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 screening in 2018.She has completed a second sell-out tour of the one woman play, MOTHER and the role of Mag in the Sydney Theatre Company production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane, both to excellent reviews.  She reprised MOTHER in Queensland in 2020.Most recent television and film work includes: Long Story Short, June Again, The End, A Place to Call Home, Truth, and Redfern Now.In 2016 Noni was inducted into the TV Week Logie ‘Hall of Fame’.In September she is back on the boards in the world premiere season of Daniel Keen’s LARK at the Melbourne Arts Centre.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify a

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 theatre companies across Australia. His stage credits include The Odd Couple, Shakespeare in Love, Man the Balloon, and Urinetown for the Melbourne Theatre Company, Babes in the Wood, The Odyssey, Optimism, and Tartuffe for Malthouse, and Navigating for the Sydney Theatre Company. In 2019 STC produced his adaptation of Accidental Death of an Anarchist.His book ‘How I Learnt to Act’ was published by Currency Press in 2019 and his play ‘The Platypus’ has had seasons at Theatreworks in St Kilda in 2024 and at Holden Street Theatres for the Adelaide Fringe in 2025.‘The Platypus’, plays the Brisbane Festival in September.The STAGES

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 him the Glugs Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His musical resumé is stacked with acclaimed roles including Sam in Mamma Mia!, Sky in Guys & Dolls, Curly in Oklahoma!, Cliff in Cabaret, Robert in The Bridges of Madison County and John Ashby in Georgy Girl.Beyond musicals, Ian has also made his mark in a wide range of main stage productions. Highlights include Around the World in 80 Days for Ellis Productions, One Crowded Hour with the Tasmanian Theatre Company, Daylight Saving for Darlinghurst Theatre Company, School of the Arts for Queensland Theatre Company and Sleeping Beauty for Malthouse Theatre.On scree

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. Robert is a graduate of Penn State University (MFA) and a member of The Society of Directors and Choreographers.Rob is one of the iconic New York Cabaret venue Feinstein’s/54 Below, original programming producers. He is the Artistic Director of the J2 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company, and a freelance director. He has worked with such artists as Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, as well as such institutions as Lincoln Center, Second Stage, The York Theatre, PBS, Walnut Street Theatre, and Center Theatre Group. As a director, Rob has focused mainly on revivals and regional premieres: which h

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 Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.Rachelle subsequently became an established solo artist at The Met, singing leading roles for many years – most notably Norina in Don Pasquale (recorded live for Sirius Radio), Lisa in La sonnambula (recorded live Sirius Radio), Clorinda in La Cenerentola (recorded live Sirius Radio and DVD release), Mrs Schlesen in Phillip Glass’ Satyagraha (recorded live Sirius Radio and DVD release), Frasquita in Carmen, Masha in Pique Dame, First Flower Maiden in Parsifal (also at Salzburg Festival under the baton of Maestro Levine), and Young Girl in Moses und Aron.2021/2022 engagements

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 Rhein), The Happy End (Victorian Opera), The Marriage of Figaro, The Human Voice and The Call (Opera Queensland), Lorelei (Opera Queensland/Victorian Opera), Because the Night (Malthouse Theatre), Our Town (Theater Basel).Marg designed costumes for Kip Williams’ The Resistible Rise of Arthur Ui and Lord of the Flies and designed set and costumes on How to Rule the World and The Lifespan of a Fact, at Sydney Theatre Company, Salome (English National Opera), Avalanche (Barbican Theatre), Leviathan (Circa), Common Ground (Chunky Move), Anthem (Performing Lines), Animal (InFlux), Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography (Griffin/Pert

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 history of Off-Broadway. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway, won the Outer Circle Critics’ John L. Gassner Award for playwriting, received a Tony nomination for Best Play and is the longest running Broadway comedy of the past twenty-five years. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. For two seasons, he appeared as Nat Ginzburg on the HBO series OZ and is the author of the auto-biographical novel Whores of Lost Atlantis. He has directed two films;

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 history of Off-Broadway. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway, won the Outer Circle Critics’ John L. Gassner Award for playwriting, received a Tony nomination for Best Play and is the longest running Broadway comedy of the past twenty-five years. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. For two seasons, he appeared as Nat Ginzburg on the HBO series OZ and is the author of the auto-biographical novel Whores of Lost Atlantis. He has directed two films;

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 Theatre Awards and Naarm’s Green Room Awards - “They are a complete revelation."A true embodiment of queer Asian excellence, Seann now brings unmatched charisma and fearless queer spirit to the role of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, playing stages across Australia.Loved worldwide, Seann first captured our hearts on X Factor UK in 2015 and The Voice AU in 2021, where their powerful performances of Freddie Mercury’s "The Show Must Go On" and Andrea Bocelli's "The Prayer" led Simon Cowell to declare, "This kid's a star!" Since then, Seann has headlined major Pride events globally—from the UK to Amsterdam, New York, an

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 for 11 years. She was the co-host of ABC’s 702 Sydney morning show from 2016 -2021.  She has hosted, written and appeared in a variety of TV shows including ABC’s The Big Gig.A former political journalist, Wendy is the author of eight books for adults including her bestselling novel Farewell My Ovaries, Love and Punishment and Nagging For Beginners, a how-to guide for women.  She has also written two teen novels, I Lost My Mobile at the Mall and I Made lattes For a Love God. Wendy’s children’s book series about Pearlie the park fairy have sold more than 700,000 copies in Australia and internationally since the first t

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 still a child. He has worked in both Britain and Australia in film, extensively on stage, on television, and with voice work.Growing up in Perth, he quickly established himself as an actor of note performing with the university graduate company in productions of Hamlet and Mourning Becomes Electra before journeying to the East coast and diversifying work at Channel O as newsreader, booth announcer and host.While his family remained in Perth, Smillie returned to the United Kingdom to appear in stage roles in London's West End and would divide his time between the UK and Australia for several decades.In Australia his te

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 been in New York and enjoyed the delights of the Broadway stage, taking in quite a few of the nominated shows and performances, giving us a familiar insight to where the awards might land.Australians are an ever growing presence on the Broadway stage and this year were are cheering for the Sydney Theatre Company and Michael Cassel’s production of The Picture of Dorian Gray; a play that has taken the world by storm and garnered a host of nominations for the Australian creatives and performer Sarah Snook.Ainsley Melham is co-leading the company in the musical Boop! which has also earned nominations and Sarah Bowden is in th

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 New Amsterdam Theatre reprising his role as Aladdin in the broadway company, before travelling to London to film the production at The Prince Edward Theatre.Upon his return to Australia he played Molina in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Kiss of the Spider Woman, as well as the title role of Pippin in the Tony Award winning production at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along at the Hayes Theatre, and Prince Topher in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Ainsley has also guest starred as Fiyero in the Australian National Tour of Wicked The Musical. Preceding his MainStage theatre

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 he was 12. An accomplished and avid reader by the age of 3,  Charles’ parents and grandparents provided access to music and theatre, with early productions of Annie and On the Town leaving a major impression and beginning a passion for musical theatre.Charles has extended his celebration of the Broadway theatre with a series of concerts at the iconic New York cabaret venue, 54 Below. Gathering an ensemble of Broadway luminaries and established performers in the presentation of lost musicals and celebrations of legendary theatre-makers. Last month featured a visit to the musical Coco; the Katherine Hepburn lead musica

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, played Mrs Zebulan in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Australian tour), and earned critical acclaim as Dana and Marilyn Monroe in Get Happy at Sydney’s Star City.Leigh was part of the world premiere of Moonshadow, the Cat Stevens musical, performing in the ensemble and understudying the roles of Zena and Layla. In Baz Luhrmann’s World Premiere production of Strictly Ballroom The Musical, she showcased her versatility by understudying four principal roles, ranging from a young girl to a Spanish grandmother. In 2022, she played the role of Professional Woman in the Australian regional tour of Menopause The Musical. M

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 Falsettos, The Housekeeper in Man of La Mancha, Giuseppe in The Light in the Piazza, Frog in A Year with Frog and Toad, Florindo in The Venetian Twins, Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors and Mark in DNA. Stephen has worked extensively with Tall Stories and CDP Theatre Producers, including the original Australian productions of The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child and Room on the Broom.Stephen wrote and directed My Vagabond Boat (Adelaide Cabaret Festival) and Don’t Hate Us Because We're Good (Melbourne Fringe Festival).Titanique is about to set sail with a final boarding call for the Céline Dion parody. The

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 of the City and Equus before moving on to solo production design.As production designer, he has worked in all parts of the United States, in Europe, Canada and Mexico on feature films, long form and episodic television, music videos and commercials.Edwards' continued interest in fine art, history and architecture has been sustained by regular visits to world capitals to experience diverse cultures at first hand. The wealth of knowledge gained has enabled him to design settings of detailed accuracy covering periods from the Shakespeare of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead to post civil war American west in Last Stand at

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 Wahnsinn’ (Absolute Madness). She shared the stage with icons of the theatre scene such as Helmut Baumann whom she met as a young performer at the Komische Oper in Berlin. She appeared in several productions in repertoire at the Komische, playing Marylou in the concert version of Paul Abrahams 'Märchen im Grand Hotel', she covered the role of Anita in ‘West Side Story’ and Daisy Darlington in ‘Ball im Savoy’. She also proved herself as a dancer in the production of ‘Orpheus’. Alongside her role in ‘Kiss me Kate’ she covered Bianca and was Dance Captain responsible for ‘Clivia’. Sarah is particularly grateful for the collabo

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; Marius in Les Misérables on London’s West End and Miss Trunchbull in Matilda on London’s West End and in the International tour.Hayden has performed throughout Australia as Cable in South Pacific; Professor Bhaer in Little Women, Thomas Andrews in Titanic, and Father Grenville in Dead Man Walking.On the international stage, Hayden has taken on the roles of Jack in Being Earnest, Rutledge in 1776, Prince/Wolf in Into The Woods, Freddy in My Fair Lady, Arthur in Camelot, Hook/Mr. Darling in Peter Pan, Mason in Take Me Out, Bustopher Jones/Gus/Growltiger in Cats and Stride/Jekyll/Hyde Alternate in Jekyll and Hyde.Hayde

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 an innate understanding of what actors need, he knows how to make performers look like the best version of themselves.Kurt also manages a community for photographers called The Humble Togs Club. It's an online space for photographers (who are emotionally mature excellent humans) to support each other, no matter what the experience level. If you enjoy practising the art of photography, check out the online community at www.humbletogsclub.comSTAGES caught up with Kurt in a happening foyer in a New York hotel, riffing on the art of photography and the trajectory that has lead him to a career behind the camera in the B