STAGES with Peter Eyers

Jonathan Biggins is one of Australia’s most versatile and distinctive theatre practitioners, with an accomplished career spanning acting, directing and writing. He is also a sought-after corporate speaker, MC and entertainer, bringing the same intelligence, wit and theatrical flair to every aspect of his work. As an actor, Jonathan is renowned for his versatility and finely observed character work...

Marney McQueen is one of Australia’s most versatile performers, weaving together a formidable talent for musical theatre, comedy, cabaret and character performance. A graduate of NIDA, Marney has built a career distinguished by its energy, comic intelligence and extraordinary vocal ability. McQueen made her professional theatre debut as Marion in the original Australian production of  Priscilla Qu...

Sharon Millerchip is one of the busiest actor/creatives on the Australian stage with three prestigious Helpmann Awards to her name. Sharon most recently played Ingrid Treloar in BORN ON A THURSDAY By Jack Kearney at the Old Fitz Theatre for which she was nominated for the 2026 Sydney Theatre Award for Leading Actor in an Independent Play. Sharon was Creative Producer for PUTTING IT TOGETHER at the...

Two of Australia’s most accomplished and celebrated operatic performers, soprano Natalie Jones   and mezzo-soprano Antoinette Halloran, come together for the highly anticipated world premiere of Jane Hammond and Therésa Borg’s  The Spare Room  - a production of Monstrous Theatre and Victorian Opera. Natalie Jones has enjoyed an acclaimed career spanning more than three decades, performing with lea...

In 2022, STAGES presented a series of ‘live’ conversations at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, as a part of the IDEAS program for the annual VIVID Festival. We were delighted that our first guest in that series was Director/CEO of GLOBAL CREATURES; the dynamic and divine Carmen Pavlovic. Carmen is also the Executive Producer for the global theatrical juggernaut Moulin Rouge! – The Musical. Inspire...

Troy Sussman has spent more than 40 years doing what he dreamed of as a child — living the life of a professional performer and becoming one of Australia’s most prolific musical theatre artists. His extraordinary career has taken him across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the West End, with a repertoire that spans classic musical theatre, opera, comedy and contemporary productions. His credits in...

PJ Lane has ‘showbiz’ in his genes. At 11 PJ attained a Performing Arts Scholarship at The Scots College, Sydney. He went on to minor in music at college in Connecticut where he received a full basketball scholarship and he was a star off the court as well, being on the Dean’s Honours List and a lead performer in the college’s plays and musicals, PJ was setting the ground work for what would lie a...

Lynne McGranger is one of Australia’s most beloved television personalities, best known for her iconic portrayal of Irene Roberts on Home and Away. A fixture on Australian screens for more than 30 years, Lynne became the longest-serving female cast member of any Australian television drama in 2014, cementing her status as a true TV icon. In 2025, after more than three decades on the series, Lynne...

The darkest, funniest and most debauched kabarett star East of Berlin.  Bernie Dieter has cemented herself as one of the standout cabaret artist of her generation “when it comes to cabaret, few can match the decadence, and brilliance, of Bernie Dieter” (The Herald, UK).  She has stunned, aroused and terrified audiences from Berlin to Hong Kong with her gin-soaked lascivious charm, blending dangero...

Stuart Greene has been working in theatres and cinemas across Sydney for 53 years. He is presently Food and Beverages Manager at Sydney’s opulent State Theatre. In the decades working in theatre front-of-House, combined with an incredible passion for the buildings which house stage and screen entertainments, he has amassed incredible knowledge and anecdote on the theatrical temples. As a regular g...

Wayne Harrison is one of Australia’s most accomplished and sought-after theatre directors and creative producers, with an extensive career spanning Australia, the UK, Europe and North America. As Director/CEO of Sydney Theatre Company from 1990 to 1999, he directed more than 40 productions, including  The Normal Heart , A Little Night Music,  Dead White Males , Into the Woods,  Medea  and  Two Wee...

Katie Pollock is an award-winning Australian playwright, screenwriter, dramaturg, editor, producer, and television development executive whose work spans theatre, radio, and screen. Her extensive body of work for the stage includes  People Inside Me ,  Human Activity ,  Rough Trade —a solo work which she also performed— Normal ,  The Becoming ,  The Hansard Monologues  ( Age of Entitlement  and  A...

John O’Connell is an internationally acclaimed choreographer best known for his work on a string of cinema box office hits:  Moulin Rouge ,  Strictly Ballroom, Enchanted, Shall We Dance , and Baz Luhrmann’s Oscar-winning  The Great Gatsby . As “choreographer to the stars”, John has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Leonardo Di Caprio, Nicole Kidman, Richard Gere, Jennif...

Korean-Australian soprano Gemma Nha is recently completed her tenure with Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. She made her house debut this past season as the Page in  Rigoletto , reprised Barbarina, and sang the role of Jess and covered Ashley in Missy Mazzoli’s  The Listeners . Gemma has a Master of Music in Vocal Arts from The Juilliard School where she studied...

Helen Dallimore is an actor, singer, director and writer who has enjoyed a successful career in theatre, musical theatre, film and television both in Australia and in the UK. Her most celebrated stage performances include  Wicked  (London’s West End),  Girl From The North Country  (Tour),  End of the Rainbow  (STCSA),  Blood Brothers  (Enda Markey Presents) and L egally Blonde  (Ambassador/GFO), f...

Acclaimed Australian pianist/composer and singer/songwriter Monique diMattina has recorded and performed extensively since the early 2000’s, working in various genres and settings.  Monique has released three solo piano albums in filmic and neo-classical styles, and three jazz/pop albums as singer/songwriter, including the critically acclaimed ‘Nola’s Ark’, recorded in New Orleans with producer Ma...

Faith Martin is an Australian casting director for film and television, recognised for her pivotal role in identifying and launching Australian and International talent into global careers. With extensive experience across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Europe, she has built a reputation for instinct-driven casting on high-profile television series and feature f...

Glenn Elston OAM has directed over 250 seasons Shakespeare, Classic Works, Musicals and Family Theatre. A prominent figure in Australian theatre, he is particularly known for pioneering outdoor picnic theatre in Australia and creating immersive, family-friendly experiences that have become beloved traditions. Elston began his journey in 1987, forming a small performance collective that has since g...

Deborah Kennedy is one of Australia’s most recognisable and enduring character actresses, with a career spanning stage, screen and some of the nation’s most iconic popular culture moments. She is also known to audiences for her unforgettable delivery of a celebrated catchphrase in a Yellow Pages television commercial—now firmly embedded in the Australian vernacular. Deborah Kennedy began her caree...

Jay Laga’aia is a New Zealand–born Australian actor, musician, and presenter whose career spans film, television, stage, and music. International audiences know him best for his portrayal of Captain Typho in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. In Australia and New Zealand, he has built a celebrated career across drama, children’s entertainment, live...

Debra Lawrance graduated from NIDA in 1977 and has since built a distinguished career across theatre, film and television. On television, she first came to prominence playing Maggie, Ned Kelly’s sister, in Channel Seven’s  The Last Outlaw . She went on to star as Pat in the ABC comedy series  The Fast Lane , portrayed Daphne in  Prisoner , and became a household name as the beloved foster mother P...

Best known as one of Australia's "Phantoms" in "The Phantom of the Opera", Donald is one of Australia's leading musical performers, with a career encompassing music theatre, concerts, cabaret, opera, Lieder and recording. His most recent music theatre highlights have been the challenging role of "Judge Turpin" in the Opera Queensland production of "Sweeney Todd" (October 2003), the lead role of "F...

Therèsa Borg is a director, writer and performer.  She is a graduate of University of Melbourne (B.Ed. Sec (Music)) and twice of The Victorian College of the Arts (Opera Studio, Masters: Writing for Performance). Her directing credits include Titanic starring Anthony Warlow at Melbourne Town Hall, Sweeney Todd, starring Anthony Warlow and Gina Riley at Her Majesty’s Melbourne, The Light in the Pia...

Ken Billington is an international lighting designer working in theatre, television and architecture. Over 100 Broadway designs include the original production of  Sweeney Todd  and the current  Chicago , which is the longest running American musical in history.  Chicago  has been seen in over 20 countries all with the original lighting. Other Broadway productions include  Waitress, Act One, Hugh...

Hayden Tonazzi is an award-winning director and creative producer who in 2025 was appointed the Artistic Director & CEO of the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP).  A graduate of the 2019 NIDA MFA Directing Program, for over eight years’ they have worked across new writing in theatre and musical theatre, most notably  Saplings  by Hannah Belanszky for the 2024 Sydney Festival (Winner of...