The Black Woman of Gippsland flips the script on a Victorian mystery
Playwright Andrea James has researched a story from the 1840s, in which colonial newspapers suggested that a 'white woman' – maybe the survivor of a shipwreck – had been taken captive by Gunaikurnai people in what is now eastern Victoria. Andrea interrogates the legend in a riveting new play called The Black Woman of Gippsland.In 1895 Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two gruelling years in Reading Gaol, for being homosexual. The experience broke his health and spirit, and towards the end of his ordeal he wrote an impassioned 80-page letter called De Profundis ('from the depths'). Acclaimed actor and singer Paul Capsis is performing the letter on stage.Athol Fugard wrote influential plays about the injustices of South Africa’s racist Apartheid system on everyday people, for decades. Fugard died last month and fellow playwright and scholar Anthony Akerman tells Michael about his work and impact.
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The Wrong Gods weighs the cost of 'progress' on a mother and daughter
S. Shakthidharan's last play Counting and Cracking was a massive hit, an epic tale of one Sri Lankan Tamil family and their involvement in world-change events. Now he returns with The Wrong Gods, a story about a mother and daughter in India whose lives are about to be ripped apart by industrial agriculture. Should economic growth come at the cost of a sustainable and ancient way of life? Shakthi is joined by actor Radhika Mudaliyar. In the 40 years since their history-making perfect score that earned them a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, figure skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have toured the globe presenting ice dancing spectaculars. Now, the pair plan to hang up their skates for good, following a farewell tour they are calling Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance. First broadcast November 2024.
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100 years of La Boite: a little theatre with big ambitions
We mark the 100th Birthday of Australia's oldest continuously run theatre — Brisbane's iconic La Boite. A little theatre that's had a huge influence on the theatre and politics of Brisbane and on building a theatre culture which is distinctively Australian. La Boite's Artistic Director Courtney Stewart and former AD David Berthold (current director-in-residence at NIDA) take us through the eras, the challenges and the triumphs.Back Stage: the lighting designer. In the theatre world, what does a lighting designer do? Richard Vabre creates night, day, inside, outside and inner psychological states, all through the use of light. Just don't give him a white wall! Richard's work can be seen in ENDGAMES, directed by Laurence Strangio.How would you create a play that a four year old could understand? How about a four month old? Sally Chance and Stephen Noonan do just that, carefully creating works of theatre for the very early years. Stephen's the Boy & the Ball is on as part of the Dream Big children's festival in South Australia. Composer of The Thing That Matters: Heather Frahn.
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'We're very scared when we're on stage': comedy sisters Flo & Joan
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has taken over the city. Comedians from across Australia and around the world are here including the UK's Nicola And Rosie Dempsey, as dead-pan singing sisters Flo and Joan. This year they're also presenting One Man Musical – a musical take-down of Andrew Lloyd Webber!Producer Rosa Ellen hits the streets and meets three comedians debuting shows at MICF: the word-of-mouth hit Jin Hao Li (Swimming in a Submarine), Tik Tok pop songstress Charlene Kaye and Brisbane's queen of crowd work, Anisa Nandaula (You Can't Say That)Kayah Guenther is 31 and he has been dancing since he was a kid. Now with his sister Maitreyah Guenther he is performing in a skilful, intimate show called The Glass Child. Kayah has Down Syndrome and the performance is an exploration of their journey together and their growth to adulthood. They're joined by choreographer Kate Harman from The Farm. Music by Anna Whitaker.
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In 'Lazarus', a playwright resurrects a living legend
John Harding, a founder of Ilbijerri Theatre Company and veteran playwright, recorded 20 hours of Taungurung elder Uncle Larry Walsh recounting his life story. The result is Lazarus, a sold-out theatre show telling a life of tragic beginnings as a stolen child, survival in institutions and fearless activism. We also hear Billy McPherson, playing Larry. Lazarus is on as part of Melbourne /Naarm's Yirramboi festival.Jason Arrow is known to many as the titular character in Hamilton where he had an extraordinary run both in Australia and internationally. Now he has put his breeches and coat tails away and has donned a 1950s dapper suit for the character of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Opera Australia’s Guys and Dolls on Sydney Harbour. He sings for us the showstopper Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat!The Player Kings is a show which takes the audience on an 8-hour journey through plays by Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe that chart the rise and fall of five kings. Liam Gamble is making his professional theatre debut, alongside Emma Palmer who plays the evil Queen Margaret. Liam has cerebral palsy, and talks about playing the villainous Richard III, a character who is disabled and endures cruel treatment.
Australia