Stages With Peter Eyers

Judith Hoddinott has made considerable impact as an educator and a theatre designer across all disciplines. Training at the University of New England and the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, her design work has been seen complementing a myriad of stages with companies as diverse as the Sydney Theatre Company, GFO, CDP, Jacobsen Entertainment, Playbox, Opera Australia, Performing Lines, Theatre of the Deaf, New Moon, Hunter Valley, STC, Marian Street, & Ensemble theatre companies, and the Flying Fruit Fly Circus.Judith has taught Theatre Design at East Sydney Technical College, University of Western Sydney, University of Technology, Sydney and NIDA. She currently teaches at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts.Theatrical fare that has soared with costume and/or set designs by Judith include Phedre, Away, Oleanna, Antony and Cleopatra, A Delicate Balance, The Merchant of Venice, Gary’s House, After Dinner, The Killing of Sister George, A Hard God, Macbeth, Sight Unseen, Emerald City, Death of a Sa

On January 14th we learned of the passing of Theatre Impresario, Martin McCallum. He was a featured guest on the STAGES podcast in January 2019. The podcast was only a year old, but Martin with his enthusiasm and vigour for supporting new ventures was keen at my first suggestion. I am so honoured that we were able to record some of his story in this episode.Martin resided in Australia for the past 20 years. He was brought here originally when overseeing the transfer of global hit musicals such as Evita, to Australian shores; working alongside the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust.The relationships he established in Australia would enable him to successfully bring Cameron Mackintosh’s four juggernaut musicals to our theatres in the 80s and 90s; Cats, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon.Martin guided Mackintosh’s overseas production ventures and managed Australian and New York offices. He worked closely with Mackintosh on restoring The Prince Edward and Prince of Wales theatres in London’s Wes

Groundhog Day The Musical made its Australian Premiere at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre on Thursday February 1st - (incidentally February 2nd is the actual Groundhog Day). Direct from its record-breaking return season at London’s Old Vic, the Australian production will play a 13-week season in Melbourne.  Groundhog Day the Musical is a gloriously joyful and heart-warming production from the award-winning minds of Australia’s one and only Tim Minchin AM, the writer of the iconic 1993 film Danny Rubin and director Matthew Warchus.  Broadway Veteran Andy Karl returns to Groundhog Day after his critically-acclaimed reprisal at London’s Old Vic as ‘Phil Connors,’ the role he originated on Broadway which won him an Olivier Award and a Tony Nomination; the third of his Tony nominations.He was previously seen in the Broadway revival of Into The Woods as both ‘Rapunzel’s Prince’ and ‘Cinderella’s Prince/The Wolf,’ and leading the Broadway musical Pretty Woman as ‘Edward Lewis.’Other notable theatre credits include the

The STAGES podcast returns in 2024 for it's 7th Season - conversations with creatives about craft and career! Season 7 launches on March 7th.

We’ve arrived at the end of season 6 of the STAGES podcast and we celebrate with our annual Christmas episode.It’s been a huge year for the podcast - delivering 99 episodes! Every one a super conversation with artists and creatives and support staff across all disciplines.Old friends return to spread the Christmas cheer. STAGES catches up with Trevor Ashley, Rhonda Burchmore, Mark Humphries and Geraldine Turner - and of course, the episode wouldn’t be complete without the wonderful Kate Fitzpatrick.A perfect episode to finish the year, to say thank you for listening, and to wish you a very Merry Christmas!We’ll be back in March 2024!The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

It’s the time of year where folk are jetting off on holidays - a key destination for many theatre fans is to head to the West End of London or the bright lights of Broadway - theatre precincts which guarantee excitement and awe.Two gentlemen who make their own annual pilgrimage to the Great White Way or the West End -  are ‘Man in Chair’ Simon Parris, and Publicist Ian Phipps. The two theatre afficionados joined the podcast last year to offer a round-up of the shows they’d seen on recent trips to New York and London. Many listeners reported that they enjoyed the abundant tips offered in the conversation regarding what to see and how to secure tickets … so, we’ve invited them back again - almost to the year when they joined us last.No London round-up this time - but a delicious appraisal of what is on, and what has been celebrated, in the theatre mecca of Broadway.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conv

Award winning vocalist Emma Pask, has firmly established herself as one of Australia’s favourite voices in Jazz. Her effortless, honest stage presence combined with her powerful vocal ability, leaves audiences spellbound and inspired whenever she takes to the stage. While Emma’s voice and style are unique, and individually her own, her performances are reminiscent of the classic era of jazz, when swing was top of the charts. Her talent was first spotted by internationally renowned Jazz great James Morrison, when she was just 16 years old. She joined his band as the lead vocalist and went on to spend a solid 20 years touring the world with Morrison. On request Emma performed the Bridal Waltz for Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban at their wedding. More recently she played support to Legendary Guitarist/Vocalist George Benson when he toured Australia. Emma opened for Grammy Award winning American vocalist Kurt Elling, on his 2018 Australian Tour. Emma is a “Mo’ award winner for Jazz Vocalist of the year, and has rec

Mark Kilmurry is a writer, director and actor for theatre, film, television and radio. His writing credits for theatre include Mercy Thieves, Happy as Larry and Viv, The Light Comes Up, Bruised, The Mime Artist’s Wife and Arthur and Amy. Aside from his own work, he has directed Retreat from Moscow (Ensemble Theatre); The Lover (Belvoir Street Theatre); and Hammerklavier (Stables Theatre) and as an actor he has appeared in The Dumb Waiter (Studio Company); Japes, Aunty & Me, The Yalta Game, Afterplay and Art (Ensemble Theatre); What a Piece of Work (Stables Theatre); One Shot, John Wayne Never Slept Here, Neville’s Island and Tartuffe (Santa Fe Stages Theatre Festival); and Cyrano de Bergerac (Sydney Theatre Company).He co-founded the Snarling Beasties Theatre Company in the UK with Debbie Isitt. Mark first came to Australia in 1991 with The Snarling Beasties, and moved permanently in 1996. He is currently the Artistic Director of the Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli after first working there as an actor in

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 Qantas magazine, POL Oxygen, the Sydney Theatre Company’s Backstage magazine, and the Sunday Telegraph where she had been the arts writer/theatre reviewer since 2006. Fascinated by the magic of theatre from a young age, she sought and navigated a career in the performing arts in a range of roles. In tertiary study, Jo completed a BA (Hons) in English/Drama from Birmingham University in the UK. And so the adventure begun. After working front of house in several West End theatres, and as an Assistant Organiser in the Theatre Department at British Actors’ Equity, she moved to Australia in 1982. Initially based in Melbourne, she w

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 industry and is passionate about working with fellow creatives to communicate meaningful and intricate stories. Over the course of his career, Anthony has played a part in multiple productions including: for Griffin: Dogged (for which he was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award) and an acclaimed performance in Jailbaby; for Sydney Theatre Company/STCSA: The Dictionary of Lost Words; for ATYP: A Clockwork Orange; for Red Line Productions/Critical Stages: King of Pigs. Anthony has also featured in Play in a Day for Bell Shakespeare. Other stage credits include: for Company Clan: The Shape of Things; and for VCA: A View fr

As we draw towards the end of our 6th Season and chalk up 450+ episodes, it’s time we reach into the archive to feature conversations and creatives previously featured on STAGES. We spotlight such episodes, in case you missed them first time ‘round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. The STAGES podcast opens an essential doorway to access precious oral histories from the people who were, and are, on and around our stages. Conversations with Creatives about Craft and Career!John Waters is one of Australia’s most recognised and favourite actors. His theatre credits span productions in Australia and the United Kingdom. Demonstrating terrific versatility, John has taken lead roles in an array of plays, musicals, television and film.  He was featured on the STAGES podcast in October, 2020.He made is debut as Claude in Harry M. Millar’s production of Hair. Subsequent performances include Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, They’re Playing Our Song, An Ideal Husband, The Woman in Black, A Little Night Music

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, The Gift, Rockabye, The Female of the Species, Ninety, Bombshells, Berlin and Flame (Melbourne Theatre Company); L’Appartement (Queensland Theatre); American Song (Milwaukee Repertory); Day One-A-Hotel-Evening (Red Stitch); Fury (Sydney Theatre Company); Rapture, Nightfall, Redemption, Love Child and Honour (Malthouse Theatre).  Both Honour and Rapture won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Best Play.   Joanna has also adapted Hedda Gabler (for the State Theatre Company of South Australia) and Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage for Sir Trevor Nunn (Coventry/London).  Her adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Van

As we draw towards the end of our 6th Season and chalk up 450+ episodes, it’s time we reach into the archive to feature conversations and creatives previously featured on STAGES. We spotlight such episodes, in case you missed them first time ‘round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. The STAGES podcast opens an essential doorway to access precious oral histories from the people who were, and are, on and around our stages. Conversations with Creatives about Craft and Career!In this return episode, we spotlight a conversation with Maureen Elkner. Maureen joined the podcast in our very first year - in fact, hers was episode no:18.Maureen has been singing since the sixties. Carving out a career as a rock/pop vocalist she began her professional career in a trio called The Chiffons. Singing back-up for John Farnham and providing some of the vocals on Russell Morris’s classic The Real Thing, Maureen found her great success with the chart climber ‘Rak Off Normie’ – the follow up single to Bob Hudson’s nove

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 eclectic style and command of the physical always delights and sheds enlightening perspective. Both were guests in early seasons of the STAGES podcast. It was a treat to catch up with them once again to hear what’s been happening in their worlds and what we can look forward to in the world of The Magic Flute. Kate has been directing full-time since completing the NIDA Director’s course in 1996 and has established herself as a distinctive and inventive director, with productions for such companies as Pinchgut Opera, Belvoir St Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, Griffin Theatre and Melbourne Theatre Company. Kate’s productions include

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 both at home and abroad. Anthony’s lengthy stage credits include the London National Theatre production of Guys and Dolls, making his music theatre debut with the role of Sky Masterson in 1986, creating the role of Enjolras in the Australian production of Les Misérables (1988), and the title role of the Phantom in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera (1990 and 2007-2008). In 1995 he enjoyed a joyous season in Lucy Simon’s The Secret Garden as Archie Craven, and collaborated with her again in 2010, creating the role of Dr Yuri Zhivago in the Australian premiere production of Doctor Zhivago: The Musical. Other

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 both at home and abroad. Anthony’s lengthy stage credits include the London National Theatre production of Guys and Dolls, making his music theatre debut with the role of Sky Masterson in 1986, creating the role of Enjolras in the Australian production of Les Misérables (1988), and the title role of the Phantom in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera (1990 and 2007-2008). In 1995 he enjoyed a joyous season in Lucy Simon’s The Secret Garden as Archie Craven, and collaborated with her again in 2010, creating the role of Dr Yuri Zhivago in the Australian premiere production of Doctor Zhivago: The Musical. Other

‘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 comedy cabaret for over a decade, performing for everyone from Prime Ministers to Princesses and paupers to paper boys.In 2018 Hans won the hearts of 16 million Americans with his cheeky and electrifying song and dance routines on NBC’s juggernaut TV series, America’s Got Talent. 2020 arrived and Hans put his foot down on the gas of his luxury German four wheel drive as he accepted his invitation to return to the USA and appear on America’s Got Talent: The Champions (NBC). Competing against the very best contestants from the US, Europe and the Antipodes, Hans made it through to the Grand Final and was declared one of the

As we draw towards the end of our 6th Season and chalk up 440+ episodes, it’s time we reach into the archive to feature conversations and creatives previously featured on STAGES. We spotlight such episodes, in case you missed them first time ‘round - or so you can simply savour a second listen. The STAGES podcast opens an essential doorway to access precious oral histories from the people who were, and are, on and around our stages. Conversations with Creatives about Craft and Career!In this return episode, we spotlight a conversation with Jonathan Biggins from February 2019.Jonathan Biggins loathes all forms of social media. When I invited him onto STAGES, he told me he’d never listened to a podcast! So, I was thrilled to introduce him to the form.Mr Biggins is charming, and armed with a wit we relish and crave. He is one of the creators and performers of the Wharf Revue – a popular entertainment that has demanded a date on the calendar annually.Well, it’s that time of the year once again, when the silliness

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?, Macquarie, The Plough and The Stars, Forget-Me-Not-Lane, The Tavern, Sticks and Bones and Batman’s Beachhead. Tony has returned to Melbourne Theatre Company for The Visit, Life x 3, Realism and North By Northwest. He also has appeared for the Old Tote Theatre Company, Marian Street, Nimrod Theatre, Griffin, Belvoir and Bell Shakespeare. For the Sydney Theatre Company his credits include The Crucible, Saint Joan, Life After George, Corporate Vibes, Amigos, Metamorphosis, The Tempest, Hay Fever and King Lear.  He served on the panel that engaged Richard Wherret as the inaugural Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre

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?, Macquarie, The Plough and The Stars, Forget-Me-Not-Lane, The Tavern, Sticks and Bones and Batman’s Beachhead. Tony has returned to Melbourne Theatre Company for The Visit, Life x 3, Realism and North By Northwest. He also has appeared for the Old Tote Theatre Company, Marian Street, Nimrod Theatre, Griffin, Belvoir and Bell Shakespeare. For the Sydney Theatre Company his credits include The Crucible, Saint Joan, Life After George, Corporate Vibes, Amigos, Metamorphosis, The Tempest, Hay Fever and King Lear.  He served on the panel that engaged Richard Wherret as the inaugural Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre