STAGES with Peter Eyers

Noni Hazlehurst recently returned to the stage with  MOTHER   at the Arts Centre in Melbourne. Her autobiography  Dropping the Mask  was released in October 2024. Noni played the role of Miss Cartwright in the feature film  Ladies in Black  for which she received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2018 ACCTA Awards. Noni completed filming on  A Place to Call Home,  the final series sc...

Francis Greenslade began performing with the Adelaide University Footlights. He has been an actor and a teacher for over 30 years. He is best known for performing a host of characters on ‘ Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell ’ and Brian Gross on ‘ Winners andLosers’.  Other screen credits include  The Leftovers, Irreverent, Blue Heelers, Dr Blake, SeaChange  and  Full Frontal. He has worked with most the...

From beloved TV dramas to blockbuster musicals, Ian Stenlake has carved out a dynamic career across stage and screen. Most recently, he conjured magic (and menace), mesmerising audiences as the enigmatic Saruman in  The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale . Prior to that, Ian toured nationally in  Elvis: A Musical Revolution , portraying the legendary Colonel Tom Parker, a performance that earned hi...

Robert W. Schneider is one of the foremost educators and lecturers in the world of theatre having given countless presentations at Yale, Fordham, The Institute of the American Musicals, and at various engagements throughout the United States and the UK.  He is currently on the faculty of both Penn State University and the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at New York Film Academy. Rober...

Australian/American soprano Rachelle Durkin began her career in Australia, winning three of that country’s major vocal competitions: The Herald Sun Aria, The Marianne Mathy Scholarship and The Metropolitan Opera Award. Immediately following her successes, she flew to New York City where she was a recipient of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was accepted into the L...

Marg Horwell is a multi-award-winning Theatre, Opera and Film Designer, Installation Artist and Photographer. Marg’s recent select credits include;  The Confessions   (Alexander Zeldin Company/The National Theatre),  The Picture of Dorian Gray   (Sydney Theatre Company/ Michael Cassell Group) , The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde  (Sydney Theatre Company),  The Dead City   (Deutche Oper Am...

Charles Busch has forged a unique place in the world of entertainment as playwright, actor, director, novelist, cabaret performer and drag icon. He is the author and star of over twenty-five plays including  The Divine Sister ,  The Lady in Question ,  Red Scare on Sunset ,  The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare  and  Vampire Lesbians of Sodom ; one of the longest running plays in the hi...

Charles Busch has forged a unique place in the world of entertainment as playwright, actor, director, novelist, cabaret performer and drag icon. He is the author and star of over twenty-five plays including  The Divine Sister ,  The Lady in Question ,  Red Scare on Sunset ,  The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare  and  Vampire Lesbians of Sodom ; one of the longest running plays in the hi...

Seann Miley Moore graduated from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2013. They quickly established themself in the world of musical theatre in productions of Rent, Sweet Charity and the King & I. "Seann Miley Moore stole the show," Cameron Mackintosh said of their pioneering performance as  The EnginQueer  in Opera Australia’s  Miss Saigon . Awarded Best Actor at both the Sydney The...

Wendy Harmer is one of Australia’s most versatile entertainers – broadcaster, author, journalist and stage performer. As a stand-up comedian she performed her one-woman shows at the Melbourne, Edinburgh, Montreal and Glasgow Mayfest Comedy Festivals, in London’s West End and the Sydney Theatre Company.  Wendy enjoyed huge popularity leading Sydney radio station 2Day FM’s top-rating Breakfast Show...

James Smillie has captivated audiences over several decades. Commencing his career at the age of 10, as an in-demand boy soprano singing with symphony orchestras and on radio, he continues to charm with his velvet voice on countless commercials, documentary narrations, and audiobooks. Smillie was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His parents emigrated to Australia in the early 1950s when Smillie was stil...

It’s TONY time once again and an opportunity to look at the ceremony and shows up for awards in our annual Tony episode. STAGES is joined by publicist Ian Phipps and reviewer Simon Parris, to dissect the nominations and offer some predictions for the awards which will be presented on June 8th in New York City at radio City Musica Hall, hosted by Cynthia Erivo. The three of us have all recently bee...

Ainsley Melham began his Music Theatre Career in 2016, skating into the Hayes Theatre as  Sonny Malone  in Mathew Managements' Xanadu.  Soon after he traded skates for a magic carpet and opened Disney's Hit Broadway Musical ALADDIN, in the title role. He toured Australia with the production playing Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. In February 2019 he made his Broadway Debut at the Ne...

Charles Kirsch is the producer and host of the Broadway focused podcast, Broadway Babble. The show has seen Charles conduct in-depth interviews with some of Broadway’s best, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carol Burnett, Harvey Fierstein, Chita Rivera, and Kelli O’Hara. Broadway Babble is now entering its sixth year, and most impressive is that the show’s 18 year old host commenced the venture when...

With a career spanning four decades, Leigh’s credits are as diverse as they are extensive. An accomplished singer, dancer and actress, her stage roles include Marty in  Grease – The Arena Spectacular,  Demeter in  Cats  (Australia and Asia) and Consuelo in  West Side Story . She also appeared in the Australian tour of  The Wizard of Oz  as an ensemble member and understudy for Glinda/Aunt Em, play...

Stephen Anderson is an actor who has navigated a thrilling career in musical theatre. Presently he can be seen in Titanique as Ruth Dewitt-Bukater, a role which earned him a Sydney Theatre Award.  His extensive theatre work encompasses the Park Keeper/Northbrook in Mary Poppins, Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Father Alex in Mamma Mia!, Sergei in Matilda the Musical, Mendel in Fa...

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Vaughan Edwards trained in theatre, film and television design at London's prestigious Wimbledon College of Art. After graduating, he worked in theatre design in London's West End before moving to New York.  Here, he was an associate to celebrated Oscar and Tony Award winner Tony Walton, working with him on such films as  All That Jazz ,  Deathtrap,   Prince...

Following her performance as Cassie in ‘A Chorus Line’ at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Sarah Bowden moved her life to New York City.  For 12 years Sarah had been a vital contributor to the theatre of Berlin, Germany. She played major solo roles in the Wintergarten Variety Theatre, including Emily in the ‘Seifenoper’ (The Soap Opera), Sally in ‘Sally und Fred’ and Somalso in ‘Der Helle Wahnsi...

Hayden Tee hails from Maungaturoto in Northland but has made a name for himself globally as an acclaimed performer, makeup artist, director and recording artist in theatre, concert and cabaret throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia, the U.K and U.S.A. His extensive musical theatre portfolio has seen him play Javert in Les Misérables on Broadway, London’s West End, Australia, Dubai and New Zealand...

Kurt Sneddon is an in demand photographer. He photographs actors, dancers, models and performers in the streets of New York City.  Originally from Sydney, where he founded Blueprint Studios and became one of Australia's most-trusted photographers for the entertainment industry for 15 years, he now proudly calls himself a New Yorker! His own experience as an actor is inherent to his work, with...

A multi-award winner, Alinta Chidzey most recently originated the role of Satine in  Moulin Rouge! The Musical  for Australia's national tour, with her work receiving outstanding reviews.  She has played Velma Kelly in  Chicago  for the Gordon Frost Organisation, and Anita in  West Side Story,  which saw her nominated for several awards, including a Helpmann, Green Room and Sydney Theatre Awar...

London-based Australian producer Garry is the GM in RGM. With over 25 years experience developing, producing and managing ground-breaking productions around the world, he is an impresario of great vision and passion. RGM Productions is an independent, Olivier Award nominated theatre production company with an objective is to discover, develop and introduce new and compelling productions to new aud...

Tim Jones has led the Seymour Centre theatre venues in Sydney since 2009. Last month announced that he is stepping down from the role. Together with a talented and passionate team, he has worked to position Seymour Centre as vital to the creative life of both the City and the University of Sydney.  To achieve this he has initiated a range of curated artistic programs, focused on the presentation o...

Matt West is the Director / Choreographer for Disney’s  Beauty and the Beast  on Broadway. Matt received the L.A. Drama-Logue Award, the L.A. Ovation Award, New York’s Drama Desk Award and London’s Olivier Award, for the much celebrated show, which is in the Top 10 longest running shows in Broadway history - with 5461 performances. The classic story of Belle and her Beast has become an audience fa...

John O’May has worked in all areas of the entertainment industry encompassing music theatre, cabaret, drama, opera, concerts, comedy, radio, writing and directing. His music theatre credits include  Godspell ,  The 20’s And All That Jazz, Seven Little Australians  (which he also directed),  HMS Pinafore, Crazy For You, The Merry Widow, A Little Night Music  (for which he won his first Green Room A...