STAGES with Peter Eyers

Sharon Millerchip is one of the busiest actor/creatives on the Australian stage with three prestigious Helpmann Awards to her name.
Sharon most recently played Ingrid Treloar in BORN ON A THURSDAY By Jack Kearney at the Old Fitz Theatre for which she was nominated for the 2026 Sydney Theatre Award for Leading Actor in an Independent Play. Sharon was Creative Producer for PUTTING IT TOGETHER at the Foundation Theatre and is set to resume her role as the Associate Director for SIX THE MUSICAL in Australia which begins it’s fourth national tour in July 2026
For the Sydney Theatre Company, Sharon was Assistant Director to Priscilla Jackman in Suzie Miller’s smash hit RBG; OF MANY ONE starring Heather Mitchell and directed the one woman show BECOMING ELIZA starring Anna O’Byrne at the Sydney Opera House. 
Sharon played Caroline in the original company of Yve Blake’s FANGIRLS for Belvoir and QTC and was the Associate Choreographer for it’s return season at the Sydney Opera House
Other recent performances include The Queen Mother in THE QUEENS NANNY, Louise Daley in A BROADCAST COUP, Penny in Melanie Tait’s smash hit THE APPLETON LADIES POTATO RACE all for Ensemble, Simon Phillips’ NORTH BY NORTHWEST, Joan in SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS for Darlinghurst Theatre and acclaimed performances as the eponymous heroine SHIRLEY VALENTINE and Johanna Murray-Smith’s iconic BOMBSHELLS which earned her Sydney Theatre Award nomination for Leading Actress in a Play. 
Sharon is part of an elite group of women worldwide who have played both Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart in CHICAGO. Sharon received Helpmann Awards for both roles as well as the Sydney Theatre Award for Roxie Hart. 
Sharon played Meg Giry in the Australian premier of Andrew Lloyd Webber's LOVE NEVER DIES (Sydney Theatre Award nom) the spectacular sequel to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA in which Sharon also played Meg Giry in the original Australian production. 
Her other leading roles include Belle in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Mo Award), Columbia in THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW (Helpmann Award) Anita in WEST SIDE STORY, Demeter in CATS, Catherine in PIPPIN (Helpmann nomination), May in Lippa’s THE WILD PARTY, Sofia in SATANGO (Australian Dance Award), Sonia Walsk in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, Charity Hope Valentine in SWEET CHARITY (Helpmann Award nomination) 
For the Sydney Theatre Company Sharon played Cordelia in FALSETTOS and Little Red Riding Hood in INTO THE WOODS for which she received the Mo Award and Sydney Theatre Award for best Supporting Actress. 
Away from the stage Sharon was Resident Director and Resident Choreographer on the Disney Theatricals blockbuster ALADDIN at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney and Resident Director on Baz Luhrmann's extravagant production of STRICTLY BALLROOM at The Lyric Sydney and Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne. 
Sharon comprised one third of the popular cabaret trio COMBO FIASCO who performed extensively throughout Australia and the USA where they received a MAC Award nomination for Best New York Vocal Comedy Act and recorded their live album, HERE. 
Her television credits include Daliance for Roadshow, Home and Away, Spicks and Specks, Cops LAC, The Circle, Willing and Able. Her feature film credits include Gretel Kileen's JIMMY AND GRET DON'T DO SEX and as Wendy Patterson in the Kath and Kim Filum KATH AND KIMDERELLA.
Other recent theatre performances include AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS for Ellis Productions,  A PICASSO and LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS at the Ensemble Theatre, and Nora Ephron's LOVE LOSS AND WHAT I WORE  and MY FIRST TIME, both for Liza McLean at The Sydney Opera House.
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).

Two of Australia’s most accomplished and celebrated operatic performers, soprano Natalie Jones and mezzo-soprano Antoinette Halloran, come together for the highly anticipated world premiere of Jane Hammond and Therésa Borg’s The Spare Room - a production of Monstrous Theatre and Victorian Opera.
Natalie Jones has enjoyed an acclaimed career spanning more than three decades, performing with leading opera companies and orchestras throughout Australia and internationally. 
A graduate of the University of Melbourne, Jones was awarded the Wenkart Singing Scholarship and the prestigious Herald-Sun Aria. Her repertoire encompasses an extraordinary range, from the dazzling coloratura of Zerbinetta, Queen of the Night and Gilda to the lyricism of Manon, Juliette, Violetta, Donna Anna and Konstanze. Her performance of Musetta in La bohème earned a Green Room Award and Helpmann Award nomination, while her creation of Bubba in Richard Mills’ Summer of the Seventeenth Doll demonstrated her commitment to Australian contemporary opera.
Antoinette Halloran is similarly one of Australia’s best-loved and most versatile singers, with an extensive career across opera, concert and contemporary repertoire. Her major roles with Opera Australia include Madama Butterfly, Rusalka, Mimì in La bohème, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus. She has performed leading roles with Victorian Opera, West Australian Opera, State Opera South Australia, Opera Queensland and New Zealand Opera.
Now these two formidable artists share the stage in The Spare Room, bringing their considerable experience, dramatic insight and vocal artistry to a brand-new Australian work. 
As Victorian Opera prepares to unveil the Hammond/Borg compelling new opera, Jones and Halloran promise to make this world premiere a significant addition to the Australian operatic landscape.
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).

In 2022, STAGES presented a series of ‘live’ conversations at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, as a part of the IDEAS program for the annual VIVID Festival. We were delighted that our first guest in that series was Director/CEO of GLOBAL CREATURES; the dynamic and divine Carmen Pavlovic.
Carmen is also the Executive Producer for the global theatrical juggernaut Moulin Rouge! – The Musical.
Inspired by the Baz Luhrmann film, Moulin Rouge! opened on Broadway in July 2019, recently completing a run of 2,297 performances at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. On Broadway the show garnered 10 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and has been staged in cities around the world.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical will return to Australian stages in 2027.
To celebrate the Broadway run of Moulin Rouge! – the Musical, we present this spotlight episode of the STAGES podcast. An episode in which Carmen Pavlovic details the challenge and ultimate triumph of developing the show, and subsequently conquering stages around the world.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

Troy Sussman has spent more than 40 years doing what he dreamed of as a child — living the life of a professional performer and becoming one of Australia’s most prolific musical theatre artists.
His extraordinary career has taken him across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the West End, with a repertoire that spans classic musical theatre, opera, comedy and contemporary productions. His credits include the original Australian production of Les Misérables, as well as the 10th Anniversary production and the West End production in London; The Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Aladdin, City of Angels, Passion, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Pirates of Penzance, Guys and Dolls, Mame, Sweet Charity, Mack and Mabel, The Drowsy Chaperone, We Will Rock You, The Witches of Eastwick, Noises Off, Jolson, Miss Saigon, The Secret Garden, Hair, Honk!, Chess, Aida and Carmen.
More recently, Troy has appeared as Babkak in Disney’s Aladdin, understudying Genie, Curveball in Who’s Your Baghdaddy, the 25th Anniversary Concert of Jekyll & Hyde, and in the VO production of Candide. He also returned to The Phantom of the Opera in the Opera Australia production.
Among his many international engagements, Troy performed in Donmar Warehouse’s Guys and Dolls and has worked extensively throughout Asia, including Honk!, Chang and Eng and Masterpiece: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in China. His screen credits include Les Misérables at Windsor Castle, Forensic Investigation, Denise, Good Morning Australia and Saturdee. He can also be heard on Australian cast recordings of Mary Poppins and Hair, the South Pacific soundtrack and on solo vocals for Rob Guest’s Standing Ovation.
Troy’s passion for musical theatre is matched by his commitment to the next generation of performers. He speaks passionately about the importance of passing on the knowledge and legacy of those who came before while embracing change and adaptation within the art form.
For Troy, there is still nowhere quite like the stage. As he puts it, happiness is “standing on a stage and being in my element” — a fitting description for an artist who has spent more than four decades making theatre his happy place.
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).

PJ Lane has ‘showbiz’ in his genes.
At 11 PJ attained a Performing Arts Scholarship at The Scots College, Sydney. He went on to minor in music at college in Connecticut where he received a full basketball scholarship and he was a star off the court as well, being on the Dean’s Honours List and a lead performer in the college’s plays and musicals, PJ was setting the ground work for what would lie ahead.
PJ studied classical piano for 11 years and was later tutored for another 2 years by Mike Meros, the keyboard player for the Beach Boys. Although PJ turned to professional basketball after college (Greece 2005 – 2008) he would always revert back to his love of music and the entertainment industry.
On his return to Australia and in a relatively short time in ‘the business’, PJ Lane has appeared on many TV shows, he’s been the subject of a featured story on A Current Affair, appeared and sang live on Mornings with Kerri-Anne, performed in front of 90,000 people at the 2009 Woolworths Carols In The Domain and was a presenter and performed at the 2010 TV Week Logie Awards. 
PJ was a regular presenter on the Seven Network’s Sydney Weekender and he is the ‘face’ of Lux Luminosity (Asia). He had a featured guest role on Neighbours, starred in the thriller 6 Plots and played the real life character of Michael Christianson in the top rating production, Underbelly: Badness. PJ also starred opposite Don Hany in the drama series Serangoon Road.
As an entertainer, PJ is an ACE Award winner and has thrilled audiences in some of Australia’s top venues and corporate events, with “evident showbiz chutzpah”. He has quickly established himself as a most sought after entertainer and Master of Ceremonies.  His MC/Hosting clients include an international banking corporation, government departments, charity organisations, international concerts and many other corporate clients.
PJ is proud to be an ambassador and spokesman for CHeBA (Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing) He is the producer and host of The Memory Lane Concert, a gala fundraiser featuring Australia’s finest performers, raising funds for research into a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
He is presently hitting the road with “I Love Your Faces - The Don Lane Story”. It’s a celebration of The Don Lane Show, but also something much more personal: a son’s exploration of his father, his family, identity, ambition and the enduring magic of entertainment.
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).