they are, much like life really. Interestingly Eliot did plan a book about dogs and cats and wrote one poem about dogs, The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles. Imagine a musical called Dogs that would be a critic’s wet dream.

So, one of the most successful musicals of all time has hit our shores once again, this time for a 40th anniversary tour, and, although we

(Continued on page 8)

Online extras!

Todd McKenney and Lucy Maunder sing “Gus: The Theatre Cat” from Cats instagram.com/p/DLEpg8-zK-i

Todd McKenney, Lucy Maunder and the cast of Cats

Photo: Daniel Boud.

(Continued from page 6)

can’t match the 21 years it spent in the West End, or the 18 years on Broadway, loyal audiences in Australia have made the show a phenomenal hit with prolonged runs of each production.

As someone who embraced its magic from the very first show in Australia 40 years ago, I was thrilled to have the chance to talk to two people who are intrinsically part of the Cats story. Chrissie Cartwright, as Associate Director and Choreographer for Australia, has a mission to honour and keep alive the legacy of Gillian Lynne, whose choreography of Cats is equally as important to the show as the music.

Todd McKenney, who has rightly earned the title “Star” after 42 years strutting his stuff, has been involved with the show for forty years, and with ALW musicals since he landed his first professional role in Song and Dance back in 1983. It was only fitting that I asked them both what they believed was the generational fascination with the show.

“Well, it is a fantasy, but it’s a real fantasy if you see what I mean,” Chrissie explained. “The audience suspends disbelief and connects with the characters. They need to believe they are watching actual cats, even though it’s written in such a way that you think ‘I know someone like that.’ There’s every human personality trait and emotion within the tribe; some of it is very subtle. Plus, the makeup, and Gillie’s choreography, which truly is so feline, moves that dancers don’t normally have to make…it’s so different to any other musical. We want to believe in the magic.”

Todd echoes the sentiments.

“It isn’t just kids that connect, though it’s such a delight to see whole groups of youngsters from dance schools in the audience. It’s like we all get to be a fly on the wall…or the junkyard…and see what cats really get up to when we’re not looking. I’m more a dog person myself, but the way cats move fascinates everyone, young or old. It’s a show that is always brilliantly cast, so yes, it’s the dancing and the costumes and makeup, but there’s really something

Cats

Theatre Royal, Sydney: Now playing.

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide: From Sept.

Crown Theatre, Perth: From Nov.

Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne: From Dec.

Lyric Theatre, QPAC: From Feb 2026. catsthemusical.com.au

quite profound at the core of it, values that we all have to learn in life. And I love it because it’s an ensemble piece, and that’s where I started.”

“It’s amazing how people relate to different characters,” Chrissie added. “We had a group of underprivileged children to one performance in the West End and afterwards I asked a nine-year-old which cat he liked best and he said ‘Grizabella, because she’s had a hard life like me.’ He understood her, and I was very touched.”

The show’s critics always mention that the show doesn’t have dialogue, or any plot, so it isn’t truly a musical, just a dance show with music and yet, counter to that, are the values of acceptance, understanding, forgiveness and redemption. Is it fair to call it a dance show?

“Not at all,” Chrissie explained. “Yes, you need to be a great dancer but that isn’t enough. You also have to be a credible member of the tribe. I have turned down very fine dancers because, somehow, they would not fit in with the tribe. Cats don’t bond easily, but when they do they are

fiercely loyal. Grizabella’s whole story is that she has been ostracised by the tribe and must regain their respect and understanding. There are character arcs throughout there may not be a linear plot but there are stories galore.”

Despite the success of the show, the film adaptation was a disastrous flop and I wonder if Chrissie has any thoughts on it.

“The producers didn’t understand the concept at all,” Chrissie explained. “They didn’t recognise the credibility factor. So, the dancing was fine, but they cast a whole lot of celebrities to pretend to be cats, and it showed. There was no sense of even trying to say these are real cats. It may as well have been a cartoon. Andrew and I were just horrified. They totally missed the point.”

As a writer I know exactly what she means. If an audience doesn’t believe the characters are real, then there is no emotional connection, human or animal.

Todd, who this time round is playing Gus the Theatre Cat the most poignant character in the show

and Bustopher Jones, has his own take on the dancing.

“You do need all the dance skills,” Todd says. “It’s grueling and amazingly physical, as you would expect. There’s certainly more dancing than I anticipated in my roles. It’s a while since I have needed to be in such good physical shape, so I took myself back to the gym. After all, a 60 -year-old in lycra could be a put-off, but the truth is, for the majority of the roles, you need to be young, and fit, and able to sing while doing acrobatics, and act, and convince the audience that you are a cat. It’s bloody hard work, but worth it. And every cat has a different personality, that has to be a part of the character even in ensemble dances.”

This new cast includes some music theatre favourites like Lucy Maunder and Mark Vincent, and Leigh Archer as Gumbie Cat, but also a slew of not so familiar but brilliant young performers like Gabriyel Thomas as Grizabella, who sings the show’s one major hit song ‘Memory’. The set is once again a junkyard, but without the mountainous (and dangerous) tower of old car tyres that I remember so well.

I mention that when I first saw the show in Melbourne I was in the front row of the Grand Circle and a cat crawled right along the parapet - no wires, no safety harness. They could have fallen and been horribly injured, or someone could have thrown a drink can or a packet and made them lose their balance. I have never forgotten that remarkable cat and how it raised a paw and hissed at me.

“That was me,” Todd responded. “I was known as an acrobat as well as an all-rounder. I think I was twenty and when the director said, ‘You could crawl along the parapet up top couldn’t you?’ I just said ‘sure’. It never occurred to me it was

dangerous at the time, but looking back, what was I thinking?”

As well as cats climbing the proscenium arch and walking parapets, there were cats flying, simply holding onto ropes, and climbing mountains of tyres - all dangerous stuff that would surely never be allowed in these days of health and safety.

“Absolutely,” Chrissie agreed. “The original production did have ‘stunts’ that we can no longer perform because of safety reasons. We now need harnesses for the cats to take flying leaps for example, when a rope loop was enough in the past. But the show keeps evolving. Andrew frequently makes changes to the music and the choreography gets adapted and updated, but always true to Gillie’s vision, that’s something I totally believe in.”

Perhaps only Bob Fosse has created a style that is so idiosyncratically his own, and Gillian Lynne was in her mid -fifties when she choreographed Cats and physically gave life to TS Eliot’s characters. She was an original and, love it or hate it, so is this remarkable show.

It’s now in its fourth generation of audiences and who knows how many more incarnations it will have. And if you haven’t seen it, and you’re not a cat lover, see it simply because it is, and always will be, unique musical theatre. Cover Story

Gabriyel Thomas and the cast of Cats

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Hello! The Book of Mormon is coming back to Sydney in July, and while fans of the show are delighted, some are surprised it hasn’t been cancelled. Kitty Goodall looks at the controversy.

It’s been labelled offensive, disgusting, outrageous, and the funniest musical of all time. It’s enjoyed countless sold out seasons and won a bunch of awards. It still draws massive crowds including a loyal following of repeat viewers. What keeps musical junkies coming back, and why have some people called for it to be cancelled?

As a fan of Avenue Q, Cannibal! The Musical, South Park, and Team America: World Police, I approached The Book of Mormon (TBoM) with a clear idea of what to expect. I also wasn’t surprised to hear the usual pearl -clutchers were aghast. They called it distasteful, profane, blasphemous, perverse, and depraved and I thought that all sounded right up my alley.

I’m not interested in art that plays it safe or kowtows to kings. Since the days of court jesters, humour has always been a great leveller, however, I’m not impressed by comedy that punches down. There’s nothing clever about cruelty and taking cheap shots.

Punching down is just bullying with a laugh track.

While there are exceptions, generally Robert Lopez, Trey Parker, and Matt Stone’s work punches up. Their musicals can be shocking and unhinged, but when you look closer, they’re also intelligent and heartfelt, with something important to say about the world. There is a soul behind the profanity.

So, I was all geared up to interview the fresh Aussie cast and write a positive puff piece about TBoM and how the comedy still endures after 14 years. At least, that was the plan until I learned nobody was available for interviews. It was time to look for another angle.

Every writer is biased (even if they say they aren’t). So, it was time to ask myself, am I just interpreting this show through the eyes of a fan of these writers? Am I also a white woman who doesn’t care about religion, and who loves swearing? Guilty on all counts. Could it be possible I’m not offended

because the jokes aren’t taking aim at me?

Recent calls for TBoM to be cancelled are not due to its treatment of Mormons. The Mormon church expects people won’t take their depiction as gospel. Questions have, however, been raised about the portrayal of Uganda. In 2023, On Stage Blog reported a group of Ugandan students had written a letter to the creators of the musical. An excerpt reads:

“We were disturbed by the offensive and abusive lyrics towards our beloved country. The musical portrays Uganda as a land of poverty, disease, and violence where people live in primitive and uncivilised conditions. It depicts Africans as ignorant and gullible.”

Clearly these students were hurt. Was that the writers’ intention?

There’s only been one change made to the script since opening. Nabulungi no longer tries to text on a typewriter. It’s a promising step, but some say more should change.

The London company of The Book Of Mormon

Photo: Paul Coltas.

Some critics cite the invented African language as disrespectful, saying the show leans into stereotypes and western assumptions about Uganda. I’d always interpreted this as a criticism of westerners’ ignorance, and lampooning the ‘white saviour’ trope.

The show depicts life in Uganda as harsh. The students mentioned the ‘poverty, disease, and violence’ in the show, focussing on the challenges Ugandans face and omitting the beauty in their lives, as an offensive misrepresentation? Let’s take a moment to stare the ugly truth in its ugly face.

Uganda is classified as a lowincome country, with 41% of the population living under the international poverty line of $1.90 US per day. So poverty is an issue the people of Uganda experience.

How about HIV/AIDS? The stats in the musical are exaggerated. HIV prevalence among adults in Uganda is currently 5.8%. Rates were declining but the pandemic disrupted progress and infection rates began to climb again. They are expected to climb further since the US recently withdrew important funding.

Myths and superstitions still contribute to transmission, and religion is partly to blame. Uganda’s largest religion, the Catholic Church, continues to oppose condom use. In one survey, 31% of youth agreed with the statement “Witchcraft plays a role in HIV transmission”. Another myth referenced in the musical that having sex with a virgin cures HIV has been reported as contributing to increased infections.

The violence in TBoM appears exaggerated by today’s standards. General Butt F**king Naked is likely inspired by Joseph Kony, the rebel commander responsible for decades of atrocities, including child abductions and sexual slavery. He remains in hiding and is no longer thought to be active in Uganda.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is another form of violence referenced in TBoM. Over 144 million girls and women in Africa have undergone FGM. Uganda currently has some of the lowest rates in the continent and those numbers are trending down, but it’s still a problem.

The Book Of Mormon

Capitol Theatre, Sydney: From Jul 15. thebookofmormonmusical.com.au

Does TBoM ask us to look upon Ugandans as ignorant and gullible, or is it asking us to pay attention to the ways in which authority figures use lies and misinformation to control people? This is a great example of how audiences bring their biases to the theatre. My life experience and attitudes have shaped my interpretation.

When I saw TBoM, I didn’t think, “Ha! Look at those gullible Ugandans with their AIDS and warlords.” It saddens me to hear some people see it that way.

Each time I’ve seen TBoM, I’ve thought, “It’s horrific there are people in the world who don’t have access to adequate healthcare. Who are misled by religion. Whose children are in danger. Who are being exploited and lied to and who are surviving incredible hardship.”

I don’t think TBoM intends to mock Ugandans, I think the audience is meant to be shocked by the characters’ circumstances. The show is deliberately confronting. It demands we pay attention. It says: check your ignorance. Examine your privilege. If you really care about Uganda, do something meaningful. Don’t just send idealistic 19-year-olds with zero life experience and a 200-year-old religious text into complex cultural contexts.

In comedy, laughter comes from truth, shock, or subversion. You laugh because something rings true, because it’s shocking, or because it subverts your expectations in a surprising way. But truth, shock, and subversion can hurt, which is why we need laughter to ease the pain. A spoonful of satire is supposed to help the medicine go down.

Parker, Stone, and Lopez’s work commonly uses puppets, music, animation, and comedy to tackle serious issues. The beauty of their style of comedy is that it talks about the big, dark stuff in a way that’s digestible. Laughing at monsters makes them seem smaller, warlords become less frightening, less untouchable.

Some critics say the portrayal of Uganda lacks complexity, and contributes to a reduced understanding and respect for the nation. Years ago, The Simpsons set an episode in Australia. It was wildly inaccurate, full of stereotypes, and pretty funny. I’d wager 900 Dollarydoos very few viewers thought that was a realistic depiction of Down Under. TBoM is a satirical musical, not a documentary. I don’t think any reasonable audience member is expected to believe it’s a realistic depiction of Ugandans or Mormons.

So why direct our outrage at the show’s creators? Why not be angry at those who shoot, maim, mutilate, and lie in the name of power? At weak governments that let warlords thrive, and churches that spread deadly misinformation and block access to protection, treatment, or safety?

I’m not offended by a big musical number saying F-U to God. I’m offended by the idea that a loving God would allow children to be kidnapped, girls mutilated, children enslaved, and HIV to spread. I am outraged that we produce enough food to feed the world, yet people still starve. I’m disgusted that the wealthiest 10% control more than half the world’s resources, while others live on under $1.90 US a day. I’m appalled that this show was written 14 years ago, yet the suffering it spotlights still exists. The themes of this musical are still real, raw and relevant.

The Book of Mormon asks a lot of provocative questions. If you’re outraged by the show, maybe that’s the point. Maybe it’s an invitation to ask yourself where that outrage is truly directed. Are you really angry that three irreverent writers made a satirical musical, or are you angry that the injustices they satirise still exist? If the show unsettles you, perhaps that’s the first step towards engaging with the deeper issues it holds up to the spotlight and asking, ‘What can we do better?’

Mitchell Butel enjoyed watching a production of the Tony Award winning musical Kimberly Akimbo so much that he literally bled for it. Ahead of the Australian premiere seasons in Adelaide and Melbourne, the Artistic Director and actor caught up with David Spicer.

When I spoke to the bright as a button Mitchell Butel by phone it was late at night in New York, where he was enjoying his second trip to Broadway, attending to duties for the Sydney Theatre Company’s hit production of The Picture of Dorian Gray

The popular actor and Artistic Director of the STC is a fixture at Sydney opening nights since returning from Adelaide in the same position he previously held with the State Theatre Company of South Australia. He spoke to me about the musical, the success of Dorian Gray and The Dictionary of Lost Words, and when he might return to the stage.

David Spicer: What is it about Kimberly Akimbo that appealed to you?

Mitchell Butel: I came over here in early 2023 and the show touched my heart the most. I just loved it incredibly. I stood so quickly at the end that I split my lip on the wooden chair in front of me. That’s how quickly I wanted to stand. It’s an incredibly smart, funny and deeply moving show about what it is to be flawed and to be human.

We’re all facing death in different ways, and this show is about living your life as fully as you can and being as present as possible. I was such a huge fan of the book and the score, that I thought I wanted to bring this to Australia, and I wanted Marina Prior to play that lead role.

DS: So, she plays a 16-year-old who looks like she’s four times 16?

MB: Yes, the main character, Kimberly Levaco, has a condition that’s similar to Progeria - a rapid aging disease whereby you age at four times the rate of a typical person. It is a one in a million condition. There’s a young gentleman in Adelaide called Enzo who suffers from Progeria. It’s an interesting way of looking at what it is to have your life taken away from you before it’s your time - to have less future than others do.

Eventually, Kimberly falls in love with a boy at school. She’s navigating that while navigating an incredibly dysfunctional and possibly criminal family. So, there is a lot of comedy, but also a lot of heart in there.

DS: Why were you so keen on Marina Prior doing it?

MB: Victoria Clark, who had played the lead role in The Light in the Piazza, did the role on Broadway. Both are sopranos. Marina is one of the great actresses in Australian theatre, not just musical theatre but generally. She’s got access to this great emotional world. She’s really smart and she’s really funny.

Kimberly Akimbo: A Musical

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide: Jul 8 to 19. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne: Jul 26 to Aug 30. statetheatrecompany.com.au / mtc.com.au

And I thought it’s time for Marina. She played so many ingénues, the standard kind of leading ladies. So, I thought a role that’s idiosyncratic and interesting would be a wonderful challenge for her. And I was very happy that she said, ‘Yes, I would love to do that.’

DS: Wonderful. And was it difficult getting the rights for the musical?

MB: Actually, no. I’ve directed two Jeanine Tesori composed musicals before (Violet and Caroline or Change at the Hayes Theatre). In my first year at the STCSA I directed a play called Ripcord by David Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the book and the original play. David had seen an archival recording of that production of Ripcord. He loved that production. He said, ‘We’re very happy to give you the rights.” And it’s not a replica production. We’re doing a new design.

DS: So, tell us a little about the set? What is different from the Broadway production about it?

MB: Our version is being designed by Jonathon Oxlade. A lot of the show is set at an ice-skating rink in New

Casey Donovan and the cast of Kimberly Akimbo sing “Better” youtu.be/5Vkk2A10Tr4

Jersey. We use the ice world that Kimberly inhabits as a visual frame for the whole show, and as she’s someone who dreams of traveling to many distant places, we are using snow domes as a metaphor.

DS: Is it something you’d like to see in Sydney now that you are Artistic Director here?

MB: No plans at the moment, but we’ll certainly be holding on to the set.

DS: Speaking of the Sydney Theatre Company, what do the six Tony nominations and two wins for The Picture of Dorian Gray mean for the company?

MB: It’s tremendously exciting. It’s not the first time the company’s been nominated for a Tony Award. Cate Blanchett was nominated for The Resident, which the company did on Broadway some years ago. But to have six nominations (and two wins) for this show, for Kip, for Sarah, and for all the designers as well, is just, I think, such a testament to their great work, but also to the incredible work that everyone at Sydney Theatre Company put into this show.

DS: And following on the extraordinary success of The Dictionary of Lost Words across Australia, which you commissioned, do you think we’re having a purple patch for plays that are produced here?

MB: I think so. It’s a wonderful thing to be bringing great shows like Kimberly Akimbo to Australia, but also to be creating great new works in

Australia and taking them to the world, such as Dorian Gray The Dictionary of Lost Words (sold out) around the country, and there might well be an international life for it down the track as well.

That’s really thrilling and came from me reading a book by a South Australian novelist, and kind of discovering that many book clubs (loved it). I got onto the writer straight away and said, ‘I think this would make a great play.’ And sure enough, it’s been loved by theatre audiences, as much as those who read the book.

And Jess Arthur, who directed it, has just done a phenomenal job, along with Jonathan Oxlade, who also is designing Kimberly Akimbo

DS: How important is outstanding design in the success of a play? I mean, both Dictionary and Dorian Gray had extraordinary designs.

MB: Absolutely. Both used screens, but in very different ways. In The Dictionary of Lost Words, the overhead projector lit props (on shelves) that told the audience (where the scene was taking place}. Whereas in Dorian Gray, the screens were very much part of the artifice and construction.

I think Dictionary had a very kind of old school feel because it’s set in a beautiful library that sits underneath the screen. I think design is crucial, and we’re lucky both with Marg Horwell’s work on Dorian and Jonathan’s work on Dictionary to have the best in the country and maybe the

world, to work on these shows.

DS: Now, looking into a crystal ball, do you think there will be more of these amazing trimmed cast, audiovisual productions or do you think they have had their moment?

MB: I think that the content dictates the form. So, if directors and writers think that AV and screens are needed for the show, I’m all for supporting their vision. But similarly, I also love shows that have little technology in them. Like my production of Girls and Boys that I did with Justine Clarke, which was a one woman play, on one set that didn’t move, and there were no screens. That was a beautiful performance and quite an acclaimed production too. It had no bells and whistles. It depends on what’s needed, but it is wonderful that we have these great video artists.

DS: And…this is going to be a curly one. When are we going to see you on stage again?

MB: Well, that’s a lovely question. I haven’t been on stage in Sydney since 2018 when I did The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, so I might have to give myself some role eventually.

DS: Well, Cate Blanchett got on stage when she was Artistic Director.

MB: So did Robyn Nevin. So, again, if you’re a betting man, you might see me down the track, back on the boards.

DS: Possibly next year?

MB: Who can say? Try and stop me.

Coral Drouyn chats to old friend Lisa McCune about the upcoming production of The 39 Steps in which she plays diverse characters with a mix of Scottish and German accents.

Lisa McCune was not born when Alfred Hitchcock made his World War I spy thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935), adapted from John Buchan’s 1915 novel It’s likely that her parents weren’t born either. And yet, in the odd way that art and entertainment are often stranger than fiction, one of our most loved actresses and the old potboiler are about to cross paths in a new production of this much-loved audience pleaser.

Hitchcock’s film is 90 years old this year and, to be honest, it is unintentionally funny even in its original film form, and a complete melodrama in Buchan’s novel (now 110 years old). Yet it took two young playwrights, Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, to see the funny side and launch a comic production of the film on stage in 1996, using only four actors and a stylised set, playing to small audiences in village halls.

It might have died a quiet death (totally unsuitable for the heightened drama) had playwright Patrick Barlow not discovered the script, realised the comic potential, completely rewrote the play and launched it in 2005.

This hilarious parody was a smash hit, running for nine years in London’s West End, where it won the Olivier and What’s On Stage awards for Best Comedy. It played for 771 performances on Broadway, winning two Tony awards and a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience in 2008, the same year as its first Australian tour.

Though it only runs 100 minutes (that’s probably as much laughter as is healthy), there are 130 characters (though obviously never more than four on stage at a time) to tell the convoluted and highly improbable story of a man on the run, accused of murder, encountering femmes fatale and villainous spies of all shapes and sizes.

Richard Hannay, the man on the run, is none other than (perhaps) our favourite leading man Ian Stenlake, whose charisma and stage presence enhance any production.

All of the other male (and some of the female) roles will be played by the amazingly funny and manic Umbilical Brothers, comic geniuses in their own right. No doubt they will make a degustation banquet out of every line and devour every piece of comic business, all the while being straight faced. Then there is Lisa McCune, perfect casting for the three female leads. She is an actress who can truly play any genre and is genuinely excited by this next challenge.

“I love comedy, and I am really thrilled with this new venture,” she tells me. “Even though I have seen the film, I have never seen the play onstage, but reading the script, I was chuckling away and seeing how hysterical this will be. And Ian is just made for the role of Richard Hannay.”

Of course, Lisa and Ian worked together on screen in TV’s Sea Patrol, and on stage, most notably in Cabaret.

“This will actually be our fourth time working together,” she explains, “and it’s a marvelous thing when you work on different productions with the same actors - you develop a kind of shorthand with each other - you can actually anticipate their reactions. It saves so much time in rehearsals when you know the person and their work well.”

Lisa has been anxious to work with director Damien Ryan for some time, but this the first chance she’s had.

“This has been a relatively short lead in; sometimes you have to plan and schedule a year or so ahead. But this was only offered to me three months ago,” Lisa explains.

“And when I heard that Damien was directing, I was really excited. Everyone in the business knows of the remarkable work he has done as Creative Director of Sport For Jove. All my actor friends were telling me, ‘You simply have to work with Damien, he’s brilliant and you two have the same views on commitment’ …and so I hoped that our paths would cross, but I wasn’t that optimistic. But though it doesn’t happen often, all the stars aligned and here we are, and I honestly can’t wait for rehearsals.”

And there’s the added bonus of The Umbilical Brothers playing all the other roles.

“Well, they are comedy royalty really, so funny and so original,” Lisa enthuses. “But they are also, individually, terrific actors in their own right. David (Collins) and Shane (Dundas) have played all over the world and won just about every award for comedy that there is, and most people aren’t even aware of how often they have heard their voiceover work. I can’t think of a better combination to play the two ‘Clowns’, and of course they too have their own shorthand from so many years of being on stage together. As for me, right now I am working on

my German and Scottish accents and hoping I don’t mix them up. Three roles are more than enough for me to concentrate on.”

Lisa is one of those rare performers who is a TV star by any definition but equally well known for her work on stage in a slew of musicals. Which, I ask, does she prefer?

“I can’t make a choice,” she says. “You know that I trained for theatre, and that was where I thought my career was going to be. And when I left WAAPA my first couple of shows were on stage - bit parts really. And then I got a commercial for Woolies and all of a sudden my face was all over the ‘box’. (TV producer) Hal McElroy saw me and that led to me being cast as Maggie Doyle in Blue Heelers. You of all people know how iconic she was as a character.”

I do indeed it was my killing of the character (as story producer for the show) when Lisa decided she wanted to leave, that led to us not speaking for some years, though Lisa does concede now that it was the right end for the show to continue without her.

“I was young. I wasn’t even sure what I was capable of, but I knew I had to try. I wasn’t sick of playing Maggie, but I was wondering how far I could stretch myself,” she explains.

“I honestly can’t say how my career would have developed or whether I would ever have had the chance to do half the things I’ve done without that role. I was 23 years old and a household name. I hadn’t ever considered that, and I honestly don’t know if I could have handled it differently. But the truth is no-one would have been offering me the lead in major stage productions had I not already made a name in television. I’m eternally grateful to Hal McElroy for giving me that chance and he really is responsible for the career I’ve had, right down to the chance to do The 39 Steps.”

I could argue that it’s Lisa’s talent that made her realise her full potential

and has given her a stunning body of work. I do know that she has never tried to use her television fame for leverage, but I wonder if she sometimes resents being so closely associated with a show in which she died 25 years ago, when it was just one part of an astonishing career. So, I have to ask the inevitable question.

“Oh, my Lord!” she answers. “Is it really that long? There may have been

The

moments when I got fed up with being asked about Maggie’s death, but resent the show and Maggie? No never. How can one resent being known for their work. It’s an honour that people still remember, and doubly so that they still love your work. Maggie was very special.”

And so is Lisa, as she will prove yet again when The 39 Steps opens its tour in Sydney on August 8.

39 Steps

Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House: Aug 8 to 30. Civic Theatre, Newcastle: Sept 2 to 6. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne: Sept 10 to 28. Playhouse, QPAC, Brisbane: Oct 7 to 19. the39steps.com.au Online

Lisa McCune and her 3 co-stars play 130 characters in The 39 Steps. youtu.be/Mcd8jBo9ttI

David Collins, Lisa McCune, Ian Stenlake and Shane Dundas in The 39 Steps. Photo: Benny Capp.

Online extras!

Ainsley Melham sings “Why Look Around The Corner” from Boop! youtu.be/U6bt1n9gN2Y

Australian artists and creatives are making waves on Broadway. It’s not just Sarah Snook and her Tony Award. Peter Eyers has interviewed a remarkable group of achievers for his Stages podcast. Here are some highlights.

Ainsley Melham

Ainsley burst onto the music theatre scene in 2016, skating into the Hayes Theatre as Sonny in Xanadu after a stint in Hi-5 Soon after, he traded skates for a magic carpet and opened Disney’s hit Broadway musical Aladdin in the title role, touring nationally.

In February 2019, he made his Broadway debut at the New Amsterdam Theatre, reprising his role of Aladdin.

Several celebrated performances followed, and Ainsley originated the role of Dwayne in Boop! The Musical.

Peter Eyers: Did you ever in your wildest dreams think that you would be originating a role on the Great White Way?

Ainsley Melham: “I hoped I would. I dreamed I would, and I’m really thrilled and grateful that it happened so soon after coming here.

“I remember being at home in Bathurst at the end of high school and saying to mum and dad, I want to go into the arts.

“They were beautifully supportive all the way through me growing up, going to dance lessons, singing lessons, all that sort of stuff. But naturally there was a little hesitancy. I remember saying to them, I’m going to make this work.

“A generation ago, there weren’t many Australians making their way on Broadway, unless perhaps they’d had a film career profile.”

PE: Were you aware of the character of Betty Boop before the musical came across your desk?

AM: “I definitely knew who Betty Boop was and the younger generation of Australians know who she is.

“The creatives have come up with a really clever premise for the show. It’s a fish out of water story where Betty is propelled into the future into 2025 in Times Square. It’s a wonderful premise which produces lots of humour.”

PE: And then you come along as a character called Dwayne, a jazz trumpeter who becomes Betty’s love interest.

AM: “I was familiar with the genre because jazz and tap dance go hand in hand. I grew up as a tap dancer from when I was 3 or 4 years old. I have [recently] learnt the trumpet, but I mime on stage.”

PE: One of the Broadway traditions which we don’t see a lot of in Australia is stage door greetings, where hundreds of adoring fans wait for an autograph or selfie. Do you enjoy that?

AM: “I love doing it. It almost feels part of the Broadway experience when they purchase a ticket. I think it’s an important part of the work, but we can’t do it all the time.”

Ainsley Melham and Jasmine Amy Rogers in Boop! Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.

PE: You trained at WAAPA in Perth. How did you get in straight after school?

AM: “I was lucky and thrilled to get in because they had just started moving from accepting applicants that were a little older and had life experience. My audition song was ‘Joanna’ from Sweeney Todd. I also did an uptempo song called ‘Let’s Misbehave’ with my tap shoes on, acapella.”

PE: You’ve amassed some great roles - Prince Topher in Cinderella, Fiero in Wicked. Are there any roles that you hanker after?

AM: “I need to step on stage in tap shoes. I’ve always been in my sneakers…so, something like a Singing In The Rain or Crazy For You needs to come along.”

Boop! The Musical will close on Broadway on July 13 after 112 performances.

Sarah Bowden

In April, Sarah Bowden opened in Smash, adapted from the TV series that chronicled the development of a Broadway show. The behind-the-scenes machinations, the triumphs, the challenge.

From a travelling tent version of Cats to a world tour of Dirty Dancing, triumphs in Berlin to playing the iconic role of Cassie in A Chorus Line at the Hollywood Bowl, it has been a glorious journey for the Australian performer.

Peter Eyers: Tell us about Smash on Broadway.

Sarah Bowden: “It’s very different to the TV program, which was more a drama that edged on soap, whereas this is very much a musical comedy in the Golden Age style.

“It’s literally how to make a Broadway musical on stage, and we make fun of every aspect of that. There is a fabulous camp director who’s just jaded and there is an acting coach who has a tinge of Marilyn Monroe in her real life.”

PE: What’s it been like originating a musical on Broadway?

SB: “Every day coming to rehearsals there would be a stack of new pages [of script] three centimetres deep.

“The actors would improvise a line and then the writers would add that in, then bounce off a different joke for another character.

(Continued on page 18)

Ainsley Melham signing autographs.

“And the dance routines. We did so many versions of so many things. I was covering three people, so I had three highlighters.”

PE: You’ve been working around the world for more than a decade what is that like?

SB: “I don’t have that much stuff because you can’t have that much stuff. It’s glorious.

“I moved to New York City in 2018. I got my Green Card when my career in Germany was going great.

“So, I packed one suitcase, I moved here, and I knew nobody. My suitcase was like 50% dance clothes. It was kind of scary but also freeing at the same time.

“In the musical A Chorus Line, one of the anthems is about the performer’s life, ‘What I Did For Love’, and (I can relate to the song). It’s about the sacrifices you have to make in the pursuit of your dream, to be a dancer, to be a performer.”

PE: How do you keep going as a professional dancer over several decades?

SB: “I believe in Doctor Theatre. You might have aches and pains, but when you’re dancing, that all leaves you.

“I dislocated my shoulder a couple of times, but that’s like it pops out, and I pop it back in.

“[Unfortunately] I fractured my hip about a couple of weeks ago, which is the first injury I’ve ever had in my career.

“I collapsed off stage and said to my stage manager for the first time in my career, mid-show, ‘I cannot continue. Please put the swing on.’ That sentence is heartbreaking for somebody like me.”

PE: There’s a profound quote, that a dancer dies twice, once when their mortality ends, but the other time is when the power of the dance leaves them.

SB: “I’m slowly getting to the age where the dancing is leaving me. We age and it’s inevitable. I feel it leaving my body and it’s heart breaking.

Smash closed on Broadway in late June after 84 performances. (Continued

“The dancing is the thing I’ve always loved, and I can guarantee you at 80 years old, I will be kicking my face in some gold high heel somewhere.

“I have an apartment in New York City and my window looks at three floors of people dancing all day.

“I could be sad about it, but I watched them, and I think they’re beautiful, but I can’t do what they do anymore. You have to just let it go and celebrate the fact that it was a part of you.

“I’m not dead yet.”

PE: You’re not dead yet. There’s still some kicking left in these legs, but yes, I have no doubt you’ll be still moving in your 90s, Sarah. Not just moving, but dancing.

Sarah Bowden.

Kurt Sneddon

Commencing a career on the stage, Kurt founded Blueprint Studios and became one of Australia’s most trusted entertainment industry photographers.

Every so often he’ll do a few photo shoot days in Australia to complement the great work that he’s doing with models, dancers and actors in New York.

Kurt’s experience as an actor is inherent in his workknowing how to make performers look like the very best version of themselves.

Peter Eyers: How did you get into entertainment photography?

Kurt Sneddon: “I was doing Shout the Musical as an actor in 2001 when I was 20 years old. I remember having a film camera on the original tour, and I would go around to the beaches to photograph pigeons and pelicans.

“I used to take photos late at night in the hotels, and they were cool photos and pretty grainy, with mistakes in them.

“I learnt on film, but then quickly went over to digital and started shooting in colour.

PE: How has entertainment photography evolved over the years?

KS: “Twenty years ago my agent sent everyone to a studio to get two black and white photos that were all very close to your head.

“I would shoot outdoors…I would shoot in the street…I would shoot at all these different kind of fun places, and because most of the people were my friends it was a fun experience.

“I think a lot of actors hate to have their shots done, but within a few years and with Facebook’s help I became popular.

“I found my way with photography and moved away from being an actor.”

PE: When you started out did you take the wedding gigs?

KS: Absolutely, and I still do weddings of musical theatre people.

PE: So why the change to living in New York?

KS: “My wife Marika Aubrey was in several musicals, at the top of her game, and we were looking around for the next step. A lot of us go to either the West End or Broadway.

“She was doing South Pacific at the Lincoln Centre and I won the Green Card lottery after we moved here (but I could not use it).

“So, we did it the hard way. There was tons of paperwork to prove why we would be an asset to American musical theatre.

“We got the Green Card, and then my wife promptly got cast in Matilda the Musical as Mrs. Wormwood, so we decided to move here.”

PE: Where have you settled?

KS: “We bought an apartment in Harlem for much less than we could have in Sydney. We can afford to live in Manhattan more than we can afford to live in Sydney,

(Continued on page 20)

Kurt Sneddon.

Stages With Peter Eyers

To enjoy listening to these and other interviews grab the podcast wherever it’s available. Apple (podcasts.apple.com) Spotify (open.spotify.com).

(Continued from page 19)

and through COVID, we were so grateful for the apartment we had in Manhattan.”

PE: What is your approach to headshot photography?

KS: “I shoot in a very simple way. I know how to lighten people’s faces and stuff, but I don’t do much fancy lighting.

“I think the strength that I have is that I’m not there fussing with the lighting while I’m on an actor’s headshot shoot.

“I’m just trying to get the best out of you, make sure you’re comfortable.”

Kurt is periodically in Australia, so if you’re looking to have some new headshots done, join the waiting list at kurtsneddon.com. He also manages a community for photographers called the Humble Togs Club.

Nick Eynaud

Nick Eynaud is living the dream in New York for his Broadway debut, though not as a performer. Although Nick is a graduate in musical theatre from WAAPA, he is currently a WHAM supervisor on The Picture of Dorian Gray.

What, you may ask, is WHAM? It is the acronym for Wigs, Hair and Makeup and if there ever was a show that demanded the unique contribution of WHAM, it is this glorious production which commenced life at the Sydney Theatre Company.

Peter Eyers: Did you ever imagine that you’d be on stage in the West End and on Broadway?

Nick Eynaud: “As an egomaniac theatre loving child, absolutely. Did I imagine that it would be as a wig, hair and makeup supervisor who is also on stage? Not in my wildest dreams.”

PE: In The Picture of Dorian Gray, in the sole acting role, Sarah Snook is followed on stage by a whole bunch of technicians and yourself, being her wingman, throughout the performance. What’s it like?

NE: “I love it. But I think it’s the kind of job I’m suited to because I understand,having come from acting, what Sarah’s needs are. I try to stay one step ahead of her, trying to think the way she’s thinking, breathe the way she’s breathing to be able to anticipate a lot of variables which come up in this show.

“[For instance] as Sarah is allergic to 30 different substances, if there’s an allergic reaction happening, I’ve got an antihistamine in my pocket if she needs it.”

Sarah Snook and Nick Eynaud.

Online extras!

Sarah Snook reacts to her Tony Award win and the show’s Broadway season youtu.be/Swi9qfFNVmg

Dorian Gray’s Tony Win

Two Australians received Broadway’s most prestigious honour at the 78th Tony Awards on June 8.

Sarah Snook, making her Broadway debut in the Sydney Theatre Company’s genre-defying theatrical event The Picture of Dorian Gray, took out this year’s Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play, while Marg Horwell’s costuming of the same production was recognised with the Tony for Best Costume Design of a Play, following on from the equivalent Olivier Awards they garnered for the West End season of this production.

PE: Tell us a little about the rehearsal process?

NE: “When we did the London season, Sarah was seven months postpartum. So, the cool thing was her lugging a baby around on her hip whilst rehearsing the most difficult role you can possibly imagine.”

PE: Can you describe some of the costume/make-up changes?

NE: “We’ve got sideburns that come on and off, different pieces of facial hair that come on and off, a big, fabulous Duchess wig, a wrinkle, a fake nose an eyebrow and whatever else you can imagine.”

PE: I imagine giving a performance like that for such a length of time under hot lights there can be a bit of perspiration.

NE: “Luckily Sarah’s just not that much of a sweater. You can get that roll-on facial antiperspirant, which is somewhat skin safe.

“The old drag queen trick is just to spray all over your hairline so the makeup doesn’t run down your face.

“When we got into the warmer months in London, poor Sarah was wearing two or three costumes stacked underneath each other and running around the stage. So, we had towels and sweat wipes and all sorts of things.”

PE: You’re playing in more intimate theatres than in Australia? How have your workspaces changed, from Sydney to London and now New York?

NE: “At the Music Box Theatre, there is a large substage area where a lot of our technology has been able to go.

“There are no wings or anything on our set, so if you need to hide, it’s in a crack behind a proscenium.

“It was a huge problem in London. At the Theatre Royal, Haymarket there’s no access to the stage from backstage. The only way we could get around was the substage. We had sort of spiral staircases down there.

“I’m 6 foot four and the space down there was 6 foot, so I was crouching and crawling and leaning for the entire 5 months. They had to give me a lot of physio.”

Sarah Snook in The Picture Of Dorian Gray Photo: Marc Brenner. Awards

Everyone deserves the chance to tell a story on stage or feel the camaraderie of teamwork behind the red curtain and everyone should feel comfortable in an audience to experience that storytelling. These are the two sides of inclusive and accessible theatre.

For 50 years, Australia has seen some excellent creators and practitioners. Community theatre, not -for-profit arts groups and festivals have built bridges to professional opportunities in groups such as the

Australian Theatre of the Deaf (Sydney, 1973; pro in 1979), Restless Dance Theatre (Adelaide, 1991), Back to Back Theatre (Geelong, 1987), Crossroad Arts (Mackay, 1997), Deaf Indigenous Dance Group (Cairns, 1997), Stars and the Moon (Melbourne, 2021), Rebus Theatre (Canberra, 2013) and Milk Crate Theatre (Sydney, 2000).

Some are celebrating milestones this year: Indelarts, and Undercover Artist Festival (Brisbane) both 10 years; Second Echo Ensemble (Hobart)

20 years; No Strings Attached (Adelaide) 30 years; and Queensland Theatre of the Deaf (Brisbane) 50 years.

Create Individual trailblazers have put equitable casting and disability-led creation in the spotlight. In the 1990s, Christopher Widdows better known as Steady Eddy tackled his experience through standup comedy. And he’s still inspiring laughter today at festivals, clubs and pubs. In 2018, Daniel Monks was nominated for a Helpmann Award for his portrayal of Joseph Merrick in The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre. Daniel has gone on to win stage awards in London’s West End, and major roles in HBO and Netflix series.

In Brisbane in 2022, Oliver Hetherington-Page won a Matilda Award for Best Emerging Artist for his one-man show The No Bang Theory Oliver is performing his new show as a reading at Brisbane Festival 2025.

Daniel Monks in Malthouse Theatre’s The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man.

Photo: Pia Johnson.

Madeleine Little in Ad Astra’s production of The Normal Heart

Photo: Colin Bushell.

Beth Keehn looks at 50 years of accessible theatre in Australia, with a snapshot of creativity that celebrates inclusive casting and diverse audience needs.

Undercover Artist - Madeleine Little

Madeleine Little won a Matilda Award in 2022 for her performance as Dr Emma Brookner in Ad Astra’s production of The Normal Heart. As well as being a performer and writer, Madeleine is also Director for the Undercover Artist Festival, which has been celebrating extraordinary disability-led performances since 2015.

Madeleine is passionate about casting performers with lived experience as characters with a disability from Nessarose in Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked, to John and Ani in Martyna Majok’s Pulitzerwinning Cost of Living. Madeleine saw Queensland Theatre’s 2024 production, and said of its lead performers, Dan Daw and Kate Hood: “Two powerful disabled actors in powerful performances. We finally saw our community represented so well on a mainstage…It is my sincere hope that the arts industry sees this example and understands the importance of disability-led work.”

Madeleine campaigns for access in the arts and is a consultant for organisations about disability awareness.

Undercover Artist Festival

As part of Brisbane Festival. From Sept 22 to 27. undercoverartistfest.com

Spinning And Winning - Tim McCallum

Another performer who campaigns for equality in casting is Tim McCallum. Tim has been a beacon on Australian stages for more than 30 years, in productions including The Wizard of Oz and Jesus Christ Superstar

On TV’s The Voice, he performed Puccini’s ‘Nessun dorma’ which earned him a mentorship with Ricky Martin. After that, Tim didn’t sit around waiting for the phone to ring. He created his own show, The Crooners, featuring the on-stage personas of ‘Mac’ (for himself), Tony ‘Dee’ (Tony Doevendans) and ‘Micky G’ (Mick Sattin). All three singers

share a love of jazz and swing in the classic American Songbook era, and they just happen to all use wheelchairs. Their on-stage barman is also an Auslan interpreter.

Tim told Stage Whispers: “We are advocates and consultants for lived experience. We endeavour to make our show a showcase of what inclusivity and equality in casting looks like. When people come and see the show, we want them to see and hear themselves in the show. We also want to make sure that wherever we perform, we also educate venues from physical access to different types of disability that people may face, such as neurodiversity challenges.”

Despite a life-changing accident when he was 18, Tim completed his classical training. In the process, he developed a new practice technique to help himself and others breathe and sing more powerfully. Tim said: “As a qualified singing therapist, I help people learn how to breathe through singing, which can help to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. Respiratory therapy is really important, but why not do it while you are singing songs and having fun?”

The Crooners is a celebration of what is possible when you match talent with hard work, and a commitment to doing what you love singing!

Madeleine Little launching the Undercover Artist Festival season for 2025.

Photo: Morgan Roberts.

Online extras!

Read our extended article on The Crooners: Swinging And Spinning. tinyurl.com/2abugwmm

(Continued from page 23)

Collaborate

Individual trailblazers can pave the way for others to follow. But in creative endeavour, collaboration can spark the most interesting projects. The Crooners is just one example, where creative encounters at music festivals brought the trio together. Others include Disability in the Arts, Disadvantage in the Arts (DADAA) working with Black Swan Theatre for Julia Hales’s You Know We Belong Together at the 2018 Perth Festival. Second Echo Ensemble in Hobart has collaborated with dancers in the UK and Finland, and Crossroad Arts in Mackay has worked with Polaris Inc in Japan.

Ensemble Working - Indelarts

In Brisbane, Indelarts is an inclusive theatre company that uses an ensemble approach to allow its core group of artists to train and collaborate with other creatives. Coartistic Directors Rebecca Alexander

and Catarina Hebbard told Stage Whispers that, as Indelarts celebrates its 10-year anniversary, the team is as committed as ever to continuing to provide professional creative opportunities for artists who identify as disabled and neurodivergent. Rebecca said: “Since 2015, our ensemble has created four original

works that communicate lived experience and challenge perceptions of disability Look Mum…No Hands!!!, Love Me, She, and Wilbur the Optical Whale with a fifth new production Mystery Quest in the pipeline for later in 2025.”

Catarina said: “We also support new works by ensemble members.

The Crooners. Photo: Bulimba Studios.

Wilbur The Optical Whale. Photo: Nick Morrissey.

Betsy and I: Conversations with my Walker by Alexandra Ellen explores themes of mental health, disability and self-acceptance.”

Writer Alexandra Ellen also performed in the award-winning Wilbur the Optical Whale based on the book by ensemble member, Karen Lee Roberts, and created in collaboration with Flipside Circus. Wilbur is a standout example of accommodating diverse audience needs it is a fully immersive, interactive and accessible children’s production about friendship and celebrating differences. The set includes quiet spaces, and the performance features integrated Auslan and a relaxed performance mode.

Find out more about Indelarts at indelarts.com

Accommodate - Including Older Performers

There’s a lot more accessible theatre for younger folk…but what about older people? Broadway Senior: 60-minute Musicals for Performers 55+ from Music Theatre International (MTI) have been developed to create performance opportunities for older adults. There are currently five Broadway Senior musicals: The Music Man SR.; Guys and Dolls SR.; Singin’ in the Rain SR.; Fiddler on the Roof SR.; and Into the Woods SR

Drew Cohen, President and CEO of MTI said: “Broadway Senior musicals ensure that theatre is accessible to all. They empower people to not simply experience theatre as an audience member or a volunteer but to be the creators, the singers, and the storytellers.”

The musicals sparked a heated online debate among Stage Whispers followers. While some found the age delineation a bit of a shock (55+ is not old!) and the concept a bit “insulting” or “condescending”, others thought it was a great idea.

Janet N: “I have participated in a Broadway Seniors group for the last two years. The shorter play has allowed us to travel and perform at many different venues where a longer performance wouldn’t be accepted.”

Martin W: “I’m now 72 after a career of musically directing so many shows. I think this a brilliant initiative and should be applauded.”

Jan S: “Having lived in an active senior retirement home for years, I can tell you it has less to do with the actors than it does with the attention span of the audience. We found that sitting more than an hour was not smart. Everyone loved the shows…as long as they didn’t go more than an hour.”

Mike S: “This is fantastic! Theatre builds community!”

Find out more about Broadway Senior at mtishows.com.au

This has been a quick snapshot of the wonderful work happening across the country there’s so much more when you include community and not -for-profit theatres and workshops. The landscape may be diverse, but one message is clear theatre is for everyone!

Betsy And I: Conversations With My Walker.

Photo: Jade Ellis.

Broadway Senior: Fiddler on the Roof SR.

What can theatres do to lessen their impact on the planet?

Designers Angelina Daniel and Edison Heartly chatted to NIDA’s Sustainability Manager Imogen Ross about how they built a set for writer/director Claudia Osborne’s reimagining of Spring Awakening, their graduating production in 2024, with the earth in mind.

It’s called the ‘Theatre Green Book’ a free digital resource developed in the UK which is being used to improve the sustainability of making theatre.

Angelina Daniel was inspired by a video about how the National Theatre in the UK applied the book in practice.

“As a designer who prides myself on economical and refined staging, sustainable thinking is a part of my process from the start,” Angelina said with a smile. She used a student production of Spring Awakening as an opportunity to engage meaningfully with an environmentally conscious process. Angelina’s aesthetic choices significantly reduced waste at the conclusion of the production, lowering the carbon emissions associated with unrecyclable waste, and created valuable resources for future productions.

The vision for Spring Awakening was an ‘unfinished world’ a retelling of the 1891 classic in a strippedback, experimental playground. Angelina explains, “Claudia and I embraced the concept of a bau-probe set, a German term for a ‘mock-up’ or rehearsal set. There’s a beauty in the imperfection of these raw spaces, where everything feels in progress, not polished. That idea

shaped our aesthetic and became the backbone of our design.”

They prioritised the resourceful use of materials, using unpainted plywood flats that could be repurposed after the show, arranged like giant mosaic tiles.

The overall effect was that of an abandoned child’s playground: devoid of play equipment and colour. Audience imagination created many locations, just as children repurpose a cardboard box. Wood panelling provided familiar warmth, also provoking a deep sense of loneliness and abandonment within the void they encased. Small wooden boxes became entire rooms, a ladder became a tree, a staircase, then a hiding place, while an old, deconstructed piano became representative of ‘home’ as much as a plaything for bored character fingers. The steady arrival of bundles of dark twiggy sticks began to stack in the corner and heralded the arrival of The Stork a surreal representation of the characters’ internal spring awakening.

“The Stork was an eerie, towering figure looming over the actors like a childhood nightmare,” Edison elaborated. “It stood three metres tall, made of sticks with a beak-like

NIDA’s Spring Awakening (2024). Photo: Julia Firak.

protrusion for the face. The materials used for The Stork were the same sticks that the children interacted with onstage, the creature emerging from their playful imaginations.”

Resourceful thinking extended into every seam and twig of Edison’s costume designs.

“The clothes felt lived-in,” he said. “Those imperfections the fading, the fraying these give characters’ stories authenticity. Each piece felt like a hidden gem. It wasn’t just about sustainability wins; it was about emotional depth.”

Nothing on stage went to waste. Stick bundles ended up in the organic waste bins to be turned into compost.

Having support and buy-in from teachers and workshop supervisors made a huge difference to the decisions the designers could activate.

“Our Set Construction Manager actively encouraged us to think creatively about how to repurpose and deconstruct items,” Angelina said.

Edison echoed this sentiment.

“Having costume stock was invaluable. Textile waste is one of the biggest contributors to landfill globally. Having costumes at my fingertips made a huge reduction in online purchases, plastic packaging, not to mention the carbon emissions from deliveries and overseas manufacture.”

“Decisions start with the designer and director,” Angelina emphasised. “We have the power to shape production processes and lead this conversation. NIDA has taught me not to be too precious about my initial ideas, which is invaluable when trying to find solutions.”

Edison agreed. “This project taught me that creativity thrives within constraints. Finding more sustainable solutions pushes you to think differently, and the results are often more meaningful and rewarding.”

Theatre Green Book In Practice

Angelina and Daniel’s conscious design approach was a win for the NIDA Green Plan. which was launched in 2022 and has placed sustainable goals into the heart of NIDA’s diverse curriculum. The Theatre Green Book (TGB) is used as a teaching resource across all departments, and student-led productions aim for the TGB Baseline/Basic standard, with varying degrees of success.

Divided into three volumes (Sustainable Productions, Sustainable Buildings, and Sustainable Operations), the TGB offers a step-by-step approach to reducing theatre’s environmental impact by measuring, and mitigating a designer’s desires. There is an educational version for teachers and schools to implement.

Key points include:

 Using pre-existing, reclaimed and biodegradable materials as a default in set, costume and prop design.

 Designing productions with a clear plan for material reuse or recycling, aligning with circular economy principles.

 Engaging audiences, students, and practitioners in conversations about sustainability

 Fostering a culture of ecological responsibility within the industry.

TGB Basic standard asks a production to limit its new or unrecyclable products to 50% of the show’s needs, and then to ensure that 65% of everything used in the production process is rehomed, re-used or recycled. Spring Awakening exceeded the Basic standard, achieving the TGB Intermediate standard in both sets and costumes an excellent achievement for the company.

TGB offers a powerful reminder to all of us in stage and screen that the future of visual storytelling lies not just in imagination and creativity but in taking collective responsibility for each decision we make.

In Angelina’s last words to me, “Is a small detail worth ruining the planet for? Often, the answer is No. With enough ingenuity, the alternative solutions can be even better than what you first imagined.”

Download the guide at theatregreenbook.com

NIDA’s Spring Awakening (2024).

Angelina Daniel and Edison Heartly. Photo: Juliette Amies.

In The Spotlight

With Les Solomon

Are Tony Winners Heading Down Under?

Les Solomon reviews a busy Tony Award telecast, predicts which shows will come here, and shares the latest news around Sydney.

I hope everyone got to see the Tony Awards on streaming this year. If you missed the broadcast (on the otherwise rather dull Paramount Plus) get a week’s trial subscription and catch up with the hour of highlights.

If this year’s Tony Awards are remembered for anything, it will be for the spectacular tenth anniversary staging of Hamilton. Carefully thought out to the second, every key moment in the show was featured in a wild, buzzy five minutes of frenetic energy, with all the original cast bedecked in evening gowns or stylish male evening wear (with the exception of the glorious ensemble member in a kilt!).

Political undertones aplenty featured in the staging - the colour pattern, the red of the king (Jonathan Groff’s second show stopping moment of the night) - it was deliberately potent and just about the best five minutes of television anyone is likely to see this year.

Almost everything else was just a little step or two behind Hamilton, but there were some delicious numbers. I loved Nicole Scherzinger’s “As if We Never Said Goodbye”. I have not seen this revival of Sunset Blvd, so I seriously hope that the mooted professional filming of the show during a short West End revival becomes a reality.

I’ve always been dubious about this re-interpretation, but Nicole’s breathtaking performance gave a hint of what many people have called a fiery theatrical fever dream. As many audiences have told me, don’t criticise the idea, don’t be put off by the clips, just go see it. Sadly, following the recent traditional Australian revival, it seems unlikely to reach our shores.

Audra McDonald performed “Rose’s Turn” from Gypsy in what many imagined would precede a Best Actress Tony for her, but Nicole got it instead. I was unenthusiastic about her interpretation of one of music theatre’s greatest theatrical solo moments, which almost became difficult to watch because she was pushing too hard. It needed more subtle direction for the camera. Audra, as those who saw her recent show at the Sydney Opera House would attest, is a genuine superstar with the ability to lift an audience to the heavens (just listen to her

version of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”), yet this was two big steps too far even for Rose.

I have since listened to the cast recording, which is much more palatable (and many of the new orchestrations are exciting).

Getting a production number on the Tonys is a sure selling point to save a show that is underachieving, yet two new shows, Smash and Boop!, were neglected. In past years it was only the nominated musicals that got their moment, but other shows such as Real Women Have Curves had a number.

I was fascinated by Dead Outlaw, and want to see more of it, but whether we ever see a local production is debatable. It had unanimous raves but closed very quickly after the Tonys. Their number was one of the most intriguing of the night.

Other shows that have closed after the Tonys include the aforementioned Smash and Boop!, with Real Women looking like its life will be short.

Helen J Shen and Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.

It’s a tough business producing for Broadway, though I do question why so many shows try to squeeze their openings into those last four weeks before nominations close. Many get lost in the rush.

A show that opened many months before the Tonys was the undoubted winner of the night. Maybe Happy Ending has caught my interest for some time. It was suitably awarded with the big wins Best Musical and Best Actor. Having a Korean musical adapted to Broadway is rare and very exciting. It has captured Broadway’s hearts and will be around for years.

I just wish they had found a slightly more exciting moment to capture for the Tonys. It was short and sweet, if a little bewildering. I have since heard the cast album and the score (also a Tony winner). It is delightful witty and wise, smart and sad.

A show that didn’t adapt well for television was Death Becomes Her, but it’s a bona fide hit, and will be around for years, even if the big number was trying too hard to splash the audience with feathers and screaming people.

Other highlights included the wonderful tribute to Harvey Fierstein. As usual, he was suitably droll, smart and just a little bit bitchy. Sadly, his tribute was in the preTony telecast. There was not even a mention of him in the main telecast bad, bad, bad!!

So, to the host, the queen (or should I say witch) of Wicked - Cynthia Erivo. Mostly her hosting was solid, but she was dogged by terrible sound throughout the telecast, which is inexcusable.

Finally, Jonathan Groff’s Just in Time number was delightfully outrageous, even though whenever I hear any of these songs I can’t help wishing David Campbell had done this show on Broadway as he did (when it was called Dream Lover) in Australia. No one captures Bobby Darin like Campbell. Yet Groff is dearly loved by the Broadway community and there are a lot of positive reasons for that. He would make a great host for the show next year.

Closing thought - which two shows out of this new bunch should we get in Australia? Undoubtedly Maybe Happy Ending as soon as possible and as for a play absolutely John Proctor is the Villain, which I believe should have won Best Play. From what I am hearing, it is the best play for international audiences on Broadway now local producers please take note!

See a full list of Tony Award winners on our website at tinyurl.com/29x6u8qw

Step, Kick, Kick, Touch

Are all musicals appropriate for community theatre productions? If you wanted my list of questionable ones, the top of the list would be Cats, A Chorus Line and Chicago - three shows that require the very best of professional dance ability to make the shows work. Yet these shows are also among the most popular for nonprofessional companies. So, last month I went along to see Willoughby Theatre Company’s production of A Chorus Line and was pleasantly surprised.

Online extras!

Watch “The Rainy Day We Met” from Maybe Happy Ending. youtu.be/5NMgxcSjsKI

It wasn’t an easy ask for the company to demand so much of their cast, but many top young dancers in the final stages of their professional training at full time dance schools made up a lot of the cast. Bravo!! That production also had a top line crew and the lighting, by genius Matt Lutz (whose name should have been at the top of the credits on the first page of the programme), the mastermind who created the world of that musical like I have never seen before.

Vale The Stables Theatre

I know I am not the only person to have asked recently - what is happening with the historic Stables Theatre, home of Sydney’s Griffin Theatre Company, and before that, the first Nimrod Theatre?

The shock is that the theatre isn’t being renovatedit’s been torn down and gutted. All that is left if you drive past the old horse stables is a hole in the ground.

I didn’t realise this was the plan. I thought the renovation was going to be built around the original structure. The Stables is historic to the Sydney theatre scene, and I personally am so upset that it seems necessary to rip the entire structure down and start again.

I have produced many plays in that glorious space over the years the original production of The Credeaux Canvas, the first two productions of Campion Decent’s AIDS related masterpiece Three Winters Green, the second production of Only Heaven Knows, which then transferred to the Opera House.

I can go further back to the days of the Nimrod Theatre where stars like Judy Davis and Mel Gibson had their first professional experience on that stage, while it was also the first home of so many Australian classics such as Away. Now it seems all that is left are some of the original bricks. I am sure the new theatre will be more glamorous and seat a lot more people, but it’s a tragedy that the great theatre could not have survived a renovation without tearing it down. Goodbye old theatre, a great friend gone to memories.

Final Thoughts For The Month

Go to the well-preserved version of Cats as it tours nationally, but maybe ask what ever happened to the mid Act Two show-within-a-show “Growltiger’s Last Stand” and ponder the ideological reasons reasons for which it was dropped, and perhaps ask why there couldn’t have been a bit of a re-write.

For me, taking this out of the show is like cutting “The Small House of Uncle Thomas” from The King and I or the Dream Ballet from Oklahoma!…one cranky purr.

The Black Woman Of Gippsland

A white woman survived a shipwreck off the Gunaikurnai Coast in the 1840s; now an Indigenous PhD candidate re-evaluates the colonial archives to explore this unverified ‘white woman’ legend and how it was used to justify brutal massacres across Gunaikurnai Country. Written by Andrea James, first staged by the Melbourne Theatre Company, and now published by Currency Press, The Black Woman of Gippsland is available for purchase at Book Nook.

PROLOGUE - MAYBE

[The DANCER sings and/or dances the traditional Gunaikurnai song of shipwreck.]

DANCER: Blaung-a-wrekwa tauraua koolin-guka (ropes-tail of the tall mast, Burning white-fellows) wuroong toonkoo bata-tunga (flame boughs mast and down) budda-ngaioo Tuka-bunda Kunnun-guka, (me and Whitewoman-hit, make this blackfullafeel no good,) ma-Kunnung-ita (I leave it there.)

[BLACKFELLAS 1, 2 and 3 arrive and stand on a wild and rugged beach.]

BLACKFELLA 1: At first we thought it could be a baby whale. Washed up. Or a massive seal.

BLACKFELLA 3: We see this lump

BLACKFELLA 2: This sodden lump, laying there in the sand.

BLACKFELLA 1: And as we get closer we see a pile of clothes and rags and hair and arms

BLACKFELLA 2: Fluorescent legs,

BLACKFELLA 1: Face-down, sand and weed stuck to her face. Lips blue.

BLACKFELLA 3: There she lay. Bedraggled, sad,

BLACKFELLA 1: She fascinates us.

BLACKFELLA 3: That one boot missing and a stocking torn.

BLACKFELLA 2: We thought it was her skin. All frills and coats

BLACKFELLA 1: The deathly dampness of her skirts that pulled her down. Orange hair spread out like tentacles.

BLACKFELLA 3: The men poke at her with the kind end of their spears.

BLACKFELLA 1: Her eyes flash terror. Then she closes them again.

BLACKFELLA 2: Sleeping.

BLACKFELLA 3: Or dying.

BLACKFELLA 1: Or drowning.

BLACKFELLA 2: Or all of the above.

BLACKFELLA 1: The wave put her there.

BLACKFELLA 2: She rolls over onto her back.

BLACKFELLA 1: The lumps under her clothes tell us she is woman.

BLACKFELLA 3: Chest rises and falls.

BLACKFELLA 2: She coughs and water comes out.

BLACKFELLA 3: Foam and phlegm.

BLACKFELLA 1: She stands up.

BLACKFELLA 3: She falls.

BLACKFELLA 2: Makes sounds and falls.

BLACKFELLA 1: Desperate for water we lead her to the creek. She drinks and vomits and drinks again.

BLACKFELLA 2: We feed her up. And she eats. She sits by the fire and the women touch her hair. The hem of her dress. Her toes. That one boot missing and we tap it as if to ask where’s the other one?

BLACKFELLA 1: She nods and waves her arms in the air. Points to the sea. But we already know that’s where she’s come from.

BLACKFELLA 2: Where’s your children? Your man? We tap her stomach and point to a man.

BLACKFELLA 1: Stinging scratchy itchy. Her dress sticks to her arms.

BLACKFELLA 3: Won’t let go.

BLACKFELLA 2: Aunty puts a possumskin cloak around her. She lays down and shivers and sleeps.

BLACKFELLA 3: And the children stare. Eyes wide.

BLACKFELLA 2: And the stories begin of how and why she’s come to our camp. Will we take her with us? Or leave her there?

BLACKFELLA 1: Next day we pack our things. Walk away. She grabs her dress. Possum-skin cloak.

BLACKFELLA 3: She follows us.

BLACKFELLA 2: Like we her family.

BLACKFELLA 1: Sleeps and eats and follows for days.

BLACKFELLA 2: Weeks.

BLACKFELLA 3: Months.

BLACKFELLA 1: Years.

BLACKFELLA 2: And Aunty makes her a daughter.

BLACKFELLA 1: And Uncle makes her his wife.

BLACKFELLA 2: Kin way, if she’s going to stay.

BLACKFELLA 1: Maybe we took you by the hand, Oh White Woman of Gippsland…

BLACKFELLA 2: Maybe we saved you…

BLACKFELLA 3: Maybe, you were never there…

BLACKFELLA 1: But, whatever, you changed our lives.

ALL: Forever.

SCENE 1 - MOTEL AND COP SHOP

[Darkness. A telephone rings. Lights up on a dimly lit and aged motel room. Curtains struggle to keep out the light and heat of the outside. The shadow of a cleaner wheeling her trolley throws up on the curtains. There is a sliding window/hatch that delivers breakfasts onto a bench. We hear a conversation as a voiceover.]

SERGEANT: Hello, Sale Police Station.

ROCHELLE: I’d like to report a missing woman.

SERGEANT: I see. When did you last see her?

ROCHELLE: Five days ago.

SERGEANT: Name?

ROCHELLE: Please, can you find her?

SERGEANT: We need some details first.

ROCHELLE: She never goes away this long.

SERGEANT: I need a name.

ROCHELLE: Jacinta. Pepper.

[Beat. JACINTA enters the motel room, slams the door and leans against it. Agitated.]

SERGEANT: Pepper. What’s your relationship to this person?

ROCHELLE: I’m her aunt. Please, can you get a car out to look for her?

SERGEANT: Where are her parents?

ROCHELLE: Deceased. I’ve been Jacinta’s mother since…

SERGEANT: How old is Jacinta?

ROCHELLE: Twenty-six. Born on the first of May 1998.

SERGEANT: Nationality?

ROCHELLE: Yorta Yorta and Gunaikurnai.

[JACINTA steps into the room and stands. Fixed.]

SERGEANT: Aboriginal. [Beat.]

SERGEANT: Does she have a history of running away?

ROCHELLE: She’s a grown woman. [Beat.]

SERGEANT: Pepper?

[JACINTA sits on the motel room bed.]

SERGEANT: A lovers’ spat perhaps?

ROCHELLE: What?

SERGEANT: Did she have a fight with her boyfriend?

ROCHELLE: She doesn’t have a boyfriend.

SERGEANT: Girlfriend?

[JACINTA gets up and paces.]

ROCHELLE: No.

SERGEANT: Does she live alone?

ROCHELLE: She lives with us.

SERGEANT: Children?

ROCHELLE: No.

SERGEANT: Does she have a history of drug use?

ROCHELLE: No.

SERGEANT: Alcohol dependence?

ROCHELLE: No!

SERGEANT: Unemployment? Sickness benefits?

Script Extract

[JACINTA walks to the window, looks out the curtains and sits on the bed again.]

ROCHELLE: No. She’s at university.

SERGEANT: University? [Beat.]

SERGEANT: And when did you say you last saw her?

ROCHELLE: Five days ago. Sometimes she goes away for a weekend to clear her head. Takes her tent with her, but she always comes back after a day or two. Please, can you get a car out now?

SERGEANT: Has she been in contact with any other members of the family?

ROCHELLE: Not her brother, her cousins, her friends. No-one.

SERGEANT: You’ll have to come into the station. Bring a photo. A current one.

[The phone hangs up. JACINTA stands. Breathes in. Breathes out.]

Watch Chenoa Deemal in a scene from MTC’s The Black Woman Of Gippsland. youtu.be/oa2Lp9s6OC8

Published by Currency Press, purchase your copy at Book Nook. booknook.com.au/product/the-black-woman-of-gippsland

MTC’s The Black Woman Of Gippsland Photo: Pia Johnson.

60 Years Of Mackay Musicals

Hannah Lewis shares remarkable memories from a Queensland Community Theatre Company.

This year marks a momentous occasion for the Mackay Musical Comedy Players (MMCP) as we celebrate six decades of bringing joy, creativity, and community spirit to the Mackay region.

The company’s first production, The Boyfriend, in 1965 was a resounding success. The receipts amounted to ₤877, making a fifty percent profit, after the founders scraped together money from their credit accounts to buy the set and costumes.

Backdrops were painted in committee members’ backyards, surrounded by cockatoos and chickens.

For thirty-five years the company performed in what a pioneer described as the “delightfully grotty” Mackay Theatre Royal, which was demolished in 1990 to make way for the Mackay Entertainment Centre.

The Royal was not sound-proofed, and microphones weren’t used, so the performers needed strong voices to combat the noise from the greyhound races on a Thursday night and the wailing of sirens every time the Fire Brigade was called out. To get from one side of the stage to the other you had to go outside of the building, which was utter chaos when it rained.

In 1975, before the show opening on the first night of West Side Story, two policemen came up the back stairs and said that there was a bomb threat and everyone had to evacuate. A caller said the lights would explode at the beginning of the second act.

After interval, one of the policemen stood behind the lighting desk and watched as the operator brought the lights up before commenting, “Well, it looks alright to me.”

In the late seventies the committee was hard at work on plans for the construction of The Players “own home”. Through their hard work, The Players dream was realised, with the official opening on 1st April 1978.

That decade The Players “went on tour”, taking productions to neighboring towns in response to pleas from theatre-lovers who had long been starved for musical theatre.

An 80 strong cast, props, costumes, lighting equipment, musical instruments, sets and most awkward of all, a complete revolving stage set for Calamity Jane hit the road for Bowen.

In 1984, during Annie Get Your Gun, our leading lady, Shannon Edwards lost her singing voice twentyfour hours before opening night. Luckily our musical director, Elizabeth Carey, was able to sing the part from

Footloose (2025).

the pit with Shannon miming the words from the stage.

During 2012’s The Sound Of Music, in a moment of true showmance, our Captain Von Trapp, Petar Grulovic, proposed to Jessica Krause (who had played Maria) as the curtain fell after the final performance, bringing tears to the eyes of many of the cast and delighting “their children” from the production.

COVID brought similar problems to Mackay as it did to theatres worldwide. In 2020, our production of Mamma Mia! was only six weeks into rehearsals when it ground to a halt.

Just when we started to feel theatre was getting back to normal, COVID outbreaks flared again in 2022, and our production of Shrek became tricky, with cast members agreeing to understudy every role in the show as mandatory isolation regulations were reintroduced.

2025 has already been a year of reflection and triumph. Our next production of Evita will take to the stage this September.

The Addams Family (2023).

Les Misérables (1994).

The Boyfriend (1965).

Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham will star in Stephen Schwartz's new musical The Queen of Versailles (with a book by Lindsey Ferrentino). Based on the documentary of the same name directed by Lauren Greenfield, about the rise and fall of billionarie-couple Jackie and David Siegel, the musical promises social satire as the pair strive to build their 90,000-square-foot dream home, modelled on the Sun King’s 17th century French palace, as the 2008 recession looms. Previewing from October 8 at the St James Theatre. The Queen of Versailles premiered in Boston in 2024.

Yasmina Reza's Tony Awardwinning play Art returns to Broadway at the Music Box Theatre, previewing from August 28. The all-star cast for the revival of this drama about the debate between art and friendship features Bobby Cannavale, James Corden and Neil Patrick Harris. Scott Ellis directs.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter will reunite in Jamie Lloyd's new production of Samuel Beckett's absurdist masterpiece Waiting for Godot, which previews at the Hudson Theatre from September 13. The cast

is completed by Michael Patrick Thornton.

Will Harrison will make his Broadway debut in James Graham’s new play Punch, based on the truelife book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne, previewing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre from September 9 following successful runs in Nottingham and London. Adam Penford directs, with a cast which also includes Camila Canó-Flaviá, Sam Robards and Lucy Taylor.

The Broadway debut of Jordan Harrison's Pulitzer Prize finalist drama Marjorie Prime, about an Alzheimer's patient using technology to relive her memories, previews at the Hayes Theatre from November 20. Director: Anne Kauffman.

A revival of the Tony Awardwinning musical Ragtime, based on E.L. Doctorow's novel about lives and communities clashing at the beginning of the 20th century, will preview at Vivian Beaumont Theatre from September 26. Starring Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, Colin Donnell, Nichelle Lewis, Ben Levi Ross, Shaina Taub, John Clay III and Rodd Cyrus. Music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, book by Terrence McNally and direction by Lear deBessonet.

ABBA's greatest hits return to Broadway with a limited run revival of Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden Theatre, where the show premiered in 2001. Previewing from August 2, the revival stars Christine Sherrill, Amy Weaver, Carly Sakolove, Jalynn Steele, Rob Marnell, Jim Newman, Victor Wallace and Grant Reynolds.

Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, Nicholas Christopher will star in the first Broadway revival of Chess (music by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, lyric by Tim Rice, new book by Danny Strong) since the show flopped on Broadway in 1988. Previewing at Imperial Theatre from October 15, the production will be directed by Michael Mayer.

Beetlejuice returns to Broadway for a limited engagement at the Palace Theatre in October, after more than two years touring America.

Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham in The Queen of Versailles. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

Martin Shaw (Judge John Deed, Inspector George Gently) and Gary Wilmot star in Robert Bolt’s drama A Man for All Seasons, based on the conflict between Sir Thomas More and Henry VIII, over the king’s plan to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Directed by Jonathan Church, the production plays at the Harold Pinter Theatre from Aug 6 to Sep 6. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Paapa Essiedu will star in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, directed by Ivo van Hove, at the Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End from November 14.

Inspired by the Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore rom-com, new musical 50 First Dates: The Musical plays from September 14 at The Other Palace Theatre. With direction and choreography by Casey Nicholaw, 50 First Dates stars Georgina Castle (Mean Girls, Elf The Musical) and Josh St. Clair.

Coven, a new musical inspired by England’s notorious Pendle Witch Trials, plays at London’s Kiln Theatre from Oct 31. Olivier Award-winning director Miranda Cromwell joins forces with Grammy Award-winning Daisy Chute and Rebecca Brewer in this musical about 13 women rising above the forces that seek to silence them.

Take a trip back to 1980s Dublin at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from July 9 with new musical Sing Street, inspired by John Carney’s coming-of-age indie film. Writer Enda Walsh and director Rebecca Taichman bring this story to the UK stage for the first time, following runs in Boston and New York. With a score that embraces the new wave sounds of the 80s, Sing Street tells the story of a group of teens who turn their everyday struggles into something extraordinary forming a band that changes everything.

A new reimagining of Bram Stoker’s horror classic Dracula at London’s Lyric Hammersmith in September, adapted by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and directed by Emma Baggott, uncovers the untold female voices at the heart of the tale.

London Calling

Online extras!

Puppet puppies abound in this musical adaptation of 101 Dalmations. youtu.be/HrxhTClC4IY

Get Down Tonight: The KC and The Sunshine Band Musical at the Charing Cross Theatre from September 19, will celebrate the rise of disco legend Harry Wayne Casey (KC) with over 20 iconic hits, set against the vibrant backdrop of 1970s Miami, delivering a blend of Disco, Funk, R&B, and more.

Ahead of an anticipated West End production, 13 Going On 30, a new feel-good comedy musical based on the 2004 movie starring Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer and Andy Serkis will play at the Opera House, Manchester from September 21. The cast is led by Lucie Jones as Jenna, with David Hunter as Matt Flamhaff and Grace Mouat as Lucy Wyman. The book is written by the movie’s screenwriters Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, with music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner.

BAFTA winner Adeel Akhtar (Fool Me Once, Four Lions) stars in this exploration of family, power and the lies we tell about ourselves. Daniel Raggett directs Shaan Sahota’s debut play in the Dorfman Theatre at the National Theatre in London from July 9.

Britain’s Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas will star as Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians: The Musical at

Eventim Apollo Theatre this summer, from July 18, alongside TV presenter Jeff Brazier as Casper, and Aston Merrygold from Boy Band JLS as Jasper.

Dirty Dancing returns to London from Oct 23, playing at London’s new purpose-built Capital Theatre, with a 620-seat auditorium where no audience member is more than nine rows from the action.

Beth Steel’s acclaimed new play Till the Stars Come Down transfers from the National Theatre into the West End’s Theatre Royal Haymarket from July 1, with its portrayal of a largerthan-life family struggling to come to terms with a changing world.

The Cornley Amateur Drama Society will be back this Christmas, bringing tidings of chaos and joy as they attempt to stage A Christmas Carol with predictably disastrous results! Christmas Carol Goes Wrong is headed to the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End from 6 December 2025, as part of Mischief Theatre’s UK tour.

That won’t be the only version of A Christmas Carol in the West End.

Mark Gatiss’ retelling returns to the Alexandra Palace for Christmas, filled with Dickensian, spine-tingling special effects and the supernatural.

101 Dalmations.

Photo: Johan Persson.

Choosing A Show

Recommendations from Musical and Play agents

Origin Theatrical origintheatrical.com.au

Cats: Young Actors Edition

A Purr-fect Triumph For Christchurch’s Youth

The stage of the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch New Zealand pulsed with youthful vibrancy this May as over 140 young performers brought the world of Cats to life in a production by the National Youth Theatre.

Tailored specifically for young voices and minds, Cats: Young Actors Edition was a thrilling showcase of emerging talent. The one-hour adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical allowed children and teens aged 7-21 to explore the magical, musical junkyard, portraying whimsical feline characters inspired by T.S. Eliot’s poetry.

Jack Shatford shared his creative journey in the Cats: Young Actors Edition in a Director’s Diary on YouTube origintheatrical.com.au/work/12580

Discover Jack Shatford’s experience staging Cats: Young Actors Edition. youtu.be/U6OUi4ZMKJU

Tootsie

Music Theatre International Australasia mtishows.com.au

Michael Dorsey will go to any length for his career in this hilarious 2019 musical, based on the hit comedy film starring Dustin Hoffman about an out of work actor who reinvents himself as a woman.

Ranked as one of the best comedies of all-time on American Film Institute’s list of “100 Years…100 Laughs,” Tootsie was hailed as “Broadway’s funniest new musical!” (The New York Post).

With music and lyrics by David Yazbek and book by Robert Horn, Tootsie won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical and received a total of 11 Tony Award nominations. mtishows.com.au/tootsie

Sister Act

A woman hiding in a convent helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she rediscovers her own.

The feel-good musical comedy based on the hit 1992 film that has audiences jumping to their feet, features original music by Tony and eight-time Oscar winner, Alan Menken.

Filled with powerful gospel music, outrageous dancing and a truly moving story, Sister Act will leave audiences

breathless. The cast is full of amazing roles for women of all ages. mtishows.com.au/sister-act

Once Upon A One More Time

Have the once upon a time of your life with this fairytale set to Britney Spears’ biggest hits.

When a fairy godmother goes rogue and plops copies of ‘The Feminine Mystique’ in the laps of classic heroines, the damsels embark on a quest to rewrite their stories and redefine “happily ever after.”

Weaves 23 of Britney Spears’ smash singles like “Crazy,” “Oops!…I Did It Again,” “Circus,” “Lucky,” and “Toxic” into “a big, modern, musical dance party, with Britney’s beating heart at its core.” (ABC News) mtishows.com.au/once-upon-a-one-more-time

17 Again

A new musical based on the popular 2009 film, starring Zac Efron and Matthew Perry, features music and lyrics by the Broadway team of Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner and a book by Marco Pennette. This heartfelt musical comedy explores how the choices we make impact our life in unexpected ways. The score is heavily influenced by pop/rock artists mashed up with musical theatre. mtishows.com.au/17-again

The Magician’s Elephant

Adapted from Kate DiCamillo’s prize-winning novel.

Baltese is a town where nothing extraordinary ever happens. Recovering from a recent war, it’s a lonely place, where young Peter lives a harsh life.

Then one day, a magician conjures an elephant from the sky. The creature’s appearance sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that it changes Baltese forever.

mtishows.com.au/the-magicians-elephant

Hans Christian Andersen Jr

The stories of Hans Christian Andersen and the music of Frank Loesser meet a new generation. Hans Christian Andersen Jr tells the story of 13-yearold Christian, a boy who struggles with reading and writing but discovers a remarkable gift for storytelling. Narrators Crantz and Guilder guide us through the world and fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen, including “The Little Mermaid,” “Thumbelina,” and “The Ugly Duckling”.

mtishows.com.au/hans-christian-andersen-jr

David Spicer Productions davidspicer.com.au

2025-26 Catalogue

The 2025-26 David Spicer Productions Catalogue of Musicals and Plays is out now. The 16-page guide is available in hard copy (email david@davidspicer.com) or can be read online.

The catalogue includes: Blockbuster Broadway and West End musicals; Small and medium cast musicals; Opera and operetta; Youth musicals and plays; Classic Australian comedy and farce; Outrageous comedies; Murder mysteries; Christmas themes; Jukebox musicals; Parody and comedy; and Pantomime.

The catalogue includes the top 10 most popular DSP musicals and plays of the last three years and new releases:

Air Heart: A musical based on legendary aviatrix Amelia Earheart with outstanding female roles.

Schapelle Schapelle: A parody musical which sends up the sensationalist media that surrounded Schapelle Corby’s drug conviction.

Lambs: A large cast play about Australian under 18-year-old boys enlisted in WWI.

Online extras!

Read the 2025-26 DSP catalogue online now tinyurl.com/2cswp752

Kennedy Bennett Fox kennedybennettfox.com

Kennedy describes his plays as “creating stories that bring to life relationships, struggles, passion, love, stirred up emotions, which play out as theatrical encounters.

“My journey born on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, and residing in Buderim, surrounded by my garden, creates contentment and creative stimulus.

“A fourth generation lawyer, who has experienced a lifetime in the law together with involvement in local theatre since the 1970’s, both as an actor and director, I was rapt seeing my first play Juggling, performed by 3bcreative at the Maleny Playhouse in 2023 under the direction of Anne Grant.

“Join the journey. Check out my website for full details of my plays.

“Now, my first novel, Pass Me a Life is about to be published. Not sitting still, the creation of three more novels are in the pipeline, exploring male same sex relationships, with a touch of laughter, a tear or two, a tad or two of excitement, while the story weaves its way through your mind.”

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Showcasing Innovative Theatre

Students at the Flinders Drama Centre revelled in the challenge of staging a new work at the 2025 Adelaide Fringe. Emily Kessell reports.

What do you get when you cross the Restoration stage, Australia’s leading trans playwright, and a group of hungry young theatre-makers? You get Gull a gloriously unclassifiable, riotously bold World Premiere that marked a defining moment for the Flinders Drama Centre, as they returned to the Adelaide Fringe for the first time in forty years.

Conceived by the audaciously original playwright Glace Chase, originally a Bell Shakespeare commission that was deemed too outrageous to stage, Gull - nor the Most Lamentable Comedie Called Love was brought to life in collaboration with the Drama Centre’s Honours acting cohort, at Holden Street Theatres as part of the 2025 Adelaide Fringe.

But Gull wasn’t just another bold Fringe pick it was the launch-pad for a new Drama Centre initiative that pairs graduating actors with major artists to create original work for public seasons. And this one came with a bonus: Glace Chase herself, who Flinders University flew in from New York for several weeks in residence with the company, helping shape and stage the premiere.

“Glace’s script invites you to laugh at the absurdity of gender conventions, and then suddenly turns the joke back on you,” says student Isiah Macaspac. “There’s real pain under the wigs.”

A radical revisioning of genderbending romantic comedy, Gull draws inspiration from Shakespearean crossdressing and Restoration mischief, but with a distinctly 21st-century sensibility. “Glace’s work is fearless,” says Drama Centre Manager and director of the production, Dr Christopher Hurrell. “It interrogates gender and desire without ever losing its sense of fun, which made it perfect for a student company ready to take big creative risks.”

Hurrell staged the production inside The Arch, the heritage-listed former All Saints Anglican Church, using the

historical architectural features to evoke a Restoration-era playhouse, where scandal, disguise, and seduction played out in candlelight-inspired pools of gold.

“In the Honours year of the Bachelor of Performance, we want students to begin by learning how to contribute to the creative practice of professional artists,” explained Dr Hurrell. By the end of the year, they’re ready to lead the process themselves. Gull was the

starting point a full-throttle, realworld production with a living playwright in the room.”

The performance was part of a larger reimagining of the Drama Centre’s presence at Adelaide Fringe. In addition to Gull, audiences also saw an outdoor production of First Love is the Revolution by Rita Kalnejais and a revival of Dance Nation by Clare Barron each production exploring its own radical take on performance, adolescence, and identity.

The students were thrown into the deep end and they swam. Under the guidance of their director, dramaturg Triss Niemi, designer Kathryn Sproul and Glace herself, they grappled with intricate language, complex gender roles, and tonal gear-shifts between

outrageous comedy and sudden pathos. The show drew glowing audience adulation, five-star reviews, and critical acclaim for its ambition and polish.

“I found myself having to control my breathing so I didn’t become mildly hysterical with the joy engendered,” wrote Glam Adelaide’s Adrian Barnes.

Most importantly, it gave students a taste of the kind of art they can make when they’re trusted to lead. Backstage, the production was also a showcase of the Drama Centre’s emphasis on industry readiness. Student crew members were embedded in lighting, sound, and costume teams learning from professionals and contributing to a professional-standard outcome.

“The Fringe is not just a performance opportunity,” Hurrell notes. “It’s an employability accelerator. These students are building credits, learning how to create their own work, and making industry contacts that will matter long after graduation.”

“Working with Glace wasn’t just a creative collaboration,” says Hurrell. “It was a trust exercise. Her method demands honesty, risk, and a willingness to go to uncomfortable places. That’s the kind of training we value not just technique, but bravery.”

And it was a long time coming. As Glace puts it: “Sometimes you’ve got to wait a decade for the right people, in the right city, with the right kind of madness.”

Looks like Adelaide and Flinders Drama Centre were exactly that.

The 2025 Bachelor of Performance (Honours) cohort at Flinders Drama Centre will be seen on stage next exploring the past history of radical innovation in South Australian theatre, in The Shock of the New In Adelaide at the Matthew Flinders Theatre from August 6 to 9. For details and tickets, visit events.flinders.edu.au

Gull (2025)

Pathways From Studio To Stage And Screen

Contemplating a career in the spotlight? Preparing to tread the boards. Or are you ready for your close-up (Mr De Mille)? Whether you’re aspiring for greatness on stage or fame on the small or big screen, The National Drama School offers several pathways towards a successful acting career.

Established in 1936 by revered arts pioneer Gertrude Johnson OBE, The National Drama School is Australia’s longest-established vocational training organisation for acting. Renowned for its industry connections, intimate class sizes, and passion for the craft of acting, The National Drama School celebrates and champions diversity, while cultivating excellence and authenticity.

Under the inspired leadership of Director of Drama Dr Jaime Dörner, the School’s teaching faculty of industry experts impart their professional skills and techniques with budding young actors in the heritage

listed National Theatre complex in the bayside suburb of St Kilda, Melbourne.

If you’re considering a career in the performing arts but you’re not quite ready to commit to full-time studies, the Foundations in Acting (tinyurl.com/yqoz4kos) program is an excellent way of dipping your toes in the water. Held over two nights each week (Monday and Thursday 6-9pm), the 16-week course, delivered over two terms, will immerse students in the craft of acting with a small ensemble of like-minded thespians. Monday nights: Screen Acting with Cazz Bainbridge will help you

find authenticity, empathy and humanness in a role and bring the character to you. Using personalisation, internal landscape and imagery you will learn to create connection and specificity in your work. Other skills will include basic screen career fundamentals including actor materials, casting, and industry knowledge, how to break down a script and understand the theme and film tone, balancing preparation with ease and presence in performance, building self-taping skills and how to find freedom within the frame.

Thursday Nights: Stage Acting and Voice with Shaun Goss will tap into

several techniques to help liberate your imagination and open up your body and voice. You’ll develop confidence in monologue and scenework and find moment to moment play within yourself and with other actors. Shaun’s classes are influenced by a contemporary understanding of Stanislavski method, Biomechanics of Meyerhold, Eutonia, and Alba emoting method.

The Winter intake of Foundation in Acting commences Monday 21 July and video auditions are now being accepted.

If you’re ready to immerse yourself in full time studies and join The National Drama School Actors Ensemble, we will be holding auditions for the two-year Advanced Diploma of Acting (10884NAT) (tinyurl.com/yws56q3c) on August 31.

This nationally accredited, fulltime, professional training course prepares students for careers as actors and performance makers in theatre, film, television and new media.

Students work closely with a range of Industry professionals undertaking a rigorous program of actor training. The course is very hands on with students undertaking practical training activities and performance outcomes in a dedicated rehearsal and theatre space.

In Year 1 - The Development Year, you will study acting techniques for stage and screen, including the Stanislavski, Uta Hagen and Michael Chekhov techniques. Movement techniques, including Feldenkrais, the Suzuki actor training method, Butoh training, and concepts such as Pulse and contact improvisation will develop your physical sensitivity, presence, precision and power. Linklater voice training will free your voice and extend your vocal range and expression. Your first year culminates in the creation of a solo performance.

In Year 2 - The Showcase Year, you undertake a concentrated year of performances that extend your skills, hone your craft and showcase your work to industry leaders. Performance opportunities will include working with industry experts who will guide

Still interested in pursuing an acting career? Visit thenationaldramaschool.vic.edu.au for the latest information on how to audition and apply for the July intake of Foundation in Acting, or to audition for the 2026 Advanced Diploma of Acting program.

you through the process of bringing authenticity to your screen acting and self-tape performances, showcase performances in Studio 2 a purpose built black box theatre and on The National Theatre Mainstage working with a leading

industry director. Your final year performance will be developed in collaboration with your ensemble, directed by a performance-making specialist and presented at an external venue.

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The National Drama School Advanced Diploma of Acting student production.

Bringing Excellence To The Stage

Christine Bowden reports on QAEMT’s musical theatre program.

In an industry where talent is just the beginning, the Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre, Griffith University continues to prove itself as a powerhouse of professional preparation, creative nurturing, and real-world success.

The revered program takes just 20 students a year, identifying and extracting potential of those with dreams of singing, dancing and acting on stage; and providing them with career-defining training experience to unlock their full potential.

Recent graduate Charlotte Page has just returned from China, where she performed as on-stage swing in Sunset Boulevard, and is now preparing for another swing role in Back to the Future: The Musical, opening at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in September, where she’ll be covering multiple parts and stepping in at a moment’s notice.

Being a swing performer can be mentally demanding, but Charlotte credits her education with giving her both technical skills and the resilience to handle high-pressure situations.

“We had double casting in our third-year show, which was my first swing experience,” she said. “It really

exercised a different part of my brain and helped me appreciate the bigger picture of a production.”

Initially nervous about Sunset Boulevard, Charlotte found her rhythm and a passion for swing roles.

“This isn’t for everyone, but I really enjoy it,” she said. “Going from two roles to seven is a whole new challenge. You need to be highly organised and have a ‘yes’ mentality because things can change quickly.”

She credits Griffith mentors, including Alistair Smith and Dan Venz, for helping her embrace the unpredictability.

“They taught us it’s not about being perfect every time, that mistakes are bound to happen when there is so much in your brain, but it’s about keeping the show running and putting in the work and being able to say, ‘it’s all good, we move on’.”

On the other hand, fellow Bachelor or Musical Theatre alumnus Sean Johnston is about to start rehearsals for The Book of Mormon in Sydney, playing the lead role of Elder Price.

After debuting professionally in Hairspray, Sean took time to regroup, audition, and hone his craft before

To find out more about musical theatre at Griffith University, visit griffith.edu.au/musical-theatre-academy

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landing the gig with one of the most iconic musicals of the last decade.

“It’s daunting but very exciting taking on such a big role,” Sean said.

“Coming out of uni, I felt really well-prepared. The work ethic instilled at Griffith absolutely set me up for the rehearsal room. I thought I’d be behind, but I found I was actually ahead in some ways, which was a great feeling.”

Sean’s path into the arts wasn’t typical, with his love for sport and football taking a back seat with a lastminute gear change to undertake dance and vocal training in grade 12 so he could audition for the Bachelor of Musical Theatre.

“I remember receiving the email and being nervous to open it, but when it said ‘congratulations, we’d love to offer you a place’ I was so excited, calling my mum and practically everyone to tell them.”

Like Charlotte, Sean credits the mentorship he received, especially from faculty members like Director of the Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre, Professor Paul Sabey, as being transformational.

Both Sean and Charlotte also highlighted resilience as another vital element of their training, with the industry known to be competitive, unpredictable, and fast-paced, and the ability to adapt, maintain professionalism, and keep your passion alive being not just important, but essential.

“You don’t always book a job straight away,” Sean said. “After Hairspray, it took a while before The Book of Mormon came along, but the course prepares you for that.

“You learn that your career is a marathon, not a sprint.”

The Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre strives to deliver outstanding musical theatre education that transforms and inspires-empowering students to take the lead role in their story with the knowledge and skills to adapt and perform at the peak of their artistry.

Sean Johnston in Hairspray (2022)

Charlotte Page in Cry Baby The Musical (2023)

Merrily We Roll Along At WAAPA

During June, WAAPA Third Year Music Theatre students performed the Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along. Stage Whispers’ Kimberley Shaw reviewed the production.

Following on from the success of the recent Broadway revival, WAAPA Third Year Music Theatre students presented Merrily We Roll Along, supported with an orchestra comprised of WAAPA Music Students and designed and crewed predominantly by WAAPA Production and Design Students.

Designer Clay Chase, assisted by student Daisy Churchman, gave us a bare staged Roundhouse, save for a grand piano, moved frequently throughout the show. Behind the band, visible on stage was a poster wall, featuring images of shows mentioned throughout, and a prominent rotating date counter,

used as the date rolled back throughout the story. Bright and colourful costumes helped to hone in on the dates, moving backwards from 1976 until 1957. Lighting design by Blair Cotteral helps to define place and time.

An 8-piece band play well under the guidance of Musical Director Craig Dalton, with sound well-balanced by Zac Bowers.

The story of three lifelong friends, composer Franklin Shepard, playwright Charlie Kringas and writer Mary Flynn, is well told by the ensemble cast, moving well as a team and executing the choreography of Deby Holmes with panache.

Find out more about WAAPA’s performing arts courses and how to apply at waapa.ecu.edu.au

Our leading trio had strong rapport, with believable and complex relationships established between Franklin (Nye Morrison), Charlie (Koert van der Laan), and Mary (Olivia Chatto) in well sung, layered performances.

The “other woman”, the glamorous Gussie Carnegie, was played with flair by Chloe Taylor, while Franklin’s wife Beth was given a sympathetic and complex portrayal by Rachel Seo.

It is impossible to mention all the cast, when everyone was working well, but Sebastian Cruse as lawyer Jerome and Bianca Metcalf as child Frank Jr were particularly memorable.

An easy to watch and bitter-sweet production, that was clearly enjoyed by the audience.

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WAAPA’s Merrily We Roll Along.

Photo: Stephen Heath.

Outback Dreaming

The McDonald College Reimagines Shakespeare’s Classic

Earlier this year, The McDonald College brought Shakespeare’s fantastical world to the rugged heart of Australia with a bold and breathtaking reinterpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Directed by McDonald College’s own Romy Bartz and Greg Friend, both seasoned professionals with extensive industry experience, this imaginative production fused Elizabethan verse with the dust and drama of a Queensland cattle station, offering a Shakespearean experience unlike any other.

With a cast of 21 actors and four musicians, the production marked a significant milestone for the College, bringing Shakespeare to life while giving students from acting and music streams the chance to collaborate in a new way. The result was a richly layered, immersive experience where Australia’s heat, landscape and cultural tensions breathed new life into an ageold tale.

Rewriting The Rules, Bush Style

“This isn’t your typical fairy tale,” says Romy Bartz. “It’s a story of love, power and environmental upheaval.”

Set against the backdrop of a Queensland cattle station, the production cast the Athenian court as a world governed by strict tradition and patriarchy, while the forest now a lush, wild rainforest became a realm of transformation and rebellion. The Australian bush took centre stage, embodying both conflict and renewal.

Quoting Titania, Bartz explained how the natural environment itself became a character: “…we see the

seasons alter: the spring, the summer, the childing autumn, angry winter…”

These words, she noted, symbolised the upheaval of both nature and the human heart. “The play opens with the potential for tragedy,” she said, “but by the end, everyone emerges mostly unscathed and perhaps a bit braver.”

The rehearsal process mirrored the journey of the characters one of growth, adaptation and joy. “Each student gradually opened their heart and soul to the work. It was a joy to watch it develop, adapt and transform in rehearsal.”

Head of Acting Greg Friend reflected on the experience as a richly creative one. “It was a wonderful mix of laughs, surprising discoveries and numerous magical moments,” he said. He praised the students for their commitment and enthusiasm throughout the journey. “It’s been a joy to see them grow as actors and collaborators.”

The characters of Puck and Bottom drew big laughs from audiences proof that Shakespeare’s comedy still lands when delivered with heart and guts.

The live music, created and performed by music students under the guidance of Head of Music Lucy Bermingham, added an extra

dimension of atmosphere haunting in the rainforest scenes, jovial for the local performers’ antics. “We wanted the music to feel grounded in the land, but also magical,” said one of the student musicians.

A Magical Run Adapted For The Road

After four sold-out performances at the College in early June, the production was adapted for the road. With minimal changes to its staging and design, the team packed up their Queensland cattle station and rainforest, taking it to Wagga Wagga in July, as part of The McDonald College’s first-ever regional tour.

Performing for schools and the wider Wagga community, the cast and crew shared their uniquely Australian take on Shakespeare with new audiences. The tour marked a major achievement for the Senior Acting and Music Streams an experience that deepened their confidence, professionalism and passion for performing.

Lara, one of the student actors, captured the spirit of the production perfectly: “When you ask people, ‘What’s the first word that comes up when you think of Shakespeare?’ they immediately think of ‘boring’ and ‘ancient.’ This play is the opposite fantabulous!”

To find out more about studying at The McDonald College, visit mcdonald.nsw.edu.au

The McDonald College student production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2025).

Beyond Beauty: The Art And Grit Of Screen Make-up

NIDA Graduate Kiarna Strauss is a make-up magician, bringing actors back to life with zombie prosthetics or transporting audiences to the 19th century with nuanced techniques.

Since graduating (Screen and Media, Specialist Make-up Services) just three years ago, Kiarna has already worked on major productions including Netflix’s Heartbreak High, The Artful Dodger and most recently the proof-of-concept for the zombie film Halfturn and Prime’s Narrow Road to the Deep North. What first drew you to make-up artistry and why did you choose to pursue your Diploma?

My fascination with make-up artistry began with a love for film, television, and the transformative power of special effects make-up. I was captivated by the ability of makeup artists to transport characters to new worlds, evoke emotions, and tell stories through their craft. As I

explored the world of special effects make-up, I realised that it combined my passions for art and storytelling.

The Diploma of Screen and Media (Specialist Make-up Services) allowed me to hone my skills in special effects make-up, prosthetics, and character design, while also learning about the industry’s best practices and standards.

Your portfolio is diverse, working across film, TV and special effects. Do you have a preference when it comes to taking on new projects?

While I enjoy working across various mediums, including film and TV, my true passion lies in special effects and prosthetic make-up. I find it incredibly rewarding to create complex, realistic characters and

creatures that transport audiences to new worlds. There’s something magical about seeing a design concept come to life through a combination of artistry, craftsmanship and technical skill. Whether it’s creating intricate wounds, aging characters, or bringing fantastical creatures to life, I’m excited to take on challenges that allow me to showcase my skills and creativity in this area.

The Artful Dodger and Heartbreak High have very different make-up outcomes. How do you adapt your creative approach for period pieces versus more modern looks?

When working on period pieces like The Artful Dodger, I try to immerse myself in the era’s aesthetic, researching historical references,

fashion, and make-up trends. I focus on accuracy and authenticity, ensuring the make-up complements the production design and costumes. For example, I might use more subtle, nuanced techniques to create a naturalistic look that suits the period.

In contrast, modern productions like Heartbreak High allow for more creative freedom and experimentation. We could push boundaries with bold colours, edgy styles, and avant-garde designs. The approach is often more intuitive, responding to the show’s tone and style and a deep understanding of the story, characters, and director’s vision.

Is there a misconception people have about working in make-up for film and TV that you wish more people understood?

Surprisingly a big misconception about make-up is that a lot of people think it is easy! Make-up for film and TV isn’t just about applying make-up. People often underestimate the complexity, time, and expertise required to create characters, especially in special effects make-up.

Many think it’s all about looking good on camera, but it’s about storytelling, transforming actors into characters, and enhancing the narrative. It requires a deep understanding of the script, director’s vision, and production design and ensure it translates on camera, not only in person, but also to fit with any filters or colour gradings being used on camera/in post-production.

Additionally, people often don’t realise the physical demands of wearing heavy prosthetics or make-up for extended periods. Actors’ comfort, skin care, and safety are crucial considerations.

What’s a dream project or collaboration you’d love to work on in the future?

A dream project for me would be to work on a Tim Burton film. His creations are truly incredible. The blend of fantasy, horror, and dark humour in his films is something I find fascinating, and I think it would be an incredible experience to bring his characters and stories to life through SFX make-up.

Learn more about NIDA’s Diploma of Screen and Media (Specialist Make-up Services) at nida.edu.au/study

Other dream projects that would be high on my list include working on a horror movie like the Saw franchise, where the focus is on intense suspense and realistic effects.

Ultimately, any project that allows me to push the boundaries of SFX make-up and contribute to telling a compelling story would be an exciting opportunity!

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Main image: Hair and makeup design by Kiarna Strauss for her portfolio.

Below: Kiarna Strauss at NIDA creating a prosthetic alien look. Photos: Maja Baska.

Contemporary, Creative, Conservatoire

Federation University Arts Academy to showcase creative excellence at 2025 Open Day

Federation University’s Arts Academy will open its doors to the public on Sunday 24 August, offering prospective students and visitors a rare opportunity to experience its nationally recognised performing arts programs.

Located in Ballarat’s heritage-listed creative precinct at the Camp St Campus, the Arts Academy is home to a warm, inclusive and close-knit community of emerging performers and visual artists. Known for its supportive environment and strong sense of belonging, the Academy fosters deep connections between staff and students that often last long after graduation.

Step Inside A Working Conservatoire

This year’s Open Day will provide a firsthand look at daily life within the Academy, featuring live classes, student performances and dedicated information sessions. Attendees can sit in on practical studio-based classes in voice, acting, dance and singing, observing how the conservatoire-style training is delivered.

A highlight of the day will be a dedicated course information session, where staff will outline the structure of the Bachelor of Music Theatre and Acting, career pathways and key information about auditions and the application process for 2026.

Real-world Training, Real Industry Connections

The Bachelor of Music Theatre and Acting is designed for the contemporary performer, equipping students with the practical skills and industry awareness needed for sustainable careers in the arts. Through a rigorous daily schedule of studio classes, public performances and creative development, students are immersed in a multidisciplinary curriculum that includes acting, singing, movement, voice, theatre-making, aerobic fitness and mindfulness.

Students work closely with guest practitioners including theatre directors, screen actors, choreographers and musical directors. One such practitioner is alumnus Josh Piterman, a recording artist and award winning former West End star of both Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables who has returned to the Arts Academy as a sessional lecturer in music theatre performance.

“It’s pretty simple,” says Josh. “If it wasn’t for my time at the Arts Academy the detail of the teaching methods

Federation University Open Day Aug 24, 9.30am - 3pm.

Federation University Arts Academy, Camp St Campus, Ballarat.

To learn more or register your attendance, visit federation.edu.au/openday

and the work ethic it instilled in me I wouldn’t be enjoying the career I’ve had over the past 12 years.”

A Community Like No Other

The welcoming culture at the Arts Academy is one of its defining features. Students train together daily, forming deep bonds that are strengthened by a shared commitment to growth and mutual respect. A principle of ‘Unconditional Positive Regard’ shapes the Academy’s approach to student development, with staff actively involved in mentoring and supporting each individual’s journey. Senior students regularly support and guide new First Years ensuring that everyone, no matter their background, feels they belong.

This commitment to student experience was recognised in the 2025 Good Universities Guide, where Federation University received a 5-star rating for Creative Arts.

Explore What’s On

In addition to workshops and information sessions, Open Day visitors can attend a special performance by music theatre artist and alumnus Zoy Frangos, who will present selected songs from his show Variations. He will be joined by Arts Academy Director Professor Rick Chew (piano), Chris Beasley (guitar) and the Academy’s vocal ensemble Word of Mouth.

See It For Yourself

Whether you’re a prospective student, a parent, a teacher or someone passionate about the creative arts, Federation University’s Arts Academy Open Day is an opportunity to explore the facilities, meet the people, and experience the vibrant energy that defines this special place.

Federation University graduating student production of A Seat At The Periodic Table (2025).

Young Actors Building Confidence And Friendship

The National Drama School’s recently appointed Young Actors Program Coordinator, Flora Ogilvy, says school students in years 5 to 12 who join one of their new Young Actors Ensembles can learn valuable life skills alongside stage and screen acting techniques.

“Our Young Actors Stage and Screen Ensembles are fantastic extracurricular opportunities for budding young actors to nurture and extend their creative journey, while simultaneously developing social skills for everyday practice,” says Ogilvy.

“Teamwork, collaboration, selfexpression and confidence are just a few of the many life skills that are also essential to any aspiring performer. We actively encourage students to explore personality and identity, character and storytelling throughout their time at The National Drama School.”

The Young Actors Stage Ensembles create the space for students to make new discoveries, express themselves, grow in their craft and use their

imaginations all while having fun. Each term focusses on a particular activity spanning improvisation and devising, scene work, character building and rehearsals, and preparation for performance. At the end of the year, members of the Stage Ensembles will perform on the heritage listed National Theatre stage.

For those interested in TV and film acting, the Young Actors Screen Ensembles offer a chance to gain the dramatic skills and technical knowledge required by young screen actors to work and play together in class, off and on camera. Learning the difference between acting for stage and screen, students are taught techniques for self-taping auditions, working with another actor on

Enrolments are now open for Term 3 commencing on July 21. For further information including enrolments visit thenationaldramaschool.vic.edu.au/yap-stage-ensembles

camera, playing with different film and TV genres and are equipped with the knowledge they need to take on the industry as young professionals At the end of the year, students will host a screening of their devised film work.

About The National Drama School

Established in 1936 by revered arts pioneer Gertrude Johnson OBE, The National Drama School is Australia’s longest-established vocational training organisation for acting. Renowned for its industry connections, intimate class sizes, and passion for the craft of acting, The National Drama School celebrates and champions diversity, while cultivating excellence and authenticity.

Under the inspired leadership of Director of Drama Dr Jaime Dšrner, the School’s teaching faculty of industry experts impart their professional skills and techniques with budding young actors in the heritage listed National Theatre complex in the bayside suburb of St Kilda, Melbourne.

On Stage

From Mirning Artistic Director and Co-CEO Frances Rings and Goolarrgon Bard Visual Artist Darrell Sibosado comes Illume, an iridescent new theatrical experience, drawing together music, visual arts and dance to explore the ways light has captivated and sustained Indigenous cultural existence for millennia. Currently touring Australia through to September, the Bangarra Dance Theatre show takes to stages in Perth, Albany, Canberra, Brisbane, Darwin and Melbourne. bangarra.com.au

A.C.T. & New South Wales

A.C.T.

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. Queanbeyan Players. Jul 3 - 13. The Q - Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. queanbeyanplayers.com

La Bohème by Puccini Opera Australia. Jul 17 - 19. Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Chaika Theatre. Jul 23 - Aug 2. ACT Hub. acthub.com.au

Spider’s Web by Agatha Christie. Canberra Rep. Jul 24Aug 9. canberrarep.org.au

Illume. Bangarra Dance Theatre. Jul 25 & 26. Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Online extras!

Step out of the shadows and into the light with Bangarra’s Illume youtu.be/3tj4K4I5XQQ

M’ap Boulé by Nancy Denis Aug 8 & 9. The QQueanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. theq.net.au

Waltzing in Willara by David Milroy. HIT Productions. Aug 15 & 16. The Q - Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. theq.net.au

Every Lovely Terrible Thing by Adam Fawcett. Aug 20 - 30. ACT Hub. acthub.com.au

The Paper Escaper by Gita Bezard. Terrapin Puppet Theatre. Aug 20 - 22. The QQueanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. theq.net.au

Marrow. Australian Dance Company Jul 29 - Aug 1. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

The Addams Family by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Andrew Lippa. Canberra Philharmonic Society. Aug 28Sep 13 philo.org.au

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare

Aug 29 - Sep 7. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au

God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza. Echo Theatre and Arts on Tour. Aug 29 - 31. The QQueanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. theq.net.au

New South Wales

Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. John Frost for Crossroads Live. Ongoing. Theatre Royal, Sydney. catsthemusical.com.au

MJ. Book by Lynn Nottage. Lia Vollack, John Branca, John McClain and Michael Cassel. Until Aug 23. Sydney Lyric Theatre. mjthemusical.com.au

The Spare Room. Based on the Novel by Helen Garner. Company B, in association with Byzant. Until Jul 13. Belvoir Street Theatre. belvoir.com.au

The Lady Vanishes by Derek Webb, based on a novel by Ethel Lina White. Genesian Theatre Company. Until Jul 26. St Joseph’s Parish Hall, Rozelle. genesiantheatre.com.au

Blackbird by David Harrower. HER Productions. Until Jul 5. KXT on Broadway. kingsxtheatre.com

Being Alive - The Music of Stephen Sondheim. Until Jul 12. Hayes Theatre. hayestheatre.com.au

Sistren by Iolanthe. Griffin Theatre Company / Green Door Theatre. Until Jul 12. Old Fitz Theatre. oldfitztheatre.com.au

Spider’s Web by Agatha Christie. Pymble Players. Jul 412. Zenith Theatre, Chatswood. pymbleplayers.com.au

Pursuing Pleasure by Pierra Dennerstein. Jul 7 - 11. Old Fitz Theatre. oldfitztheatre.com.au

Photo: Daniel Boud.

On Stage

One of Shakespeare's most exhilarating works, Coriolanus is a gripping portrait of a tyrannical mind in the first years of the Roman Republic. Presented by Bell Shakespeare for the first time in 30 years, Coriolanus is playing at The Neilson Nutshell in Sydney until July 19 before transferring to Arts Centre Melbourne from July 24 to August 10. bellshakespeare.com.au

New South Wales

Online extras!

The fate of Rome hangs in the balance in Bell Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. youtu.be/mfKbFeCSCqs

The Lightning Thief - The Percy Jackson Musical. Book by Joe Tracz, music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki, based on the novel by Rick Riordan. Gosford Musical Society. Jul 8 - 12. Laycock Street Community Theatre, Wyoming. laycockstreettheatre.com

You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. Music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and Andrew Lippa. Young People’s Theatre Newcastle Inc. Jul 8 - Aug 2. YPT, Hamilton. ypt.org.au

The Shoemaker’s Secret by Wendy Leis. Young People’s Theatre Newcastle Inc. Jul 8Aug 3. YPT, Hamilton. ypt.org.au

Gravy by Gemma Burwell. Murak. Jul 9 - 12. KXT on Broadway. kingsxtheatre.com

Dare to Dream. Cumberland Gang Show. Jul 9 - 13. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Mr Red Light by Carl Bland. Nightsong. Jul 9 - 12. Lennox, Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Carmen by Georges Bizet. Opera Australia. Jul 10 - Sep 19. Sydney Opera House. opera.org.au

The Wizard of Oz. By Frank L Baum, adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg. Background Music by Herbert Stothart. Metropolitan Players. Jul 11 - 19. SPCC Theatre, Waratah. metropolitanplayers.com.au

Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker. Sydney Theatre Company. Jul 12 - Sep 7. Wharf 1 Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

The Book of Mormon. Book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Produced in Australia by Anne

Garefino, Important Musicals and Suzanne Jones for JONES Theatrical Group. From Jul 15. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. thebookofmormonmusical.com.au

Disney’s Frozen Jr. Music and lyrics by Kristen AndersonLopez and Robert Lopez. Book by Jennifer Lee. Hunter Drama. Jul 17 - Aug 2. Playhouse, Civic Theatre Newcastle. hunterdrama.com.au

Babyteeth by Rita Kalnejais. White Vox. Jul 18 - Aug 2. KXT on Broadway. kingsxtheatre.com

Betrayal by Harold Pinter. Sport for Jove. Jul 18 - Aug 10. Old Fitz Theatre. oldfitztheatre.com.au

1984 by George Orwell, adapted by shake & stir theatre. Jul 24 - 26. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. riversideparramatta.com.au

Robin Hood and His Merry Men by Richard Gremel.

Maitland Repertory Theatre Inc. Jul 16 - Aug 3. Repertory Theatre, Maitland. mrt.org.au

Women of Twilight by Sylvia Rayman. Henry Lawson Theatre, Werrington. Jul 1827 hltheatre.com.au

Fewer Emergencies by Martin Crimp. The Company Theatre. Jul 22 - Aug 3. Old Fitz Theatre. oldfitztheatre.com.au

Sylvia by A R Gurney. Wyong Drama Group. Jul 25 - Aug 2. Red Tree Theatre, Tuggerah. wyongdramagroup.com.au

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang. Woy Woy Little Theatre. Jul 25 - Aug 10. Peninsula Theatre, Woy Woy. woywoylt.com.au

The Last 5 Years by Jason Robert Brown. Castle Hill Players. Jul 25 - Aug 16 Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill Showground. paviliontheatre.org.au

Photo: Brett Boardman.

On Stage

Sweet Charity in Concert. Book by Neil Simon, Music by Cy Coleman Lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Blue Mountains Musical Society. July 26. Blue Mountains Theatre, Springwood. bmms.org.au

Beetle by Legs on the Wall. July 26. Glen Street Theatre. glenstreet.com.au

Grief Is The Thing With Feathers. Based on the Novel by Max Porter, adapted by Simon Phillips, Nick Schlieper & Toby Schmitz. Co-produced by Company B and Andrew Henry Presents. Jul 26 - Aug 24. Belvoir Street Theatre. belvoir.com.au

Broadway Bound by Neil Simon. The Theatre on Chester. Aug 1 - 23. The Theatre, Cnr Chester & Oxford Streets, Epping. theatreonchester.com.au

Seventeen by Matthew Whittet Arts Theatre Cronulla. Aug 1 - Sep 6. Arts Theatre,

Cronulla. artstheatrecronulla.com.au

Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall by Mark Kilmurry and Jamie Oxenbold. Richmond Players. Aug 2 - 23. Richmond School of Arts. richmondplayers.com.au

Three Short Plays by Tennessee Williams. Ground Floor Theatre Company. Aug 5 - 15. Old Fitz Theatre. oldfitztheatre.com.au

Trophy Boys by Emmanuelle Mattana. Soft Tread in association with Maybe Pile. Aug 6 - 9. Riverside Theatres Parramatta.

riversideparramatta.com.au

Songs Of The Stage. Gosford Musical Society. Aug 8 & 9. Laycock Street Community Theatre, Wyoming. laycockstreettheatre.com

The 39 Steps. Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and the movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Original

New South Wales

concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon. Aug 8 - 30. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. the39steps.com.au

The Lightning Thief: Theatre for Young Audiences Edition. Book by Joe Tracz. Music and Lyrics by Rob Rokicki. Adapted from the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The Regals Musical Society. Aug 8 - 17. Rockdale Town Hall. theregals.com.au

Speak of the Devil by Beian Obiri-Asare. Aug 8 - 23. KXT on Broadway. kingsxtheatre.com

Radium Girls by D. W. Gregory Wollongong Workshop Theatre. Aug 8 - 23. Workshop Theatre, Gwynneville. wollongongworkshoptheatre.com.au

Moriarty - A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Ken Ludwig. Genesian Theatre Company. Aug 8 - Sep 13. St Joseph’s Parish Hall, Rozelle. genesiantheatre.com.au

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, adapted for the stage by Joanna MurraySmith. Sydney Theatre Company. Aug 18 - Sep 28. Roslyn Packer Theatre. sydneytheatre.com.au

The Gruffalo’s Child. Adapted from the award-winning picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. CDP Kids. Aug 19 - 20. Glen Street Theatre. glenstreet.com.au

Secret Bridesmaids’ Business by Elizabeth Coleman. The Guild Theatre Ltd Rockdale. Aug 22Sep 13. Guild Theatre, 87 Railway St., Rockdale. guildtheatre.com.au

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard. Hunters Hill Theatre. Aug 22Sep 14. Club Ryde Ex. huntershilltheatre.com.au

Every Second by Vanessa Bates. Newcastle Theatre Company Inc. Aug 23 - Sep 6. Newcastle

On Stage

Written by award-winning Chinese-New Zealand writer and poet, Nathan Joe, the smash hit New Zealand work Scenes From A Yellow Peril has been reconceptualised into an Australian context by Brisbane-based independent production company The Reaction Theory. The show is a poetic mixtape of insights that explores the painful ways people are othered, yet refuse to be silenced. Playing at QPAC’s Cremore Theatre until July 12. qpac.com.au

New South Wales & Queensland

Theatre, Lambton. newcastletheatrecompany.com.au

6 Short Plays by Local Authors. Blackheath Theatre Company. Aug 28 - 31. Blackheath Theatre Community Hall, Blackheath. blackheaththeatrecompany.com

Waltzing the Willara. Written and composed by David Milroy. HIT Production. Aug 28 - 30. Glen Street Theatre. glenstreet.com.au

The Bridge by Clare Hennessy, Sunny Grace and Richie Black. Crisscross Productions. Aug 29 - Sep 13. KXT on Broadway. kingsxtheatre.com

Orlando. Based on the Novel by Virginia Woolf, adapted by Carissa Licciardello & Elsie Yager. Company B. Aug 30Sep 21. Belvoir Street Theatre. belvoir.com.au

Queensland

Jesus Christ Superstar. Lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Presented by John Frost & David Ian for Crossroads Live and Work Light Productions. Until Aug 10. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. jesuschristsuperstarmusical.com.au

Dear Son. Based on the book by Thomas Mayo, adapted by Isaac Drandic and John Ha. Queensland Theatre. Until Jul 19. Bille Brown Theatre. queenslandtheatre.com.au

The Sunshine Boys by Neil Simon. Toowoomba Repertory Theatre Jul 1 - 12. toowoombarep.com.au

Scenes from a Yellow Peril by Nathan Joe. Jul 3 - 12. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. qpac.com.au

Carrie The Musical by Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford and Lawrence D Cohen. Based on

Watch a preview of The Reaction Theory’s Scenes From A Yellow Peril. youtu.be/w5E74HoG5CA

the novel by Stephen King. North Queensland Opera and Music Theatre. Jul 9 - 13.

Denise Glasgow Performing Art Centre. nqomt.com.au

Dog Man: The Musical. Book and Lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila. Music by Brad Alexander. Adapted from the Dog Man series of books by Dav Pilkey. Jul 9 - 12. Playhouse, QPAC. qpac.com.au

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Centenary Theatre Group. Jul 12 - Aug 3. centenarytheatre.com.au

Clancestry. Jul 23 - Aug 10. qpac.com.au

The Visitors by Jane Harrison. Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company. Jul 23 - 26. Playhouse, QPAC. qpac.com.au

Illume. Bangarra Dance Theatre. Aug 1 - 9. Playhouse, QPAC. qpac.com.au

All Shook Up. Featuring the songs of Elvis Presley. Book by Joe DiPietro. Phoenix Ensemble, Beenleigh. Aug 1 - 23. phoenixensemble.com.au

Veronica’s Room by Ira Levin. New Farm Nash Theatre. Aug 8 - 30. nashtheatre.com

Julia by Joanna Murray-Smith. Queensland Theatre. Aug 1530. Playhouse, QPAC. Bille Brown Theatre. queenslandtheatre.com.au

The Sleeping Beauty. Choreography: Marius Petipa. Production and additional choreography: David McAllister. Music: Tchaikovsky. The Australian Ballet. Aug 1623. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. qpac.com.au

Dance Nation by Claire Barron. THAT Production Company / Metro Arts. Aug 20 - 30. New Benner Theatre. metroarts.com.au

Photo: Cecilia Martin.

On Stage Queensland & Victoria

The Addams Family by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Andrew Lippa. Toowoomba Choral Society. Aug 21 - 23. The Empire Theatre, Toowoomba. tcschoral.com.au

Titanic The Musical. Book by Peter Stone. Music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. Gold Coast Little Theatre. Aug 22 - Sep 13. gclt.com.au

Trophy Boys by Emmanuelle Mattana. Aug 25 - 30. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. qpac.com.au

Victoria

Beetlejuice. Score by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown & Anthony King. Michael Cassel Group. Ongoing. Regent Theatre. beetlejuicethemusical.com.au

Hadestown. Music, Lyrics and Book by Anaïs Mitchell. Opera Australia and JONES Theatrical Group. Her Majesty’s Theatre. Until Jul 13. hadestown.com.au

The Wrong Gods by S. Shakthidharan. Melbourne Theatre Company. Until Jul 12. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. mtc.com.au

Rabbit Hole by David LindsayAbaire. Williamstown Little Theatre. Until Jul 12. wlt.org.au

Julia by Joanna Murray-Smith. Until Jul 19. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Mother Play - A Play in Five Evictions by Paula Vogel. Melbourne Theatre Company. Until Aug 2. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. mtc.com.au

Sweeney Todd On The Razor’s Edge. Adapted by Jon Jory & Michael Bigelow Dixon. Centrestage Youth Theatre. Jul 1 - 12. The 1812 Theatre, The Bakery. 1812theatre.com.au

The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert

Hackett. Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre. Jul 3 - 19. lilydaleatc.com

Love, Love, Love by Mark Bartlett. Heidelberg Theatre Company. Jul 4 - 19. htc.org.au

9 to 5: The Musical. Music and lyrics by Dolly Parton Book by Patricia Resnick. Altona City Theatre. Jul 4 - 19. Altona Theatre. altonacitytheatre.com.au

Fairy Tale Courtroom by Dana Proulx. Eltham Little Theatre. Jul 5-20. elthamlittletheatre.org.au

Have a Good Night, Walter! Jul 7 - 12. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Art, War and Other Catastrophes. Cabaret Fringe Festival. Jul 7 - 12. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Smokescreen by Christopher Samuel Carroll. Bare Witness Theatre Company. Fortyfivedownstairs. Jul 8 - 13. fortyfivedownstairs.com

My Cousin Frank by Rhoda Roberts AO. NORPA. Jul 9 - 12. The Show Room, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Annie by Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin. John Frost for Crossroads Live. From Jul 10. Princess Theatre, Melbourne. anniemusical.com.au

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Based on the novel by Roald Dahl. Book by David Greig, Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Songs from the movie by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. People’s Playhouse Theatre. Jul 11 - 19. Cranbourne Community Theatre. peoplesplayhouse.com

La Bohème by Puccini. Opera Australia. Jul 11 - 12. Geelong

Performing Arts Centre. geelongartscentre.org.au

Zombie Prom: Atomic Edition. Book and lyrics by John Dempsey. Music by Dana P. Rowe. Fab Nobs Theatre Inc. Jul 11 - 20. Fab Nobs Factory, Bayswater. fabnobstheatre.com.au

Footloose by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. Leongatha Lyric Theatre. Jul 11 - 26. leongathalyric.com.au

The Addams Family: A New Musical. By Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Western Arts Theatre. July 11 - 19. Maribyrnong College Theatre. westernartstheatre.org

Legally Blonde. An Andrew G and Theatrical production. Jul 11 - 27. National Theatre, St Kilda. theatrical.com.au

The Pirate Queen. Book by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Richard Maltby Jr. Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby Jr. and John Dempsey MLOC Productions. Jul 11 - 19. Frankston Arts Centre. mloc.org.au

Curtains by Rupert Holmes, Peter Stone, John Kander and Fred Ebb.Diamond Valley Singers. Jul 11 - 19. Warrandyte High School Theatre. dvsingers.org

Here You Come Again. Created by Bruce Vilanch, in collaboration with Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio. Songs by Dolly Parton. Kay & McLean Productions. From July 12. Comedy Theatre. hereyoucomeagain.com.au

Echo (Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen) by Nassim Soleimanpour. Malthouse. July 14 - 19. malthousetheatre.com.au

Between The Fractures. Jul 1419. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Rumbleskin by Ames May Nunn. Dirty Pennies Theatre Project. Fortyfivedownstairs. Jul 16 - 27. fortyfivedownstairs.com

Things I Know to be True by Andrew Bovell. Off The Leash. Jul 17 - 20. West Gippsland Arts Centre. offtheleashtheatre.com.au

The Mikado by Sir Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert. Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Victoria. Jul 17 - 20. Alexander Theatre (Monash University), Clayton. monash.edu

Agatha Crispie by Cenarth Fox. Encore Theatre Inc. Jul 18 - 27. Clayton Community Centre. encoretheatre.com.au

Roses and Ruin. Lightbox Productions. Jul 18 - 19. Knox Community Centre. lightboxau.com

The Rocky Ballad Show. Jul 2226. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Board Shorts. Short Play Festival. The 1812 Theatre. Jul 24 - 26. 1812theatre.com.au

Lord Arthur Saville’s Crime by Constance Fox. Mordialloc Theatre Co. Jul 24 - Aug 2. Shirley Burke Theatre, Parkdale. mordialloctheatre.com.au

Coriolanus by William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. Jul 24 - Aug 10. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

The Forgotten Songbook by Emerson Hurley Jul 25 - 27. Chapel Off Chapel. chapeloffchapel.com.au

We Will Rock You by Queen and Ben Elton. PLOS Musical Productions. Jul 25 - Aug 2. Frankston Arts Centre. plos.asn.au

What’s Yours by Keziah Warner. Red Stitch. Jul 26Aug 24. redstitch.net

Kimberly Akimbo: A Musical Book and lyrics by David

On Stage Victoria & Tasmania

Lindsay-Abaire. Music by Jeanine Tesori. Melbourne Theatre Company. Jul 26 - Aug 30. Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse. mtc.com.au

Peter Baecker is OWN Priscilla. Jul 29 - Aug 2. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Miss Julie by August Strindberg. Company 16 in association with Liminal Space. Fortyfivedownstairs. Jul 31Aug 17. fortyfivedownstairs.com

Boundless Plains. Created by Tully Jones & Ella Waterman Cabaret Fringe Festival. Aug 19. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

In The Heights. Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes Joshua Robson Productions. Aug 1 - Sep 6. Comedy Theatre, Melbourne. premier.ticketek.com.au

The Orchard by Pony Cam. Malthouse. Aug 5 - 16. malthousetheatre.com.au

Songs For A New World by Jason Robert Brown. Soundworks Productions. Aug 5 - 10. Chapel Off Chapel. anewworld.com.au

Home, I’m Darling by Laura Wade. The 1812 Theatre. Aug 7 - 30. 1812theatre.com.au

Educating Rita by Willy Russell. The Basin Theatre Group. Aug 7 - 17. The Basin Theatre. thebasintheatre.au

The Witches. Based on the book by Roald Dahl. Adapted by David Wood. Beaumaris Theatre. Aug 8 - 23. beaumaristheatre.com.au

A Brief History of Human Stupidity. Stephen Sheeley. Aug 11 - 16. The Butterfly Club. thebutterflyclub.com

Trophy Boys by Emmanuelle Mattana. Soft Tread in association with The Maybe

Pile. Aug 12 - 24. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. artscentremelbourne.com.au

Frankenstein. Adapted by Nick Dear. Peridot Theatre Inc. Aug 15 - 24. peridot.com.au

A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh. The Mount Players. Aug 15 - 31. Mountview Theatre, Macedon. themountplayers.com

Fallen Angels by Noël Coward. Brighton Theatre Company. Aug 15 - 30. Brighton Arts and Cultural Centre. brightontheatre.com.au

Pippin. Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Roger O. Hirson and Bob Fosse. CentreStage. Aug 15 - 30. CentreStage Theatre, North Geelong. centrestage.org.au

Destiny by Kirsty Marillier. Melbourne Theatre Company. Aug18 - Sep 13. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. mtc.com.au

Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon. Clovelly Fox. Aug 20 - 31. fortyfivedownstairs. fortyfivedownstairs.com

The Humans by Stephen Karam. Malvern Theatre Company. Aug 22 - Sep 6. malverntheatre.com.au

Grey Nomad by Dan Lee Warrandyte Theatre Company. Aug 22 - Sep 6. warrandytehallarts.asn.au

Mamma Mia! Book by Catherine Johnson. Music and Lyrics Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus. La Trobe Theatre Company. Aug 22 - 30. Gippsland Performing Arts Centre.

latrobetheatrecompany.org.au

Little Women the Broadway Musical. Music by Jason Howland. Book by Allan Knee. Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Ghostlight Theatre. Aug 2830. West Gippsland Arts Centre. wgac.com.au

Tasmania

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder by Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman. Hobart Rep. Jul 9 - 19. The Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. playhouse.org.au

110% Ready. The Listies. Jul 10 & 11, Studio Theatre, Theatre Royal, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au and Jul 15, Earl Arts Centre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au

Momenta. Sydney Dance Company. Jul 18 & 19, Theatre Royal, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au and Jul 23, Princess Theatre Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au

Kill Me Now. One Act Comedy Play Festival. Three River Theatre. Jul 23 - 26. Earl Arts Centre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au

Emma. By Jane Austen, adapted by Michael Bloom. Bijou Tasmania. Jul 24 - Aug 2. The Playhouse Theatre, Hobart. playhouse.org.au

Much Ado About Not(h)ing by William Shakespeare., adapted and directed by Kelly Wilson. Original music by Alex Loveless and Scott Howland. Adaptivity Theatre Company. Aug 1316, Earl Arts Centre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au and Aug 21 - 23, Studio, Theatre Royal, Hobart, theatreroyal.com.au

Murder by Indecision by Daniel O’Donnell. Launceston Youth Theatre Ensemble. Aug 2123. Earl Arts Centre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au

Looking For Albrandi. A play by Vidya Rajan, based on the book by Melina Marchetta. Brink Productions. Aug 27 - 29. Theatre Royal, Hobart. theatreroyal.com.au

The Lord of the Flies. Adapted by Nigel Williams. Hobart Rep. Aug 27 - Sep 6. The Playhouse

On Stage

Online extras!

Say its name three times to conjure Beetlejuice The Musical. youtu.be/kYgr7r6fevU

Tasmania,

South Australia & W.A.

Theatre, Hobart. playhouse.org.au

The Station by Mandy Gibson. Launceston Youth Theatre Ensemble. Aug 28 - 30. Earl Arts Centre, Launceston, theatrenorth.com.au

South Australia

Kimberley Akimbo. Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. Music by Jeanine Tesori. Based on the play by David LindsayAbaire. State Theatre Company South Australia. Jul 8 - 19. Her Majesty’s Theatre. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Sleeping Beauty A Musical. by Kathryn Schultz Miller. Tea Tree Players - Youth Production. July 10 - 12. Tea Tree Players Theatre. teatreeplayers.com

Almost, Maine by John Cariani. The Stirling Players. Jul 11 - 19. Stirling Community Centre. stirlingplayers.org.au

Melbourne audiences agree that Beetlejuice The Musical starring Eddie Perfect who wrote the show’s music and lyrics is a larger-than-life visual spectacular. Playing at the Regent Theatre. beetlejuicethemusical.com.au

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim and High Wheeler. The Magpie Warblers Jul 24 - 26. Northern Festival Centre, Port Pire. countryarts.org.au

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Presented by John Frost for Crossroads Live. Aug 2 - 16. Her Majesty’s Theatre. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

The Watsons by Laura Wade. University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Aug 1 - 10. Little Theatre, University of Adelaide. adelaide.edu.au/theatreguild

Neighbourhood Watch by Lally Katz. St Jude’s Players. Aug 716. St Jude’s Hall, Brighton. stjudesplayers.asn.au

Girl of the Frozen North. A melodrama by Eddie Cope and Buster Cearly. Tea Tree Players. Aug 13 - 23. Tea Tree Players Theatre. teatreeplayers.com

Book by Arthur Laurents. Music by Julie Styne. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Balaklava Community Arts. Aug 23 - 31. Balaklava Town Hall. balaklavacommunityarts.com

The Magic Flute by Mozart. State Opera South Australia. Aug 28 - Sep 6. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide. adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Western Australia

Nanna’s Naughty Knickers by Katherine D Savino. Rockingham Theatre Company. Until Jul 12. The Castle, Rockingham. rtcrockingham.com

The 7 Stages of Grieving by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman. Yirra Yaakin Theatre. Until Jul 12. Subiaco Arts Centre. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Mamma Mia! By Catherine Johnson, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Jul 4 - 13.

HAMA Productions. The Regal Theatre, Subiaco. hamaproductions.com.au

Beanstalk by Sam Longley. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Jul 5 - 19. Ellie Eaton Theatre, Claremont Showground. sppt.com.au

Alice (In Wonderland).

Choreographed by Septime Webre. The West Australian Ballet. Jul 5 - 12. Crown Theatre, Perth. waballet.com.au

Child by Pavan Kumar Hari. The Blue Room. Jul 8 - 19. Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

Core x Tilt by Shontae Wright. The Blue Room Theatre. Jul 814. Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

Bruised by Vivienne Glance. Follow That Cat. Jul 8 - 26. The Blue Room, Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

Gypsy.

Beetlejuice The Musical.

Photo: Michelle Grace Hunder.

On Stage Western Australia

The artistic directors of Shake & Stir, Nelle Lee and Nick Skubij, bring Big Brother back to the stage in a very faithful and confronting production of George Orwell’s 1984. Don’t miss this electrifying adaptation on its extensive tour of capital and regional cities beginning later this month. shakeandstir.com.au

Online extras!

Explore the themes of independence, manipulation and rebellion in 1984. youtu.be/AmPYAXedw3U

Disney’s Dare to Dream JR by Patrick Sulken and Britt Bonney Western Theatrics Jul 10 - 13. Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana. koorliny.com.au

Frankenstein by Rona Munro, based on the novel by Mary Shelley. Wanneroo Repertory. Jul 10 - 26. Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo. limelighttheatre.com.au

Chicago (Teen Edition) by Kander and Ebb. Bel Canto Productions. Jul 11 - 19. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. oldmilltheatre.com.au

Heart Lines by Kerry Bowden. Melville Theatre. Jul 11 - 26. Main Hall, Melville Civic Centre, Booragoon. melvilletheatrecompany.au

Euridyce by Sarah Ruhl. GRADS Theatre Company. Jul 11 - 26. The Actors Hub, Kensington St, East Perth. grads.org.au

9 to 5 The Musical by Patricia Resnick and Dolly Parton.

Bunbury Musical Comedy Group. Jul 11 - 27. New Lyric Theatre, Bunbury. trybooking.com/1392225

Killing Katie - Confessions of a Book Club by Tracey Trinder. Stirling Players. Jul 11 - 26. Stirling Theatre. stirlingplayers.com.au

Solving for X by Reese Horn. The Blue Room Theatre. Jul 15 - 27. Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

We Will Rock You Young@Part by Queen and Ben Elton Western Theatrics. Jul 17 - 20. Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana. koorliny.com.au

Disney’s Finding Nemo Jr by Kirsten Anderson-Lopez and Robert Anderson-Lopez. The Production Academy. Jul 1720. Marist Auditorium, Newman College. events.humanitix.com

Plied and Prejudice by Matthew Semple Arts and Culture Trust

and Woodward Productions. Jul 18 - Aug 17. Downstairs at The Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett, adapted by Stephen Briggs. Roleystone Theatre. Jul 18 - 26. Roleystone Theatre, Roleystone. roleystonetheatre.com.au

Dog Man: The Musical by Kevin del Aguila, Brad Alexander and Jen Wineman, based on the characters by Dav Pilkey. CDP Theatre Producers. Jul 18 - 20. State Theatre Centre of WA. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

The Watsons by Laura Wade, based on the novel Emma by Jane Austen. Hayman Theatre. Jul 22 - 26. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, Bentley. haymantheatre.curtin.edu.au

Freaky Friday by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey and Bridget Carpenter, from the novel by Mary Rogers. St Marks

Anglican School. Jul 23 - 26. Barbara Godwin Performing Arts Centre, Hillarys. trybooking.com/1313893

The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, adapted by Glyn Robbins, based on the novel by P. L. Travers. Stray Cats Theatre. Jul 23 - 27. Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. manpac.com.au

The Gospel According to Paul by Jonathan Biggins. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Jul 23 - Aug 3. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth. blackswantheatre.com.au

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Disney Theatrical Group. Jul 24 - Oct 12. Crown Theatre. beautyandthebeastmusical.com.au

Lockie Leonard Human Torpedo by Paige Gibbs, from the novel by Tim Winton.

Photo: Joel Devereux.

On Stage Western Australia

Murray Music and Drama Club. Jul 25 - Aug 2. Pinjarra Civic Centre. mmdc.com.au

The Vicar of Dibley by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter, based on the TV series by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew Archer. Esperance Theatre Guild. Jul 25 - Aug 9. Bijou Theatre Esperance. thebijoutheatre.org.au

Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. W.A. Opera. Jul 26Aug 9. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. waopera.asn.au

The Return by Harrison Cook. The Blue Room Theatre. Jul 28 - Aug 10. Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Jeremy Sands. John Curtin College of the Arts. Jul 30 - 31. Curtin Theatre, Fremantle. jc.wa.edu.au

Tuck Everlasting by Claudia Shear, Tim Federle, Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen. Darlington Theatre Players. Aug 1 - 16. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount. marlootheatre.com.au

Shrek Jr by David LindsayAbaire and Jeanine Tesori. John Curtin College of the Arts. Aug 1 - 2. Curtin Theatre, Fremantle. jc.wa.edu.au

War of the Worlds by Orson Welles. Lit Live Perth. Aug 1. Venue 360, Perth. litlive.com.au

Legally Blonde by Laurence O’Keefe, Neil Benjamin and Heather Hach. Mercedes College. Aug 1 - 3. The Regal Theatre, Subiaco. mercedes.wa.edu.au

Canterbury Tales. Adapted by Lindsay Price from Chaucer. Aug 1 - 16. Garrick Theatre youth production. Garrick Theatre, Guildford. garricktheatre.com.au

Man Up! The Musical by Robert Dale. Drew Anthony Creative. Aug 1 - 2. Planet

Royale, Northbridge. drewanthonycreative.com.au

A Perfect Arrangement by Topher Payne. Roxy Lane Theatre. Aug 7 - 24. Roxy Lane Theatre, Bayswater. taztix.com.au

Alice in Wonderland by Jack Bradford after Lewis Carroll. Presbyterian Ladies College. Aug 7 - 9. Hazel Day Drama Centre, Peppermint Grove. plc.wa.edu.au

Witches!? In Salem?! by Matt Cox. St George’s Anglican School. Aug 7 - 9. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Keep on Laughing by Paul Elliot. Old Mill Theatre. Aug 823. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth. oldmilltheatre.com.au

Murder on the Dance Floor. Tivoli Club WA. Aug 8 - 29. Tivoli Club, Applecross. tivoliclubwa.com

Corteo. TEG Live. Aug 8 - 10. Unique production from Cirque du Soleil. RAC Arena Perth. cirquedusoleil.com

The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldini. John Curtin College of the Arts, Aug 8 - 9.

Ellen Street Theatre, Fremantle. jc.wa.edu.au

All The Words I Cannot Find by Harper Nguyen. Flash Brew and PDA. Aug 12 - 16. The Blue Room, Perth Cultural Centre, Perth. blueroom.org.au

Shakespeare in Love by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall. Midnite Youth Theatre. Aug 13 - 16 Subiaco Arts Centre. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Taryn Fiebig Awards. WAAPA Classical Voice and Musical Theatre Students. Aug 15. Richard Gill Auditorium, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. waapa.ecu.edu.au

Written by a Robot. BS Productions. Aug 19 - Sep 6. The Blue Room, Perth Cultural Centre, Perth. blueroom.org.au

Aladdin and His Magic Smartwatch. Jally Entertainment. Aug 23. Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana. koorliny.com.au

Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Aug 23 - Sep 14. Heath Ledger

Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth. blackswantheatre.com.au

O,D,E by Sage J. Harlow. Sage J. Harlow and Tone List. Aug 26 - Sep 6. The Blue Room, Perth Cultural Centre. blueroom.org.au

Antigone by Sophocles, adapted by Declan Donnellan OBE. WAAPA 3rd Year Acting. Aug 29 - Sep 4. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au

Opera Double Bill - Cinderella and Gianni Sanicchi by Pauline Viardot and Giacamo Puccini. WAAPA Classical Voice Students with Tommaso Pollio Aug 29 - Sep 4. Richard Gill Auditorium, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. waapa.ecu.edu.au

Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Drew Anthony Creative. Aug 28 - Sep 7. Planet Royale, Northbridge. drewanthonycreative.com.au

First Date by Austin Winsberg, Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner. Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana. Aug 29 - Sep 6 koorliny.com.au

Wolfgang In The Stars

Created and directed by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble for QPAC’s Out of the Box Festival. Concert Hall, QPAC. Jun 18 - 22.

CIRCA’S latest production catapults audiences into a whimsical intergalactic adventure. Part circus, part concert, part cosmic fever dream, this world premiere soars straight to the stars. At the centre is Mozart, who finds himself stuck searching for that final elusive note in “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. What follows is a charmingly absurd voyage through space, time, and friendship.

Director Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble blend plate spinning, poi, acrobatics, juggling, and live music with exacting precision and joyous abandon. It’s a sensory feast that’s beautifully, boldly inventive. The integration of video is particularly clever. The shadow puppetry is charming and clever.

The cast are sensational. The acrobatics are daring, muscular, and lyrical. There’s also a healthy dose of clowning and slapstick that has the audience in stitches. Music drawn from Mozart with some originals by Quincy Grant, who performs live on clarinet and wind synthesiser, is a central star in its own right. Costumes by Libby McDonnell are bright and imaginative. Lighting and design elements create a magical atmosphere.

Wolfgang in the Stars may have been created for children, but like all the best stories, it reaches across age brackets. It’s a shining example of why Circa continues to set the bar for all-ages theatre. It’s joyful, imaginative, and just the right amount of ridiculous.

Kitty Goodall

Online extras!

Wolfgang In The Stars is a musicfuelled, circus space romp youtu.be/lLiIFOGBmpI

 Wolfgang In The Stars. Photo: David Kelly.

 Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown.

Photo: Daniel Boud.

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown

Book by Jeffrey Lane. Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek. Based on the film by Pedro Almodóvar. Pinwheel Productions. Hayes Theatre. May 14 - Jun 8.

THIS production was so much fun that it’s dangerous. From the hilarious Spanish accents to the outrageous flamboyance, fabulous costumes and brilliant performances, it rarely slowed to catch its breath.

It starts from the premise of it being impossible to stage in the small box that is the Hayes Theatre, then remarkably pulls it off without a single major prop being moved.

The action swings from bedrooms to outside apartments, to courtrooms, to recording studios, to highspeed car chases in Madrid in 1987. Helping the audience navigate the action was a screen describing where each scene was taking place.

The stage was surrounded by glittery tape allowing actors to poke their heads through such as when judges were hearing a court case, and in the car chase scene, allowing actors to wiggle toy cars with their arms.

The drama began when manic Pepa (Amy Hack) received an ambiguous message on her answering machine being dumped by her lover Ivan (Andrew Cutcliffe) a married stud with a string of mistresses.

There is rhythm in the replaying of the phone message, spunk in the band and sway in the juicy choreography.

There is also lot of drama to take in figuring out who was screwing who, and what does this all have to with a terrorist plot?

This is an actors’ musical, with huge (or should I say) chhhuuge helpings of ‘80s kitsch.

David Spicer

The

Play

That Goes Wrong

Co-written by Mischief company members Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. GMG Productions and Stoddart Entertainment Group. Sydney Opera House, Jun 19 - Aug 3, then touring nationally.

EVERYTHING went right at the Play That Goes Wrong at the Sydney Opera House, as the well-oiled machine of chaos was perfectly choreographed to squeeze fits of laughter from the audience at regular intervals.

Originally premiering in a small pub theatre, before transferring to the West End, The Play Goes Wrong franchise has become a global phenomenon, still running Off Broadway and in London for the eighth year.

Last minute chaos was erupting before the official opening as the tech crew frantically repaired the set in

preparation for the Cornley Drama Society’s attempt to stage a murder mystery.

The set is perhaps the biggest star of the show the musical instrument of the production. Even though I have seen it before, I remain intrigued at how those bits of the country manor set fall off with such impeccable timing. The end of the play is a grand cadenza.

Playing that musical instrument was a first-rate cast who put their own stamp on the chaos.

To mention just a few, Sebastiano Pitruzzello, who played the murder victim Cecil Haversham, was able to wrinkle laughter with the smallest wriggle. Edmund (Eds) Eramiha as stagehand Trevor was uber-charismatic. How often do we see an actor with training in Māori weaponry and kick boxing in full flight on an Australian stage?

The two female members of the cast Stephanie Astrid John (Sandra) and Olivia Charalambous (Annie) got into a delicious fight as they competed to play the one role.

The frantic pace never wavered, punctuated by regular violent mishaps.

David Spicer

Looking For Alibrandi

By

Vidya Rajan. Adapted from the novel by Melina Marchetta. Brink Productions and State Theatre Company South Australia. Riverside Theatre Parramatta. Jun 11 - 15, and touring.

VIDYA Rajan’s adaptation of Melina Marchetta’s novel fits snuggly into an even more multicultural Australia than Marcetta described in1992.

Marchetta’s heroine, Josie Alibrandi, is of Italian heritage, brought up by her Australian-born single mother who was estranged from her family when she fell pregnant as a teenager. Life hasn’t been easy and Josie’s prickly Italian grandmother doesn’t help.

The play simmers with the tension of years and director Stephen Nicolazzo keeps it bubbling strongly

The cast and creatives discuss taking Looking For Alibrandi on tour. youtu.be/txg5xH7k0wY

from the moment Josie enters the stage. Because Josie, played by Chanella Macri, isn’t the sort of person to calm things. She is smart, aware and direct and very protective of her mother.

Macri makes her strong and feisty, defensive and articulate, but under the surface, she hurts for many reasons and Macri shows this in moments of pain and indecision that are very moving and personal.

Lucia Mastrantone plays her mother, Christina, whose resilience, strength and love have been Josie’s rock. Chris Asimos is Michael, the father, whose identity Christina has kept secret for so long.

When he returns to Sydney from Adelaide, he meets Christina and Josie and things begin to fall into place. He eventually develops real affection for this bright, perceptive girl who mirrors his own intelligence and ambition and her mother’s caring and strength of spirit.

Jennifer Vuletic plays Nonna and shows the strange intensity of this woman clinging to old customs with seemingly unreasonable strength until she divulges the reason Christina’s father treated them both so harshly.

Ashton Malcolm plays both the ‘goodie-goodie” school-girl snob - and John Barton, the private school boy who is weighed down with a responsibility that he should not have to bear.

Looking for Alibrandi reaches across cultures and generations. It could be any family facing the effects of religious or societal “lore”. The fact that situations like that can be faced, resolved and healed is at the heart of this funny, sad, heart-warming production.

Carol Wimmer

The Birds

By Daphne

du Maurier. Adapted by Louise Cox. Directed by Matthew Lutton. Malthouse Theatre. Beckett Theatre. Malthouse, Southbank, Melbourne. May 16 - Jun 7.

LOUISE Cox has fashioned a brilliant adaptation of du Maurier’s chilling short story. Adapted into a thriller by Alfred Hitchcock (1963), the mysterious and ominous behaviour of the birds captures their looming threat but glosses over the paranoia and sheer terror in the short

story. Cox makes a woman the protagonist and the only voice of reason in the face of this natural disaster.

Tessa (Paula Arundell) protects her family and her home with level-headed determination. Arundell gives an astonishing solo performance, eliciting all the horror via her vivid portrayal of all the characters and events. Her ability to shift her voice and demeanour instantaneously between the different personas is breath-taking. The birds become truly terrifying with the aid of exceptional sound (J. David Franzke) and lighting (Niklas Pajanti) effects, rendering the devastating violence of the birds extremely palpable.

In this unusual performance the audience is provided with headsets to indulge an immersive theatrical experience. Cox retains all the richness of the language, and the intensity of the pace of the story, allowing the contemporary relevance of the themes to emerge. Fear and trepidation are elicited via the powerful suggestion of violence and especially from the complete lack of preparation that the community exhibits in the face of a revolt of nature.

 Jennifer Vuletic in Looking For Alibrandi.

Photo: Matt Byrne.

 Paula Arundell in The Birds.

Photo: Pia Johnson.

This production breathes new terrifying life into the horrific scenario that du Maurier imagines.

Patricia Di Risio

Carrie: The Musical

By Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford and Lawrence D Cohen. Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre (QAEMT/Griffith University). Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, Brisbane. May 2 - 10.

BASED on the classic horror book (and 1976 film) by Stephen King, Carrie is all-singing, all-dancing, all-horror and this production has a cult vibe that adds energy to this showcase of outstanding talent from QAEMT, in a sold-out season!

Kate Hudson-James is outstanding as Carrie, and her overbearing mother is played with conviction by Olivia Horne. In the schoolyard, the opening ensemble song ‘In’ perfectly sets the scene. Carrie’s narcissistic teen queen classmates are perfectly captured by Ella Harding, Mateja Sardelis, Brydie Faith Hall, and Chloe Flanagan. While teachers Miss Gardner (Niamh Cadoo-Dagley) and Mr Stephens (Max Baldock) try to control the teenage emotions, the boys in the group run riot in the lead-up to prom night: played with hormonal chutzpah by Croft Phillips, Sage Del Carmen, Cooper Swain, Orlando Vella, and Connor Chadwick. These performers show what they’re made of in a tightly choreographed (by Dan Venz) ensemble number ‘A Night We’ll Never Forget’, backed by a rocking live band led by Musical Director, Heidi Loveland. Sam Henderson’s Tommy is the perfect romantic lead to Charlie Preston’s Sue the teens who

 Dusty The Musical - In Concert.

Photo: Brit Creative.

 Carrie: The Musical.

Photo: PIF Productions.

orchestrate the prom night, and Carrie’s fate in the harrowing denouement, which remains shocking, even if you’ve seen the film.

This superb cast of triple-threat talents elevate Carrie, with international musical director, Gavin Mitford at the helm.

Beth Keehn

Dusty The Musical - In Concert Prospero Arts Concert Series. Concert Hall, QPAC, Brisbane. Jun 5 - 8.

TIME to celebrate it’s been 20 years since JohnMichael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow brought Dusty Springfield’s story to the stage. In this celebratory concert-style version directed by Jason Langley, the whole pop scene is brilliantly brought to life with vibrant projections by Craig Wilkinson and Lani

Dwyer, lighting by Ben Hughes, sound by Steve Thornely, a fabulous wardrobe of swingin’ fashions by Isaac Lummis and what a cast! Amy Lehpamer (& Juliet, School of Rock) is simply sensational. This show proves that Amy can sing the whole rich mix of tunes covering the early pop days and Top 40 hits to Dusty’s comeback with the Pet Shop Boys. Keeping up every step of the way is Reno (a composite of Dusty’s partners and soul inspiration), played by powerhouse performer, Jayme-Lee Hanekom (Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, Frozen). The supporting

Online extras!

Celebrate the life and music of one of pop music’s greatest female stars youtu.be/XGzxLVvEKCI

cast is super strong, with an ensemble of nearly 20 triplethreat performers, plus a rocking live band, with musical direction by Brendan Murtagh (Singin’ in the Rain, Jersey Boys) and musical supervision by David Young (Jersey Boys, Wicked). The choreography by Michael Ralph is so outrageously fab you’ll want to get up and dance along!

Beth Keehn

Alice By Heart

By Steven Sater, Jessie Nelson and Duncan Sheik. Wanneroo Repertory. Directed by Naomi M. Capon. The Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo, WA. May 8 - 24.

THIS Wanneroo Repertory production set Alice in Wonderland against the horrors of the London Blitz, with excellent production values, strong direction and heartfelt performances.

Debut director Naomi M. Capon directed well with clear vision, and worked with costume lead Escher Roe to recruit artists to design costumes as wearable art. A vibrant and unique approach, what costumes lacked in unity, they made up for in originality - although success was uneven. Standouts included the knitted costume and

multiple “legs” of The Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat’s Coat and stunning White Queen.

Luke Miller’s set design allowed an Underground Station (with fabulous attention to detail) to become Wonderland, complete with surprise entrances and multiple high places for a grinning cat to perch.

Singing was good throughout, supported by a strong live band, under stewardship of Musical Director Kieran Ridgway and Conductor Daniel Nievelstein.

Alice was played with flair by Ella McCaughey, looking perfectly Tenniel with flowing blonde locks. She brought the maturity to an older Alice in a gorgeously sung and acted performance. Love interest Alfred, morphing into The White Rabbit and March Hare, was given charm and depth by Blair Price Morgan.

Zoe Violet was an audience favourite, vibrant as The Cheshire Cat, while Brittany Isaia stole scenes as The Red Queen.

Josh Hollander played the Caterpillar well (with a little help from some friends). Natalie Wiles, as well as being responsible for the fabulous Caterpillar costume, skilfully

 Judy Davis in The Spare Room.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

 Alice By Heart.

Online extras!

Director Eamon Flack discusses the attraction of staging The Spare Room. youtu.be/S1jfWZcicqY

played a trio of roles. Alicia Lorie nicely gender bent into The Mad Hatter.

A five-member ensemble was kept very busy throughout, providing great support. The cast superbly executed Keely Roper’s highly physical choreography (more lifts than the ballet).

An emotionally touching, very different little show that charmed the socks off its audience.

Kimberley Shaw

The Spare Room

From the novel by Helen Garner, adapted and directed by Eamon Flack. Belvoir St Theatre. Jun 7 - Jul 13.

HELEN Garner’s applauded novel about a woman with terminal cancer convincing, even manipulating, a friend to help her die is a scenario familiar to many of us.

Belvoir’s theatrical adaptation of Garner’s The Spare Room spikes that gloom with lots of laughs, and avoids most of the traps when leaping from page to stage.

This is mostly due to the elasticity and charisma of Judy Davis. It’s a super physical, entrancing performance, as Davis shares her exasperation directly with the audience.

Helen is frustrated that her house guest Nicola, in Melbourne for some obviously shonky “alternative cancer treatment”, won’t admit her impending mortality. Nicola’s blind faith is in enemas of organic coffee, ozone saunas and dangerous overdoses of Vitamin C.

Helen is the one burdened with the reality, the pain and anger, as Elizabeth Alexander’s Nicola keeps up her irritating fake optimism and her presumptions born of privilege - only hinting at her regret at life’s lost opportunities.

Mel Page effectively creates Helen’s home, the spare bed curtained at one end, with other domestic areas instantly swapped into medical clinics. Alan Dukes is true as an array of medical professionals, including the cancer fraudster; Emma Diaz shines as Nicola’s young niece, and Hannah Waterman fills out a fine ensemble.

Eamon Flack’s speedy production avoids a depressing plod to inevitability, his own adaptation lifting the novel into some sharp dialogue. Its sparkle would be impossible without the agile Davis sweeping us into the story, with some brilliant meta-theatrical moments to the audiencelong a Belvoir signature.

Helen’s exhausted daily countdown of her responsibility - and the foreboding of death - are nicely etched through Paul Jackson’s lighting and the long notes from onstage cellist Anthea Cottee.

Running with no interval for 110 minutes, the tension holds as we wait to see if Nicola will finally hear that cello.

Martin Portus

The Wrong Gods

By S. Shakhidharan.

Rising Festival / Melbourne Theatre Company / Belvoir. Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. Jun 6 - Jul 12.

THE Narmada River, the mother of all the rivers, is reputed to have purifying qualities personified as a divine lady - the goddess Narmada (in the Hindu religion).

The Wrong Gods is set during the development of the Narmada Valley Project, known as ‘the greatest planned environmental disaster’. An active protest movement was formed against the developers as millions were displaced from their tribal villages, resulting in countless deaths.

A young woman named Isha (Radhika Mudaliyar) gently swaying on a swing, dreams of studying science at a university and travelling the world. Her mother, Nirmala (Nadie Kammallaweera), gripping a machete, reprimands her for laziness. Isha responds playfully. Knowing her dreams are fanciful, she ignores her mother, venturing over to her collection of deity statuettes.

S. Shakhidharan’s lyrical and witty dialogue provides contrasting ethical and moral motivations for his four characters. The duplicitous Lakshmi (Vaishanavi Suryaprakash), a recruiter for a multinational corporation, gains Nirmala’s trust with gifts of fertiliser and seeds for the villagers, with promises of abundance in exchange for Isha, who in turn will be educated and travel the world working for the company.

Online extras!

Watch a preview for Melbourne Theatre Company’s The Wrong Gods. youtu.be/laLZ3rTjukY

In the second half, the project has failed and Nirmala has not seen her daughter for seven years. In the interim she has joined the protest movement, along with Devi (Manali Datar), a well-to-do teacher who moved from the city to be an active organiser in the movement.

When Isha and Lakshmi pay the village a working visit, Nirmala’s bitterness is evident; she hits on Lakshmi for her fake promises and for stealing her daughter to take part in the devils’ (corporation) work.

In the culminating scenes between mother and daughter, tension rises, coinciding with a timely deluge and a powerfully charged fight scene led by Nirmala, who summons the gods to empower her. It is highlighted with a climatic change of dramatic pace and an exciting, uplifting and hopeful final reckoning between the four women.

The four women are exceptional actors, directed with skill and precision by co-directors S. Shakhidharan and Hannah Goodwin. The set is earthy, simple and minimal (set and costume designer by Keerthi Subramanyam) and the costumes are colourful. The sound design (Steve Francis) and composer Sabya (Rahul) Bhaltacharya provide evocative, multi layered sounds; lighting is moody and striking (Amelia Lever-Davidson).

A powerful production, The Wrong Gods provides dynamic and challenging drama for the audience.

Georgiou

Flora

 Nadie Kammallaweera and Manali Datar In The Wrong Gods.

Photo: Brett Boardman.

 Caroline O’Connor in Sunday In The Park.

Photo: Cameron Jones.

Sunday In The Park Australian Musical Theatre Festival. Entally Estate, Hadspen. May 25.

THE hallmark of the Australian Musical Theatre Festival is the wide variety of venues where performances are staged. Just a 15-minute drive out of Launceston is historic Entally Estate. It was built in 1819 (by convicts, of course) for Thomas Reibey II Son of Mary Reibey (yes, that lady on the $20 Note). The house retains most of its original Regency furniture and the property also features (Australia’s oldest) conservatory, a chapel, a coach house and stables.

After a historic talk by one of the property’s volunteers, the crowd of one hundred or so were divided in half to take turns wafting from room to room; then to the stables and all around the property - for the most atmospheric and modular concerts imaginable. Picture it: you’re standing in a very old-but-still-posh dining room and there is a radiant, motionless, stunningly dressed Caroline O’Connor. She patiently waits for the room to fill and then fills the room with her amazing voice right there, in this historic setting, just a metre or so away. Surreal.

And so it flowed from room to room, with the best of the fest performing in the most captivating and intimate fashion. With glorious weather, the verandah, the conservatory, the trees and the ponds were literally sparkling. Each and every performer charmed the stockings off us (I don’t think they had socks back then, did they?).

Last but not least, Mark Vincent stood at the pulpit of the small chapel, ready to gift the those congregated with a powerful rendition of Ave Maria. Very hard not to be moved, and I'm an atheist.

Rose Cooper

PERFORMING ARTS MAGAZINE

JUL/AUG 2025. VOLUME 34, NUMBER 3

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Contributors: Cathy Bannister, Anne Blythe-Cooper, Michael Brindley, Kerry Cooper, Rose Cooper, Ken Cotterill, Bill Davies, Coral Drouyn, Jenny Fewster, Kitty Goodall, Peter Gotting, John P. Harvey, Frank Hatherley, Barry Hill, Jude Hines, Beth Keehn, Fiona Kelly, Tony Knight, Debora Krizak, Neil Litchfield, Ken Longworth, Rachel McGrath-Kerr, Mel Newton, Peter Novakovich, Peter Pinne, Martin Portus, Suzanne Sandow, Kimberley Shaw, David Spicer, Mark Wickett, Geoffrey Williams and Carol Wimmer.

Musical Spice

A European Theatre Diary

The West End, the National Theatre, glamorous Opera Houses in Paris, Vienna and Budapest plus a visit to an amateur theatre near Shakespeare’s birthplace. David Spicer reviews his theatre adventure from London to Athens.

When a little theatre in the English midlands applied for a musical that I license, my travel bug began to itch. Could I go and see some shows before and after a visit? My first question to the theatre company was (not exactly in these words) are you any good?

‘Of course we are,’ retorted the director from the Concordia Theatre. So, I booked my adventure around this business appointment.

Stepping off the plane in London on a sunny Monday morning I had no ticket for that evening, but was there a production so action-packed, that even a jet-lagged sleep-prone theatre buff could stay awake for it?

Yes, the National Theatre was my point of call for a play called Dear England. The brutalist complex on the banks of Thames is home to the international theatre juggernaut producing hit musicals and plays that are broadcast worldwide.

Dear England, with an enormous cast and dazzling design, was sensational. Based on the tragic results of the English football team, it blended drama, music and athletic choreography. I only fell asleep briefly a few times and was now in sync with the time-zone.

At the National Theatre it was nice to see a big poster promoting the world premiere of a new crime thriller, Inter Alia by Australian playwright Suzy Miller, which is now playing.

The next night was pre-booked for a preview of Just For One Day The Live Aid Musical. It is a behind-thescenes and live music presentation of the magnificent fundraising concert that rocked the world 40 years ago.

Whilst it was full of awesome rock music, nostalgia and laughs, the production and the narrative of Bob Geldof’s struggle to get the famous concert up, felt a little thin for a West End Musical.

Operation Mincemeat by contrast exceeded expectations. The small cast musical is based on the brilliant miliary subterfuge that Britain employed to mislead the Nazis about where the Allies would invade Europe.

A body was found, dressed up in military uniform and planted with

fake plans, then dumped in the channel. Think of the challenge of presenting this story with a small cast and minimal set?

They pulled it off with panache, and it’s no surprise that this quirky musical has also opened on Broadway and will tour to Australia in 2027.

My stint in the West End finished with another brilliant distinctively English production The Curious Case of Benjamin Button An Unordinary Musical

It’s based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man who is born old and gets progressively younger. The writers have moved the narrative to a Cornish fishing village. Outside the theatre a mock pub is set up that serves Cornish pastries.

The production was lyrical, sweet and sad with the cast playing the joyous music, which often had an Irish lilt, on various instruments. Another musical destined to travel the world.

My travelling companion was my 21-year-old-daughter, who attended The Devil Wears Prada on the same night My theatre contacts told me to steer clear of the new Elton John musical. She loved the production but found the music repetitive.

I had originally planned to see more shows in the West End before my business appointment, but my daughter, on her first trip to Europe, begged me to spend the weekend in Paris. What is a doting father to do?

We hopped onto the Eurostar and were greeted by streaming sunshine in Paris. Whilst in the French capital it was on my wish-list to attend a performance at the famous Paris Opera House, known as the Palais Garnier. The reason was that I have a signed print of the famous mural on the ceiling of the Opera House,

painted by Marc Chagall, that lusciously depicts famous productions.

On the only night I was available, there was a performance of Sylvia from the Paris Ballet. Alas, when I went to book, it was sold out. I registered for a standby ticket and received an email prompt that one had become available but because all the instructions were in French it sadly slipped away.

On the day of the performance, I had one last throw of the dice a partially obscured view ticket that you can only buy at the box office. I lined up from 9.30am and in a stroke of luck scored a ticket, in a box no less, for 20 euros.

Entering the Paris Opera House is a grand affair. There is the sweeping marble staircase which is the modelset for The Phantom of the Opera Grand chandeliers, artwork adorning grand halls and the most exquisitely created sweet treats for sale.

An usher had to unlock the door to my box. It was furnished with a mirror, couch and hooks to hang your coat on. Leaning forward behind the front row of two chairs, or standing on our balcony, I had a good view of the stage and could lean out to see the magnificent Marc Chagall mural.

The Ballet Sylvia was sumptuous I even recognised one of the tunes which goes ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping!

You can also see a complete model of the opera house (sliced in half) at the Musee L’Orangerie.

Back in the UK, my destination was Hinckley a small, sleepy de-

industrialised town near Leicester in the English midlands.

Join us behind the scenes of Song Contest Almost Eurovision. youtu.be/yy3K_RLV1BU

An amateur company had booked to stage the Australian written musical Song Contest: Almost Eurovision which I am the agent for.

The venue, The Concordia Theatre, might not have been the Paris Opera House, but it had a colourful back story just the same.

A consortium of amateur theatre companies had taken over an abandoned women’s undergarment factory. The two-storey building is now equipped with a 400-seat theatre, a substantial foyer that includes a spacious English pub and separate café, plus rehearsal and storage space.

On the wall is a fancy award signed by Queen Elizabeth II lauding the efforts of volunteers who made it happen. The theatre companies are well on the way to raising another five million pounds to make their little haven even fancier.

When I attend a production overseas, I sometimes make a promotional video, and so fingers were crossed that it would be to a good standard. The Director was true to his word.

The company built sophisticated digital screens to resemble a Eurovision studio with live broadcasting from the Greenroom (side-stage) and mock crosses to overseas countries announcing their vote tallies.

They had sumptuous costumes and were aided by dancers from a local ballet school.

The audience loved the performance and got involved by waving flags, clacking clackers and voting for their favourite country.

With some time off during the day to explore the region, a member of the company kindly took us for a short drive away to Stratford-upon-

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Palais Garnier Paris.

Staatsoper Wien.

Marc Chagall mural.

Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

The Royal Shakespeare Company is a recommended visit for any theatre tragic. It has a free costume museum where you can slip into a booth and interact with a virtual live performance. How could I resist the opportunity to interact with the Ghost of Hamlet?

Next stop was the birthplace of William Shakespeare himself. Remarkably the house where he was born is still intact, saved by the fact that it was turned into a popular tavern for a long period.

Shakespeare’s father ran a successful glove making business and it was a fascinating insight into how people lived over 500 years ago.

From London we flew to Vienna to retrace some family history. Both my parents were born there and recently I obtained Austrian citizenship. In that country my legal name is David Spitzer.

Classical music and opera were a big part of the family’s life. In fact, my father was almost born at the opera.

In February 1933, my grandmother went into labour during a performance and was fond of telling everyone that she was scolded for arriving at the maternity hospital with just her opera glasses and no other provisions.

during World War II and faithfully rebuilt by the Austrian Government.

The Emperor of the AustroHungarian Empire, Franz Joseph I, opened the Wiener Staatsoper in 1869, and in 1884 he also cut the ribbon on the Budapest Opera House.

So, a visit to the scene of my father’s almost-birth was compulsory. Just as in Paris, on the night I could attend, it was sold-out.

A popular option for tourists and students is standing room tickets, with a long queue forming just before performance time for Verdi’s Il Trovatore

This time I did not score a bargain but was offered tickets by a scalper, again in a box seat with a partially obscured view.

I took my daughter, who can’t stand opera, along however she enjoyed the experience, noting that patrons appeared just as excited to be in the building as fans were at a Taylor Swift concert.

The opera house is lavishly ordained with portraits, sculptures, standing rooms, and a grand staircase, with patrons regularly taking selfies through-out the venue.

The opera was sold out because there were some superstar singers in the cast, who lived up to their reputation.

We found our elegant box on the third level and were again able to check out our appearance in a mirror, hang a coat on a hook and sit down on a small sofa.

In the second row I could see most of the stage and my daughter was able to tune out and lounge about when she got bored.

The Wiener Staatsoper is a grand renaissance venue that was destroyed

Temptation struck when I was in the Hungarian capital. Tickets were easier to come by to Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda. I picked up a bargain in the stalls.

Alas, navigating the Budapest metro was a nightmare and I was running late for the performance. The ushers did not want me to disturb any patrons and moved me into a box all to myself! That was three successive performances from a box seat in three grand European opera houses.

The Budapest Opera House is smaller than Paris and Vienna but just as spectacular, resplendent in gold.

The local company built a modern set for the opera, set in the Middle Ages, with tonnes of white marble and large gilded steel bridges and a cage. Budgets are generous in Budapest as were the performances.

My final destination was Athens. Turandot was being staged outdoors at the Acropolis. It too was sold out, but my luck had run out.

Instead, I settled for an outdoor performance of Medea and Other Friends I Made in Athens. The English language play is staged on a rooftop with the Acropolis in the background. It neatly visits some of the classics of Greek drama. A short distance from Theatre Dionysus, the world’s oldest theatre dating back to 600 BC, it was an apt conclusion to my theatrical adventure.

See videos of my European adventure on Stage Whispers TV at tinyurl.com/24ucjypk

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Musical Spice

Hungarian State Opera House.

Shakespeare’s birthplace.