STAGES with Peter Eyers

Jo Litson has been one of the Nation’s treasured Arts Journalists for some 37 years. She is the Print Editor of  Limelight ; the magazine that celebrates music, arts and culture. Jo originally joined  Limelight  magazine as Deputy Editor in August 2016 after more than 25 years working as a freelance arts writer for publications including  The Australian, Limelight magazine, The Bulletin, the Qanta...

Anthony Yangoyan was born in Sydney, where he grew up in Sydney’s inner west. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from The Victorian College of the Arts.  In 2019, Anthony co-wrote and performed in a new work titled ‘Tiger Cage’ at The Victorian College of the Arts student run Discord 879 Festival. Anthony aims to create work that promotes both inclusion and diversity amongst the acting ind...

Joanna Murray-Smith’s plays have been produced and translated all over the world, in over two dozen languages, including on Broadway, the West End and at the Royal National Theatre in London. Joanna has worked across many forms, from plays to novels, journalism, opera libretti and screenplays.  Her plays include  Three Little Words, Switzerland, Pennsylvania Avenue, True Minds, Songs for Nobodies,...

Mozart’s  The Magic Flute  will be presented by Opera Australia during their Summer season in early 2024. At the helm of the production is Director Kate Gaul. An artist of tremendous invention and imagination. The production she conjures will thrill and seduce, as this opera favourite is brought to vivid life. Assisting Kate as Movement Director is frequent collaborator, Andy Dexterity. His eclect...

Anthony Warlow has been thrilling audiences from the moment he arrived on the theatrical scene and has successfully inhabited a diversity of roles in opera and musical theatre, his versatility gaining him an honoured place on the international stage. From his debut with the Australian Opera in Benjamin Britten’s  A Midsummer Night’s Dream  in 1980, he has left an indelible stamp on the industry bo...

Anthony Warlow has been thrilling audiences from the moment he arrived on the theatrical scene and has successfully inhabited a diversity of roles in opera and musical theatre, his versatility gaining him an honoured place on the international stage. From his debut with the Australian Opera in Benjamin Britten’s  A Midsummer Night’s Dream  in 1980, he has left an indelible stamp on the industry bo...

‘Hans' is the creation of Adelaide born entertainment journalist Matt Gilbertson. Boozier than Oktoberfest, more drive than a Volkswagen, and more sausage than a bratwurst convention, Hans is Germany’s proudest export. An international superstar, sex symbol, accordionist and Berlin boy-wonder, Hans has been thrilling audiences around the globe with his own fabulous brand of award-winning comed...

London-born Tony Llewellyn-Jones graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1971 and was invited to join the Melbourne Theatre Company. Over the next two years Tony appeared in productions including  Tonight at 8.30, Mother Courage, The Cherry Orchard, How Does Your Garden Grow?, The Time is Not Yet Ripe, Danton’s Death, Paying the Piper, An Ideal Husband, You Want It Don’t You Billy...

London born Tony Llewellyn-Jones graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1971 and was invited to join the Melbourne Theatre Company. Over the next two years Tony appeared in productions including  Tonight at 8.30, Mother Courage, The Cherry Orchard, How Does Your Garden Grow?, The Time is Not Yet Ripe, Danton’s Death, Paying the Piper, An Ideal Husband, You Want It Don’t You Billy...

In the thirty-fifth year of his career, Daniel Sumegi has sung over one hundred operatic roles on many of the world’s major stages – including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, as well as at Opera Australia.  He has also appeared in the opera houses of Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg, as well as Paris, Barcelona, Tokyo, H...

Richard Roberts is an award-winning designer and educator. His body of work spans theatre, ballet, opera, musical theatre, and film, across Australia and internationally. Richard is currently Head of Design and Production at the Victorian College of the Arts.  He has held positions as Head of Design at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Head of Production at The Victorian College o...

Rod Waterworth commenced  the discipline of Dance in his twenties, and subsequently ‘opened a new window’ to a triumphant career on the stage. For several decades Rod has been a delightful fixture of commercial Musical theatre throughout  Australia His professional theatre credits include  Cats, Anything Goes, The Wizard of Oz, 42nd Street, Me and My Girl, The Pirates of Penzance, My Fair Lady, Re...

Hello. Thanks for checking in to this repeat performance of a STAGES conversation, recorded with the divine Jacqueline Dark in April 2019. Jacqui's passing is a terrible shock and sadness that we all share. A consummate artist who had so much more to give her audience - across many platforms - Opera, Musical Theatre and Cabaret. Jacqui commanded a stage with an exquisite presence, an extensive...

Justin Smith is presently filling the shoes of Australia's 21st Prime Minister, Edward Gough Whitlam, in Squabbalogic's world premiere production of 'The Dismissal'. He will appear in three upcoming series’ premiering in 2023:  The Messenger  for the ABC based on Marcus Zusak’s bestselling novel, and  Last Days of the Space Age  and  The Artful Dodger,  both for Disney+. He most re...

Karen Johnson Mortimer began her professional career at the age of 15 in the Cole Porter musical,  Anything Goes  starring Toni Lamond. She has subsequently carved a dynamic career in musical theatre, contributing via a succession of roles. As a performer, Karen played Cassie in the original Australian production of  A Chorus Line  and appeared in musicals as diverse as  Company, The Conquest of C...

After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1971, Steven Tandy landed the role of  Tom Sullivan  in the iconic Australian television series  The Sullivans.  Subsequently, he has carved a career in a succession of film and stage roles. He returned to NIDA in 1995 to study directing. With the Melbourne Theatre Company, Steven has appeared in productions of  Translations, Three Si...

Blake Erickson has worked throughout Australia, Asia, Britain, and the United States as a writer, actor, and singer. He studied drama and musical theatre at the University of Sydney and The Actor’s Connection New York.  Previous to this, he studied Political Science and International Relations. He is the co-writer of the new Australian musical  The Dismissal: An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy. ...

Anna O’Byrne has established an international career spanning opera, theatre, concert and film.  Well known for her performance as Eliza Doolittle in Opera Australia’s My Fair Lady, Anna received the 2017 Helpmann Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.  Andrew Lloyd Webber cast Anna as Christine Daaé in  Love Never Dies , his sequel to  The Phantom of the Opera . Anna made her West End debut...

Passionate about interrogating, developing and devising new Australian work, Tim trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and works as a writer, director, dramaturge and a devising theatre maker. Tim is currently a commissioned writer for Riverside Theatres, Parramatta and The Art House Wyong to create a write a new play based on Colleen McCullough’s award-winning novel  Tim  d...

Damon Herriman was born in Adelaide and has been acting since the age of eight. His extensive credits are a testament to his versatility and standing. Damon’s Australian television credits include the upcoming series for Disney+  The Artful Dodger ,  Thai Cave Rescue  for Netflix,  The Tourist  (AACTA 2022 Nominee) for STAN/BBC/HBO Max, alongside Jamie Dornan and Danielle MacDonald,  The Commons ...

Doug Kingsman now retired (or resting), has navigated an exciting career as a theatre actor, designer and director. Following a lengthy stint in showbiz, he subsequently carved a career as an Interior designer for 25 years on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Known as an all-round entertainer in the true sense, he could turn his hand to many crafts, whether it be singing, dancing, acting or designing se...

Sheila Bradley is one of the country's most experienced and best-loved music theatre stars, with a career that has spanned 70 years working all over the world. Born in Essex, U.K., Sheila was brought to Australia in the 1950s by J.C. Williamson's to play the lead in  Grab Me a Gondola . She had an established career as a lead singer with the George Mitchell Singers and playing Lalume in  K...

Denise Drysdale began her career at GTV-9 when she was 10 years old, performing in the Tarax Happy Show. She has worked in and around television ever since, providing a host of magical moments through the live medium. The longevity and brilliance of her career in television confirms she is one of the best and few have replicated her golden talent.  Her life has paralleled the growth of television....

Julie Moncrieff Anthony (nee Lush) was born on a farm at Galga, South Australia. The population of the location was 15 and by necessity cultivated a vivid imagination in young Julie and a talent to amuse.  She began singing in her teens with a local band, an engagement instigated by her enthusiastic father.  In 1970 Julie won an amateur television talent quest which led to regular appearances on E...

imon Hall (Yon) is best known for his work in comedy band Tripod. His solo projects include Second Wedding Singer, commissioned by the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and the Green-Room award-winning Mandaddy: Songs of Love and Love. More recently, Yon has also written songs for Dragon Lady starring Fiona Choi, Musical Fictions for the Sydney Writers’ Festival and for upcoming video game musical, Stray...