STAGES with Peter Eyers

In 1983, something was happening in the Western states - the birth of a training course focused entirely on the Musical Theatre. There was no music theatre education in the country, and after starting the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Dr Geoff Gibbs made the creation of the course his next goal. For nearly 20 years, Denis Follington was on the staff of this much sought Musical Theatr...

Kate Gaul has been a considerable force in playmaking in Australia over the past 25 years. Directing premiere productions and new Australian works, her directing folio has covered a broad repertoire of stories - The Laramie Project, The Trouble with Harry, Svetlana in Slingbacks, The Ham Funeral and Richard the Third to touch on a few. She has worked with our leading theatre companies and taught a...

When we enter a theatre building, the first point of contact before entering the world of the play - is the front-of-house staff. Those folk who welcome us in, guide us to our seat, or pour us a drink as we give in to the magic of the night. A popular personality behind the bar of Sydney theatres for many years has been Stuart Greene - a devotee of all things theatre, he is a walking encyclopaedia...

Many of our favourite television series, have featured today's guest. Iconic shows that were part of our nightly viewing - defining our identity and celebrating the culture. His performances captured us through an array of quintessentially Australian characters; telling stories of WW2 in The Sullivans, Outback Australia in The Flying Doctors and protecting our boarders in Patrol Boat. Fronting the...

'Dance is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire' (Martha Graham)- so reads the quote atop Jane Beckett's extensive CV. A dancer who trained in the classical form, her experiences in Europe showed her the many expressions possible through contemporary dance. A career in Musical theatre and regular employment dancing on television and supporting big names in cabaret - evolved into a career as...

Kevin Jackson is regarded to be one of Australia's most foremost acting teachers. Having completed extensive periods managing the former NIDA Acting course and teaching at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, his knowledge and passion for the craft of acting is extensive. He has guided many of Australia's best and noted actors, with insights and an approach which is direct, firm and...

Donna Lee comes from a long line of performers. Showbusiness is indeed the family business; with Donna being the fifth generation in her family, to embrace performance as a career. As a child she travelled the country and performed with her parents: her father Frank Cleary, a juggler and variety performer; and her mother Gloria Dawn, one of Australia's foremost actors in music theatre and drama. S...

Mitzi Macintosh is a much loved drag identity who worked in all the major Sydney venues over some two decades. Outrageous, subversive, a heart of gold and possessed with immaculate comic timing, she is the drag persona of performer Graeme Browning. Now residing in the UK, Graeme (and Mitzi) were back recently for his first one-woman show - Mitzi Macintosh - My Life in Lipstick - presented as part...

Paul Saliba was once described as a man of fire. His dance and choreographic work possesses a sense of energy, light and warmth. The man himself is excitable, committed and vital. A conversation with Paul is enlightening and re-affirming. He talks to STAGES about his time with The Australian Ballet, the car accident that could have put an end to his career, his work with The Sydney Dance Company a...

Geraldine Turner has chartered a career spanning 4 decades and established herself as one of few bona-fide leading ladies of the Musical Theatre. A repertoire of high octane roles has seen her lead companies of OLIVER, ANYTHING GOES, CHICAGO, SWEENEY TODD and INTO THE WOODS; but there is one role, that has escaped her ... she ponders why that may be. An artist at ease in any form, she has mastered...

In this episode of STAGES, we speak with Michael Norman - upon meeting Michael, you can be nothing but engaged. His exuberant personality leaps at you large, and his passion for showbiz is palpable. The son of performers, he entered the business working in television props and along the way served a stint as a model in the UK, ultimately returning to Australia to assume a career as a Company Manag...