STAGES with Peter Eyers

With over 230 episodes in the STAGES archive, it's time to revisit conversations featured in previous seasons. STAGES spotlights such episodes, in case you missed them first time 'round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. Either way, you'll be accessing precious oral histories from the people who were there, on and around our stages. Joan Carden was born in Melbourne in 1937 on the anniversary of the great composer Giuseppe Verdi's birth. After understudying June Bronhill as 'The Merry Widow' in 1960, Joan Carden sought tuition in London studying with her major musical influence, London-trained and based, West Australian-born, multi-lingual, expatriate vocal coach, Vida Harford. She made her stage debut with The Australian Opera as 'Liu' in Turandot and 'Marguerite' in Faust. After much acclaim in Australia as 'Gilda' in Rigoletto she was invited to repeat the role at Covent Garden. Engagements ensued throughout the United Kingdom and United States. Joan Carden has sung virtually all the Mozart heroines. Her performance of 'Violetta' in Verdi's La Traviata has been noted for the moving interpretation. Her voice in 'Violetta's' famous aria, is on the sound track of the film Priscilla, Queen of The Desert. She has sung more than 50 major roles from the 18th century through to contemporary works. It is a magnificent career. Joan Carden is engaging grace and charm. In the episode she reflects warmly on a career that has not only brought audiences great joy but also rewarded her, in the ability to gift the art of song. The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Robert Fairchild began dancing at the age of four in Salt Lake City. He began his training at the School of American Ballet at the age of 15 and shortly after rose through the ranks of the prestigious New York City Ballet. He became an apprentice with NYCB in June 2005. The following June, he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. He was promoted to soloist in May 2007 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in October 2009. Robert Fairchild made his Broadway debut with his breakout role as 'Jerry Mulligan' in the Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance By An Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, and won the 2015 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, the 2015 Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer, and the 2015 Theatre World Award. He was also nominated for the 2015 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance. He appeared for 12 years in NYCB's seasons at the Lincoln Center. His roles ranged from Prince Desirè in The Sleeping Beauty to works by world renowned choreographer William Forsythe. Television appearances include Julie's Greenroom on Netflix, Romeo in NYCB's Romeo and Juliet and Carousel Boy in NY Philharmonic's Carousel, both for PBS; Live From Lincoln Center, Dancing With The Stars, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Live with Kelly and Michael, CBS Sunday Morning, 60 Minutes. On film, Robert played a regal Munkustrap in the screen adaptation of Cats. He is charm personified and easily carries the mantle of Song & Dance man. STAGES caught up with him soon after his arrival in Australia, as he prepares to commence rehearsals for An American in Paris down under. The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Katrina Retallick is one of Australia's foremost leading ladies with an ever-growing list of theatre, film and television credits to her name. She grew up in Wagga Wagga and trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Her phenomenal credits include Big Fish, Titanic and New Rocky Horror Show. She was also in Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf Revue, alongside comedy legends Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott. Other performances include Ruthless! The Musical, with Katrina winning rave reviews for her lead role in the hilarious showbiz satire. Prior to that, Katrina's dramatic talents were on vivid display in her role as 'Trina' in the musical Falsettos and her riotous turn as brash Oklahoma heiress 'Jolene Oaks' in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels earned her a Sydney Theatre Award. As the high voltage 'Alice Beineke' in the New Theatricals' production of The Addams Family under renowned director Jerry Zaks, Katrina received outstanding critical acclaim and a Helpmann Award Nomination for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical. Earlier roles include A Little Night Music as 'Charlotte Malcolm', Wind in the Willows, Jekyll & Hyde, Las Vegas The Musical as 'Francesca Carlucci', Company as 'Sarah' and South Pacific as 'Nellie Forebush'. Katrina Retallick wrote and performed in her one-woman show called Impossible Blonde, which featured songs and stories of iconic blonde performers such as Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Julie Andrews and Doris Day among many others. In film, Katrina appeared in the magic realism feature Accidents Happen with the legendary Geena Davis. She also performed in an operatic feature film co-produced by Channel 4 UK and ABC Australia called The Eternity Man. She is currently gracing stages as 'Diane' in the brilliant Come From Away - a show that proves the perfect tonic with its joyous celebration of humanity, community, and kindness. Welcome to STAGES ... Katrina Retallick. The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Drew Forsythe first appeared on stage in Sydney over 40 years ago. He grew up in far north Queensland and his prolific career on film, stage, and television has seen him become one of our favourite actors; equally adept in dramatic, comic and musical roles. A graduate of NIDA, he spent several years performing with the Old Tote Theatre company and the exciting new Nimrod theatre company, in a variety of roles that included The Seagull, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard 3, Twelfth Night, The Club, Comedy of Errors, Gone with Hardy, Romeo & Juliet, Henry 4, The Life of Galileo, The Three Sisters, The Bacchoi, Are you now or have you ever been? and Servant of Two Masters. Among his legendary performances, the title roles of the heroic Tonino and the foolish Zanetto in the Nick Enright/Terence Clarke musical, The Venetian Twins, are always recalled in awe. The show was written for Forsythe. He originated these dual roles for Nimrod Theatre Company in the first Sydney Theatre Company season in 1979, and subsequently in two revivals. Other stage musical appearances include Big River, Strictly Ballroom, The Republic of Myopia, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado. Drama credits include Mrs. Warren's Profession and Under Milkwood for the Sydney Theatre Company. He can lay claim to the unique position of being in the company of productions as they have opened new theatre venues. These include the Drama Theatre at the Sydney Opera House, Nimrod, Belvoir, and the Sydney Theatre (the Roz Packer). For the film Caddie, Forsythe received the 1976 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. His television appearances include The Miraculous Mellops, The Dingo Principle, and Three Men and a Baby Grand, satirical sketch television comedy programs for which he was a writer/performer with Phillip Scott and Jonathan Biggins. The 'Three Men' team started in revue at the Tilbury Hotel, and much of the thematic material from these revues has been revisited and developed in the Sydney Theatre Company's 'Wharf Revue' series. He is presently performing in the Sydney season of the Wharf Revue, now playing at The Seymour Centre. The show is the perfect tonic to the tumultuous year in politics, and delivers the laugh we all need. Drew is erudite, engaging and possessed of a brilliant career in Australian theatre. At long last we can add Drew Forsythe to the absorbing alumni on STAGES. The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

With over 230 episodes in the STAGES archive, it's time to revisit conversations featured in previous seasons. STAGES spotlights such episodes, in case you missed them first time 'round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. Either way, you'll be accessing precious oral histories from the people who were there, on and around our stages. Donna Lee comes from a long line of performers. Show business is the family business. Donna belongs to the fifth generation of her family, to embrace performance as a career. As a child she travelled the country and performed with her parents. Her father Frank Cleary, was a juggler and variety performer; and her mother Gloria Dawn, was one of Australia's most versatile actors on the legitimate stage and musical theatre. Donna has been acknowledged with a Green Room Award for her role as Ado Annie in Oklahoma, and garnered a swag of Mo Awards for her cabaret work. Extensive work in musical theatre has seen Donna feature in shows such as Les Miserables, Summer Rain, Fiddler on the Roof and Dames at Sea. Television work has seen her reside in Summer Bay, Ramsay street and Wandin Valley. Donna is a font of knowledge and an exuberant guest. She loves a chat and a laugh, and celebrating a rich arts heritage. The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

One of Australia's most loved and enduring comedy characters, Bob Downe is the creation of journalist, comedian, actor and broadcaster Mark Trevorrow. Born in Melbourne, Mark started his working life at 17 as a copyboy with The Sun News-Pictorial, before co-founding cabaret comedy group The Globos, who released two Australian Top 20 hit singles, Tintarella di Luna (1982) and The Beat Goes On (1983). He created Bob Downe in 1984 and has toured the world as the Prince of Polyester ever since, becoming one of Australia's most loved and enduring comedy characters. Bob's stage shows have played to acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, with decades of touring across Australia and the UK including P&O Comedy Cruises and performing for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance. Bob's TV appearances range from Countdown to The Project, from the Mike Walsh Show to Studio 10, and hosting multiple Sydney Mardi Gras broadcasts. As Mark he has been heard regularly on ABC local radio and presented The Way We Were, a ratings winner on ABC TV in 2004. He was also featured regularly on Kath & Kim as 'Darryl' the menswear salesman. Bob's comedy/chat series, The Bob Downe Show (Foxtel/ TV1), went to air in December 2000. Bob Downe's national theatre tours, Whiter! Brighter!, Cold August Night and iBob have been sellouts everywhere, including the Sydney Opera House and the State Theatre. Bob is presently touring Viva Bob Vegas. Catch it if you can. It's a joyous celebration of camp, crooners, lounge and laughter. Bob always delivers! So does Mark, in this fervent and fabulous chin-wag for STAGES. The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Meredith O'Reilly has been an entertainer for over 35 years. A popular and reliable ensemble member, and supporting player, her theatrical highlights include Starkers, Les Misérables, Hello Dolly!, Chess, New Rocky Horror Show, Gypsy, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, The Producers, Karaoke the Musical, Rain, Love Never Dies, The Addams Family and My Fair Lady. Meredith played the role of theatrical agent Sylvia St. Croix in Ruthless! in 2014. She toured Australia in The Sound Of Music as Baroness Elberfeld, understudying Sr Berthe and Frau Schmidt, playing the latter role for six weeks in Sydney. She played principal roles in the Australian productions Karaoke the Musical, Life Force and King Of The Air (in concert at City Recital Hall, Sydney). Meredith's most recent cabaret, Curtains, about her showbiz ups and downs was seen at Sydney's Glen St Theatre, the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre and in The Bondi Cabaret Festival in 2019. In 2020 she performed a new solo show at Claire's Kitchen. She fronts 18 piece Big Band Horns Plus led by Bob Coassin. Meredith has appeared in numerous TV dramas, commercials, corporate films and is a voiceover artist. She has hosted several radio shows and narrated audio books for Vision Australia for ten years. Meredith reflects on a career of great joy and wonderful moments. She ponders what has contributed to her longevity in an industry that can be precarious. And she engages with an effusive and sanguine personality. The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

With over 230 episodes in the STAGES archive, it's time to revisit conversations featured in previous seasons. STAGES spotlights such episodes, in case you missed them first time 'round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. Either way, you'll be accessing precious oral histories from the people who were there, on and around our stages. Mitzi Macintosh is a much loved drag doyen who graced the stages of prominent Sydney venues for over two decades. Outrageous, subversive, possessed with a heart of gold and immaculate comic timing, she is the drag persona of performer Graeme Browning. Now residing in the UK, Graeme (and Mitzi) were back in Sydney in March 2018 for their first one-woman show - 'Mitzi Macintosh - My Life in Lipstick' - a riotous evening presented as part of the 40th Anniversary Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Graeme's knowledge of drag as an art form and recollection of a Sydney now past, is extensive. He is a precious custodian of the vibrant drag scene that existed in Sydney through the 1980s and 90s. He sat down with STAGES, three days after the Mardi Gras parade and party, to discuss his show, his process, and the art of Drag. The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Lee Lewis commenced her career as an actor, training at Columbia University in New York. Her performance resumes includes work on and off-Broadway. Upon her return to Australia she completed a Masters of Directing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. As a director, Lee has forged a stellar career and it is exciting to see that her work on Suzie Miller's incredible Prima Facie helped build an international appetite for this powerful production, which debuts in London next year. Lee has been an outspoken advocate for increased cultural diversity on Australian main stages, and a leading voice for the representation of female directors and playwrights. In 2013 she was appointed Artistic Director at The Griffin Theatre in Sydney, overseeing a vast array of new Australian works. In 2020 she became A.D. of the Queensland Theatre Company; a month in, confronted with the challenge presented by the Covid pandemic and the closure of theatres. Lee's vast resume has seen her directing classic and new work at companies around Australia including the Sydney and Melbourne Theatre Companies and Bell Shakespeare. The theatre she has given vision to includes Our Town, Family Values, First Love is the Revolution, Is There Something Wrong With That Lady?, The Almighty Sometimes, Kill Climate Deniers, Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, The Homosexuals or 'Faggots', The Bleeding Tree, Emerald City, A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il, The Serpent's Table, Silent Disco, Smurf In Wanderland, The Call, A Hoax, The Nightwatchman, The Literati, The Misanthrope, Mary Stuart, Honour, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Hayfever, Rupert; That Face, The School for Wives and Twelfth Night. The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. And where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

With over 230 episodes in the STAGES archive, it's time to revisit conversations featured in previous seasons. STAGES spotlights such episodes, in case you missed them first time 'round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. Either way, you'll be accessing precious oral histories from the people who were there, on and around our stages. John Frost was featured in a 2-part conversation for STAGES in season three of the podcast. The episodes have garnered much attention and awe for John's candid insight into a life in the theatre. They are required listening for anyone fascinated by this business we call show. Known affectionately as Frosty the Showman; impresario Frost has been at the pinnacle of Musical Theatre in Australia for several decades. The Gordon Frost Organisation has contributed much of the commercial product that has traversed stages around the country. His productions have garnered a swag of local awards as well as two Tony Awards on the Broadway stage. He left school at 15 and began his career as a dresser on the JC Williamson's production of Mame. Frost had found what he wanted to do and the young apprentice garnered enormous knowledge working his way through a succession of roles - Wardrobe Master, Office Assistant to Ken Brodziak, Stage Manager, Company Manager and Agent - each experience informing his prized accomplishment as Producer. In 1983 John Frost co-founded the Gordon Frost Organisation with Ashley Gordon. Following a triumphant run of shows, the company recently transitioned to become Crossroads Live. In 2022, Crossroads Live will be presenting Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella and Dolly Parton's 9 to 5. It's a riveting story and John speaks frankly and with great wit, about his journey and what is involved in being Frosty the Showman. The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

December 2nd, will see the glorious Theatre Royal open its doors once again to usher its audience into a refreshed cultural haven. Regarded as the city's oldest theatre, it has been on the same site since 1875, albeit through a few incarnations. In 1975, famed architect Harry Seidler reimagined the theatre and it found home as part of the MLC Centre, on King Street. Dark since 2016, the theatre will burst into life with the stage adaptation of Alana Morissette's Jagged Little Pill. Productions of Girl from the North Country and An American in Paris follow early in the new year guaranteeing the Theatre Royal as a venue to see exciting and stimulating theatrical fare. Torben Brookman is CEO of the Theatre Royal. He is an experienced producer and presenter with a wide range of experience across commercial theatre, festivals, venue management and funded organisations. Along with producing and presenting throughout Australia and New Zealand, Torben has specialised in producing and touring productions throughout Asia since 2001. Torben is a founding director of GWB Entertainment. Previous roles have included Deputy Executive Director of the Adelaide Festival, General Manager and Executive Producer of The Ambassador Theatre Group Asia Pacific, Executive Producer of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Commercial Projects at the Adelaide Festival Centre and Associate Producer at The Really Useful Group Asia Pacific, Producer at the Adelaide Festival of Arts and General Manager of the Australian Festival for Young People. A prolific producer of first-class theatrical productions, Torben's recent shows have included West Side Story (Australia, Germany, New Zealand), School of Rock (Australia, China, Korea, New Zealand), Matilda the Musical (South Africa, Singapore, China, Philippines), The King and I (London, Tokyo, UK), 1984 (Australia, New Zealand, Singapore) and The Rocky Horror Show (Australia). The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. And where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

With over 230 episodes in the STAGES archive, it's time to revisit conversations featured in previous seasons. STAGES spotlights such episodes, in case you missed them first time 'round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. Either way, you'll be accessing precious oral histories from the people who were there, on and around our stages. Mark Morrissey is one of the elders of the Agent profession in Australia. Now in his 36th year, Morrissey Management represents and guides the careers of many of our finest actors on local and world stages. Morrissey began his career as an actor in television shows like Rafferty's Rules, Sons and Daughters and Prisoner; a perfect vantage point to garner essential experience by observing work behind the camera. The knowledge acquired would inform his ambition and understanding, ultimately propelling him into a position as one of the country's best. A meeting with Mark is met with charm, calm and a keen desire to contribute to an ever evolving industry. The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Darlinghurst Theatre Company recently unveiled a new two-pronged leadership team with current Co-Artistic Director Amylia Harris promoted as sole Artistic Director and founding CEO Glenn Terry taking on the newly created role of Executive Director. This restructuring is accompanied by Terry's announcement that he plans to retire in early 2022. For Glenn Terry, this has been a long time coming, and the culmination of many years spent searching for the right person to whom he could entrust his legacy - someone who understands that social inclusion is part of the Darlo DNA. Inclusion has been a hallmark of Glenn Terry's work, since the 1992 establishment of Darlo Drama, an acting school for adults of all ages and from all walks of life. The following year he presented an all-female staging of Waiting for Godot, before founding Milk Crate Theatre, which is celebrating 21 years of theatre making specifically by and with people who have lived experience of homelessness, mental health issues and disability. In 2005 Terry established Critical Stages Touring to deliver outstanding independent productions to every corner of the nation, and in 2009, after many years of lobbying for a larger space, the City of Sydney invited Terry to collaborate on the design and construction of the 200-seat Eternity Playhouse, which became the home of Darlinghurst Theatre Company in 2013. The company's former home, which Terry had also fitted out at the Reginald Murphy Hall in Potts Point, now houses the Hayes Theatre. Few people can claim to have given a city two brand new theatres and founded four unique performing arts organisations that continue to thrive. Glenn Terry has done just that. With all these achievements behind him, Terry is confident he can finally hand over the artistic reigns to a new Artistic Director and begin the process of transitioning out of the company he's spent the last thirty years building. The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

With over 230 episodes in the STAGES archive, it's time to revisit conversations featured in previous seasons. STAGES spotlights such episodes, in case you missed them first time 'round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. Either way, you'll be accessing precious oral histories from the people who were there, on and around our stages. Kevin Jackson is widely known to be one of Australia's most effective acting teachers. Completing extensive periods with the old NIDA Acting course and the American Conservatory Theatre course in San Francisco, his knowledge and passion for the craft of acting has no comparison. He's guided many of Australia's best and noted actors, with insights and an approach which is direct, firm and fosters discovery. In recent years his passion has extended to the development of an online blog that reviews live performance - The KJ Theatre Diary. These detailed appraisals not only provide us with an assessment of production and performance, but a considered history of the play and extensive reflection on the creatives - from the original work and subsequent productions. To read a KJ review provides one with the intelligence of his reaction, a record of the cultural landscape and a greater appreciation of this most hypnotic craft. The Stages podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify, Whooshkaa and where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Eva Di Cesare graduated from Victorian College of the Arts in 1989. She is a founding member of Monkey Baa Theatre for Young People, established in 1997, along with Tim McGarry and Sandra Eldridge. In 2021, Eva commenced her appointment as Artistic Director of the company. Based in Sydney, the company has achieved critical acclaim for its work and today enjoys a national reputation for producing quality theatre programs for young people, their families and theatre goers. Eva has directed Jackie French and Bruce Whatley's Diary of a Wombat, which won the Glug Award for Outstanding Presentation for Children. Cesare also wrote and directed Where the Streets Had a Name, based on the novel by Randa Abdel-Fattah. She has co-adapted Sydney Theatre Award winning play Li Cunxin's The Peasant Prince, Helpmann award winning plays Jackie French's Hitler's Daughter and Sonya Hartnett's Thursday's Child, Tim Winton's The Bugalugs Bum Thief, Morris Gleitzman's Worry Warts, Gillian Rubinstein's The Fairy's Wings, Stephen Michael King's Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat, Susanne Gervay's I Am Jack, Elizabeth Fensham's Goodbye Jamie Boyd, Duncan Ball's Emily Eyefinger, and Jackie French and Bruce Whatley's Pete the Sheep and Josephine Wants to Dance. She also co-wrote and directed the 2013 Opera House show Babies Proms Series and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (with Sandra Eldridge) for CDP Theatre Producers, and Simon Tedeschi Pianist and Prankster for Monkey Baa. Monkey Baa's Mission is to produce high quality theatre programs for young people, their families, teachers and communities throughout Australia and internationally. The company's vision is to be recognised nationally and internationally as a leader in the creation of meaningful and innovative theatre for young people, and to engage young audiences through the telling of Australian stories that entertain, inspire and encourage a greater understanding of the world and their place in it. In 2017 Eva was awarded a Sydney Theatre Award for 20 years of excellence and extraordinary service to the children and young people of Australia. The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au