Backstage

I'm joined by one of Australia's most celebrated actors—Pamela Rabe. With a career spanning decades, Pamela has earned acclaim across stage and screen, and is also a respected stage director. Her versatility shines through in a wide range of genres—from musicals and comedies to powerful dramas. You may have seen her in unforgettable productions such as: August: Osage County Seventeen The Cherry Orchard Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The Dance of Death My Fair Lady The Glass Menagerie ...and so many more. She's tackled the works of Shakespeare, Molière, Chekhov, Brecht, Noël Coward, Patrick White, and David Mamet—just to name a few. Today, Pamela joins me to talk about her latest role as Winnie in Samuel Beckett's Happy Days, now playing at the Sydney Theatre Company. It's a demanding and iconic role, and we'll dive into what it means to bring Beckett's vision to life on stage. Reginabotros.com  

In this colourful episode, Regina Botros is joined by the talented Alexander Berlage, the award-winning director and lighting designer, to dive into his dazzling new production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown at the Hayes Theatre. How do you take a cult Almodóvar classic and reimagine it for the stage? Alex shares the creative journey behind bringing this bold, emotional, and hilariously chaotic story to life. From navigating the musical's tone to crafting a visual world that captures the spirit of 1980s Madrid, this conversation is a must-listen.

Tom Gleisner joins Regina Botros to talk about his musical Bloom, playing at Sydney Theatre Company. He's an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer, director, writer, occasional actor and author. Gleisner currently hosts Network 10's Have You Been Paying Attention?.

Izabella joins Regina to talk about her play These Youths Be Protesting a finalist for the 2024 Martin Lysicrates playwriting award. Ferris Bueller's Day Off meets Don't Look Up, this new Australian play is a comedy about climate change, about the chaos of youth and how these intersect with the campaign trail of a federal election. The production will have its world premiere at Kings Cross Theatre (KXT) on Broadway, and will play from the 4th-19th of April.  Izabella is a performer, writer, producer, and environmental activist. Since returning to Australia, Izabella produced and performed in sold-out hit “Much Ado About Nothing” at Flow Studios; had her play “FISH DOOF” published by Currency Press; was selected for ATYP's writing mentorship program Fresh Ink; and has toured Australia performing children's theatre.   

Lucy Clements joins Regina Botros to talk about her latest show Iphigenia in Splott at Old Fitz Theatre and her position as the Artistic Director of the theatre space. Lucy is the Founder, Managing Director and CEO of New Ghosts Theatre Company Inc, and the Artistic Director of the Old Fitz Theatre. She specialises in the creation and presentation of new theatrical works and strives to champion playwrights & women in theatre. In 2019 she established the IGNITE Collective - a women-led, inclusive collective of theatre makers from across the nation, formed with the mission of putting new women-driven stories on Australian stages. In her time with NGTC and IGNITE, Lucy has been at the helm of seven world premiere and four Australian premiere productions, and has worked across Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Melbourne and New York. Her production of 'Albion' won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Independent Production 2022, for which she also won Best Direction of an Independent Production. Lucy begins her tenure at the Old Fitz Theatre in 2024.

Keegan Joyce joins Regina Botros to talk No Love Songs using songs from the real life Scottish musician Kyle Falconer from his band The View. You might have seen Keegan in Rake and Please Like Me. He was also the longest serving 'Oliver' in the history of the production "Oliver!" where Keegan from the age of 12, toured Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne for over a year. He's done heaps! NO LOVE SONGS is a powerful and uplifting modern love story that packs an emotional punch with beautifully written songs and honest storytelling that will star KEEGAN JOYCE (Rake, Please Like Me) and LUCY MAUNDER (Chicago, Mary Poppins).

Tom Wright joins Regina Botros to talk about his adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock at Sydney Theatre Company. Wright's adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock for the Sydney Theatre Company has received rave reviews. It's  an eerie, beautiful, and visionary take on Joan Lindsay's gothic tale. The production, directed by Ian Michael, features a talented cast and combines modern elements with the haunting mystery of the original story.   Tom Wright started as a member of Barrie Kosky's Gilgul Theatre in the early 1990s, then with Michael Kantor's Mene Mene in the late 1990s. He has worked as an actor and director at the Melbourne Theatre Company, STCSA, Sydney Theatre Company, Playbox, La Mama, Company B, Anthill, Gilgul, Mene Mene, Bell Shakespeare Company, Chunky Move, Black Swan Theatre, Chamber Made Opera and the Adelaide, Sydney, Edinburgh, Vienna, Perth and Melbourne Festivals. He was Artistic Associate at Sydney Theatre Company 2004–2008 and Associate Director of STC 2008–2012. He joined Belvoir as an Artistic Associate in 2016.  More about Tom here. 

Alana joins Regina Botros to talk about her new work for the stage Nucleus at the Seymour Centre as part of the Griffin season. Alana Valentine is a librettist, playwright and director. Photo (c) Brett Boardman Gabriel is a nuclear engineer. Cassie is an anti-nuclear campaigner. For nearly thirty years their lives have collided and entwined, with Cassie's cause dominating public opinion across the decades. But with political change rumbling underfoot, Cassie's life's work could yet be undone—and it's all led to this explosive night.

Shiv joins Regina Botros to talk about how he came to acting and his role in 4000 Miles for STC. Shiv Palekar was born in India, raised in Hong Kong and is now based in Sydney, Australia. Since graduating from NIDA, Shiv has appeared in Counting and Cracking (Belvoir); The Tempest, The Real Thing, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and Disgraced (Sydney Theatre Company); The Sound Inside (Melbourne Theatre Company); The Almighty Sometimes (Griffin Theatre Company); and has toured nationally twice in The Merchant of Venice and The Players (Bell Shakespeare).   Photo Credit:credit Derek Henderson

Director & Designer Patrick Kennedy joins Regina Botros to talk about THE FLEA at the New Theatre.   Hailed as "one of the country's most fascinating theatre practitioners" (British Theatre), Patrick Kennedy is an Offie Award nominated director and producer recognized as one of the leading European avant garde figures.  Originally trained as an acting teacher under the Globe Theatre's Jacqueline Bessel, Patrick began producing and creating experimental theatre in 2009 at Edinburgh Fringe Festival with Eugene Ionesco's 'The Lesson'. With over 15 years experience at the heart of arts and culture, Patrick joined Sydney Fringe in 2024. 

Brendan joins Regina Botros to talk about his latest work Hamlet Camp on at the Carriageworks till the 25th January. A laugh out loud look at acting and the roles that haunt you!  Brendan Cowell, Ewen Leslie, and Toby Schmitz – three stars of Australian stage and screen – come together for the first time for the world premiere of Hamlet Camp, a night of poetry, pith and play.  Photo credit: Daniel Boud

Priscilla Jackman joins Regina Botros to discuss The Cost of Living for Sydney Theatre Company. First broadcast 24th July, 2024. Sydney Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre's co-production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Tony-nominated Broadway smash-hit, Cost of Living. Priscilla Jackman (RBG: Of Many, One) and internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist Dan Daw (The Dan Daw Show) direct this Australian premiere production of one of the best pieces of new writing to emerge from the US in the last decade, written by former carer turned playwright, Martyna Majok. Co-director and performer Daw leads an exceptional cast including Philip Quast (STC's Do Not Go Gentle), Kate Hood (Malthouse Theatre's The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man), and Zoe de Plevitz (Netflix's Boy Swallows Universe) in a beautifully rendered four-hander about our need to care, or be cared for, no matter the distance that age, race and disability might place between us.    

  Backstage at the Enmore Theatre with Regina and Benito, the youngest 2024 Eurovision entrant at 17 years old, Sydney's Silia Kapsis.  The biggest live music show on earth is touring for the first time since the Eurovision Song Contest began in 1956, presented by Eurodrama Entertainment, SL.    Following concerts in London, Paris and Madrid, EUROVISION ON TOUR brings the Eurovision experience to the fans and will tour to three Australian cities: Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney on 13, 15 and 17 November 2024. 

Senhit talks to Regina and Benito backstage at the Enmore theatre. Known globally as the 'Freaky Queen', Italian-African pop star Senhit's single ‘Adrenalina' saw her collaborate with American rapper Flo Rida, who famously performed on stage with her at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. ‘Adrenalina' has had 18 million streams on Spotify, with a further 3 million Spotify streams of a remix by one of the world's biggest DJs Steve Aoki. Her new album 'Dangerous' has just been released ahead of the Eurovision world tour. 

Matt Day joins Regina Botros backstage to talk through the life and times of his character John Reed in Sunday on at Sydney Theatre Company until the 7th December. An Australian work by Anthony Weigh  - based on the life and times of Sunday and John Reed and the Heide Circle – the renowned group of friends, lovers, and rivals that ruled Australia's visual art scene in the 30s, 40s and 50s. It is also the story of the fiery love triangle between the irrepressible Sunday   

Backstage with Dean Bryant and Dear Evan Hansen at Sydney Theatre Company. Dean Bryant is an award-winning Melbourne-based director and writer who moves between plays, musicals, opera, cabaret and, most recently, screen. A Little Night Music received the 2024 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Musical and Best Director of a Musical, and Hubris received the award for Best New Australian Work. This follows his reception of the 2022 Sydney Theatre Award and 2023 Green Room Award for his direction of the Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company co-production of Fun Home. Presented and Produced by Regina Botros Red Velvet Productions

Kate joins Regina Botros to talk about the Liveworks festival highlights and spotlights. Kate Britton is the Aritsitc Producer of the Performance Space, a producer, curator and arts manager with more than 10 years experience in festivals, performance, visual art and public programs, with a focus on cross-disciplinary and queer practices.   

Di Smith & Katrina Foster join Regina Botros to talk about Seventeen on at the Seymour Centre.  Joyful and profound, Matthew Whittet's Seventeen tells the story of a group of high school students, experiencing something we all remember well, the last day of school – for ever. Through a fog of stolen alcohol, six teenagers gather in a playground late at night to share the moment in their lives when the past gives way to an uncertain future, and where secrets are spilled, and friendships are changed. But in a revelatory theatrical twist, all roles are performed by older actors who were seventeen many years ago, bringing the experience of age to the dreams of hopeful youths.

Jack Symonds joins Regina Botros to talk about the production Gilgamesh at the Carriageworks.   Jack Symonds is a composer, conductor and pianist, and Artistic Director of Sydney Chamber Opera. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music, London under Kenneth Hesketh and at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where he received the University Medal. His stage works represent “a striking and impressive new operatic voice” (Sydney Morning Herald) and he is “one of those performers who seemingly can play anything” (Australian Book Review).

Merlynn Tong joins Regina to talk about Golden Blood. Writer and performer in golden blood - first staged at griffin in 2022 Back to stc from 17th sept at wharf 1 Theatre for STC   Originally from Singapore Merlynn is known for her screen roles in Jane Campion's Top of the Lake and ABC's In Our Blood. Her previous works for the stage, in which she also starred, include her one-woman shows, Ma Ma Ma Mad, the true story of her mother's suicide, and Blue Bones, a semi—----autobiography of teenage romance.   Golden Blood is also inspired by events in Merlynn's own life, and will see her star alongside the brilliant Charles Wu as recently orphaned siblings finding their way into adulthood amongst the steamy, tropical backstreets of Singapore's criminal underworld.   Much of Golden Blood is performed in Singlish - and Merlynn can speak to how she uses language on stage to transport the audience into a different place and time - she touches on that briefly in this video.   The show premiered at Griffin Theatre Company in 2022, opens at STC on 17 September, and will also be performed at Melbourne Theatre Company later this year

The gorgeous Lucinda Gleeson joins Regina to talk about the show The Arrogance on at KXT Broadway. Lucinda Gleeson is an actor, director, producer, sometimes lighting designer and most recently the newly appointed Artistic Director of Playback Theatre Sydney. As a director, Lucinda cut her teeth at Tamarama Rock Surfers (TRS), the theatre company that started The Old Fitzroy Theatre.  Here she directed the trilogy of Benito di Fonzo plays, the first of which was 'The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman, AKA Bob Dylan, (A Lie) A Theatrical Talking Blues and Glissendorf.' This started as a Late Session at The Old Fitz, then the main stage the following season, before touring with Critical Stages throughout NSW. The second production was 'Lenny Bruce: 13 Daze Undug In Sydney 1962' at The Bondi Pavilion produced by TRS and then the third collaboration was, 'A Riff on Keef: The Human Myth' for Griffin Independent Other directing credits include: 'Crushed' by Melita Rowston at The New Theatre Independent for Chester Productions. 'Golden Delicious' by Mary Rachel Brown for Bondi Feast Lucinda is a graduate of the Ensemble Studios. She is a proud member of MEAA.

JULES BILLINGTON joins me to talk about The Past is a Wild Party - by Noelle Janaczewska - a SIREN THEATRE Prod. Directed by Kate Gaul. TRASH AND HIGH ART - CENSORSHIP > GAPS AND SILENCES.  GIRL ON GIRL SEX.    

Dalisa joins Regina to talk about Cut the Sky, Marrugeku's latest show. She is an award winning practitioner, co-artistic director of Marrugeku and one of the people behind the concept, as well as a co-divisor, performer and choreographer on this work. Marrugeku is a leading Indigenous intercultural dance theatre company. And this work CUT THE SKY is set in the north of Western Australia, the story follows climate refugees, traditional owners, miners, and more as they navigate a near-future world. A stunning production on at the Carriageworks.   Don't miss it!  

Lizzie joins Regina Botros to talk about Shakespeare and in particular King Lear a Bell Shakespeare production. She plays Goneril and has been performing and directing the bard's work since graduating from WAAPA. Lizzie Schebesta has worked extensively in Film, Television and Theatre as an actor, director, choreographer.   

Writer and Director Ben Chapple and Director Austin Hayden join Regina to talk abou this new Australian work, on at the Old Fitz Theatre. A dead body has been found in the penthouse of SINGER, an aging pop star in the vein of David Bowie. SINGER's management team hustle to clean up the mess, but the tragedy has convinced SINGER that he must make drastic changes – to reclaim his lost artistic voice. SINGER must confront the trade-offs made in pursuit of celebrity and purpose. His past haunts him, while his future becomes increasingly uncertain.

Joseph Twist joins Regina Botros to talk about  Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan for Opera Australia. Joseph is a composer and musician and straddles film music and concert music arenas, crosses genres from ancient vocal music, opera, contemporary orchestral music, jazz, music theatre and cabaret.  He has a long list of awards working with Moby, on Bluey, in Hollywood as well as his own music. It's such a treat to talk with him about his music and his art.  

Actor Emma Diaz joins Regina to talk about her role in Never Closer on at Belvoir Theatre. Emma Diaz is an actor and producer based in Sydney. A graduate of WAAPA Acting, her theatre credits include Blessed Union (Belvoir), The Great Divide (Ensemble), On The Beach (Sydney Theatre Company), The Crucible (Sport for Jove), Hamlet (Bell Shakespeare), and so many more She is in Belvoir's production of NEVER CLoser set during the conflict in Northern Ireland in the late 80's - a return after its first rendition in 2022.

Emma joins Regina Botros to talk about the Australian premier of SHOOK. Emma is a director, creative producer, and performer from London, UK, grateful to be living and creating work on unceded Bidjigal land. She is the founder and artistic director of experimental company Lost Thought. Shook is playing at the Substation at Qtopia in Darlinghurst. Locked up in a dangerous youth offenders' institution, teenagers Riyad and Cain trade insults, barter for sweets, and dream of their imminent fatherhood. When they meet conspicuously quiet new inmate Jonjo at a parenting skills course, they speculate what kind of crime brought him inside.    

Thomas ES Kelly joins Regina Botros to dig into his work SILENCE  playing at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Unwrapped season, dedicated to uncovering extraordinary creatives.   SILENCE pulls the Treaty conversation out from under the rug and slams it back on the table. Funny, irreverent and reverberating with power, this is contemporary dance as you haven't seen it before. This is one not to miss! Thomas E.S. Kelly is a proud Minjungbal-Yugambeh, Wiradjuri and Ni-Vanuatu man. He studied at NAISDA Dance College and graduated in 2012. Thomas is an artist that works with multiple art forms which include choreography, dance, theatre, music composition, puppetry and teaching.

Sarah joins Regina to talk about how she has paved her way in as a director and the things that interest her. As well as her latert production No Pay? No Way! on at Sydney Theatre Company.      Sarah Giles is an award-winning opera and theatre director. Described by Limelight Magazine as one of Australia's most thoughtful theatre-makers, she has a passion for comedy and opera and has directed over 25 productions for companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, State Theatre of South Australia, Malthouse Theatre, Griffin Theatre, The Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Chamber Opera, Opera Queensland, State Opera of South Australia and West Australian Opera.  Sarah is a freelance artist, who works as a director, dramaturg and adaptor. She works across Australia and is based in Naarm / Melbourne where she lives with her family. Sarah received Helpmann Award and Green Room Award nominations for Best Direction of an Opera for her world premiere Victorian Opera production of Lorelei which won Best New Australian work and Best Design at the Green Room Awards where it was nominated in five categories.

Manuel Stark Santos from West Side Story joins Regina Backstage to talk about growing up dancing in the US to making it big on Broadway in New York to landing in Sydney to dance on the Handa Opera Stage.  What a treat! Opera Australia's production opens on the 22nd March, 2024.    

Van Badham joins Regina Backstage to talk about A Fool In Love for Sydney Theatre Company. Badham said, “The greatest Australian virtue is our readiness to laugh at ourselves. What an honour it is to let loose the local sense of humour on a classic farce like Lope de Vega's La dama boba, in which an aspirational scheme to marry off an heiress comes so spectacularly undone. Van Badham is a writer, critic, trade unionist, feminist, activist and occasional broadcaster, an internationally award-winning theatremaker and one of Australia's most controversial social commentators.

Anita Heiss joins Regina to talk about her adaptation of the play TIDDAS - on at Belvoir theatre. Tiddas- Five women, best friends for decades, meet once a month to talk about books, lovers, and the jagged bits of life in between. Dissecting each other's lives seems the most natural thing in the world and honesty, no matter how brutal, is something they treasure. Best friends tell each other everything, don't they? Dr Anita Heiss AM is a proud member of the Wiradyuri nation of central New South Wales and one of Australia's most prolific and well-known authors publishing across genres including non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial fiction and children's fiction

Leigh Sachwitz is the founder and leading creative director of  flora&faunavisions. She is an award winning creator and visionary, and the mastermind behind the content that will be displayed across 23 LED screens for Opera Australia's The Ring Cycle. Her work spans across immersive experiences, exhibitions, music stages, theatre and opera performances, fashion shows and art installations. Leigh has characterised a unique style through design in space and time.  

Thomas De Angelis is a playwright, theatre maker and researcher.  He joins Regina Botros to talk about the operatic odyssey of a lifetime; the site-specific pastiche opera TRACK WORKS will take centre stage at Sydney's iconic Mortuary Station in all its historical splendour (November 21 – December 19).    

Tom Conroy joins Regina Botros to dive into The Master and the Margarita on at Belvoir Theatre. Tom's credits for Belvoir include Tell Me I'm Here, My Brilliant Career, Ghosts, Jasper Jones, Mortido, Mother Courage and Her Children, and Small and Tired. Find out more here.

Jane joins Regina to talk Malvolia (yes a twist on the role) in Twelfth Night for Bell Shakespeare. Jane Montgomery Griffiths is an actor, writer and academic. Currently Director of Monash University's Centre for Theatre and Performance, Jane is an expert on Greek drama and theories of performance, and has taught at Cambridge, Leeds, Melbourne, and La Trobe universities. Twelfth Night opens at Sydney Opera House 26th October 2023 until 19 November.  

Thomas Campbell joins Regina Botros to talk through the inspiration for Betty Is a Butcher for Sydney Fringe. Five characters, five reasons to live, an odyssey towards death.  A collage of memory, these characters jostle for existence in a theatrical phantasmagoria A Siren Theatre Production, directed by Kate Jane Gaul.  

Chris Mitchell joins Regina Botros to see the spectacle of this Sydney Fringe show at the Speigeltent. The Marvellous Elephant man the Musical. The story of the “Elephant Man” has been told in many books and in the famous David Lynch film starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins. The co-director of this production Chris Mitchell takes us into this new musical production, the inspiration and the exploration.   Chris Mitchell is a Melbourne-based entrepreneur, major art grant recipient, graduate of 16th Street Actors Studio and founding partner of the brand-new Northcote Theatre. He is also an accomplished filmmaker, with award-winning short films and featurettes screened at international festivals including Fantastic Fest, Snow Dance, Melbourne Underground Film Festival, Tokyo International Short Film Festival and many more. The venue he founded and creatively directed - Red Bennies - won multiple Melbourne Fringe awards, including best venue, and served as an Australian hub for global artists.

Kerri Glasscock Sydney Fringe Festival Director joins Regina to talk about what's hot this Sydney Fringe Festival. So much to see - catch the hot tips - here!   A month of delicious, unfiltered, utterly unbelievable performance performances, where literally anything could happen.  Spread across every inch of the city, from Parramatta to Hurstville, the Western Harbour, the CBD, and the Inner-East festival gardens. No matter where you find yourself at The Fringe, we guarantee an unforgettable experience that will stay with you long after the festival ends. Get a variety of performance of every genre that defy convention and challenge your expectations.   Where else can you see HUNDREDS of world premieres made in your backyard? Or if you are a visitor popping by our beautiful city, what better way to get to know the true Sydney?   Leave your expectations at home this September as together we paint the town PINK and create the vibrant, experimental, expressive, playful, and diverse Sydney we dream of all year round.     Fun FUN Fun!  

Margaret joins Regina to explore this award winning play based on true events.   Margaret Thanos is an award-winning Cypriot-Australian director and actor for theatre and film, based in London.  THE PLAY:- London, 2006. A brazen political assassination is carried out in broad daylight. Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy, drinks green tea laced with radioactive poison. Subsequent investigations uncover a conspiracy generated from the very heart of the Russian government, and a murder probably approved by President Vladimir Putin. In this award-winning play, based on the facts as laid out by the investigative journalist Luke Harding in his book of the same name, acclaimed writer Lucy Prebble tells a complex story of espionage and mystery. Playing at the NEW THEATRE till 16th September.    

Debra Oswald joins Regina to talk about tow shows playing at the Ensemble Theatre, plus how she came to writing from a young age. Debra Oswald is screenwriter, playwright and fiction author. She was the co-creator and head writer for series 1-5 of the award-winning Channel Ten series Offspring. Debra won the 2011 NSW Premier's Literary Award for the Offspring telemovie script and won the 2014 AACTA for Best Television Screenplay for an episode in series 4.  Her other television credits include award-winning episodes of Police Rescue, Palace of Dreams, The Secret Life of Us, Sweet and Sour and Bananas in Pyjamas. Debra's stage plays have been produced around Australia. Gary's House, Sweet Road and The Peach Season were all shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Award, and her play Dags has had many Australian productions. Gary's House has been performed in translation in Denmark and Japan. Mr Bailey's Minder broke the Griffin Theatre's box office record in 2004, toured nationally in 2006, and was produced in Philadelphia in 2008 and is back with the gorgeous John Gaden, as well as Rachel Gordon and Albert Mwangi and Claudia Ware… She's also bringing back Is there something wrong with that Lady—sold out in APRIL….at griffin and it is playing at ensemble from 18th September. Her  plays are published by Currency Press.   

Gareth joins Regina to talk about his life from wanting to be a philosopher to the stage and his current production performing in Benefactors at Ensemble Theatre. Gareth Davies is an actor and playwright based in Sydney. He has written and performed for the Black Lung Theatre (of which he's a member), Belvoir St Theatre, the Malthouse and many more. Gareth's theatre credits include The Cherry Orchard (Melbourne Theatre Company); The Government Inspector (Malthouse Theatre/Belvoir); The Rover, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Peter Pan, As You Like It, And They Called Him Mr Glamour (which he also wrote) and The Seagull (Belvoir); As You Like It (Bell Shakespeare); and The Literati (Griffin/Bell Shakespeare). He has also performed at Belvoir for B Sharp in The Only Child, The Suicide and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He co-wrote and performed in Masterclass and Masterclass 2 – Flames of the Forge (Redline Productions at the Old Fitz), and is a member of Melbourne's Black Lung Theatre, collaborating on Avast and Avast II – The Welshman Cometh (Black Lung Theatre/Malthouse Theatre), Rubeville, Sugar, Pimms, I Feel Awful (Black Lung Theatre/Queensland Theatre Company), and Doku Rai (Black Lung Theatre/Darwin Festival), a show devised and performed in collaboration with artists from East Timor. His film and TV credits include The Daughter (Screen NSW/Fate Films), The Letdown (Giant Dwarf/ABC), Hunters (Universal Cable/Valhalla) and the upcoming Peter Rabbit (Animal Logic).

Erica joins Regina to talk about her play The Hero Leaves One Tooth described as a ferocious new satire set in a world where women have developed vagina dentata as a means of protection against sexual assault.    Erica is a director, writer, & producer of live performance. She believes that making art is a compulsion. She is passionate about holding space for artists to develop their practice and find sustainable ways to make work in an ever-changing environment. She is a champion of experimental and collaborative processes and for innovative storytelling having directed live works in and around Sydney for the past 10 years. In 2018 she began working as the SQUEAKING TRIBE and WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL as Creative Director on their multi-year site-specific large scale puppet show EYELAND (2018/19) and EYELAND II (2019/20.) Erica is a founding member and lead devising artists for NINEFOLD –a physical theatre ensemble. As a creative producer, she has collaborated with artistic Director Shy Magsalin with to build an company that centres actor development and process led performance making. She has also and has performed with the company since it was established in 2012. She has written dozens of short, and one act plays for young people and had numerous full-length works produced for the Old 505 Theatre. She has also had work developed by Elbow Room Theatre and in June 2020, she was awarded an ABC Fresh Start Grant to develop a new animated series entitled PREGNANT DETECTIVE.

Bass Fam talks with Regina about his show Oracle and his life as a theatre maker. Originally from a fine arts background, Bass is a passionate story teller at heart, a dreamer and an all-round creative with a colourful career spanning over a decade, with his work showcased around the world. With sell-out Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide seasons, ORACLE returns to Sydney following its first Sydney season in August 2022 at Sydney Opera House, and will bring more intoxicating magic to Roslyn Packer Theatre. It is a fusion of circus, burlesque, dance & contemporary storytelling, one for the gods!  Word class circus acts, mesmerizing aerials, steamy burlesque numbers, interlaced with ballet, contemporary and commercial dance. With a diverse and talented cast of 18 performers, including Jazmin Varlet former contestant in The Voice and The X Factor who narrates the Oracle with her epic voice.

  James joins Regina to talk about Bell Shakespeare's lates production Romeo & Juliet in the new space and his role as Juliet's father. James Evans is Associate Director at Bell Shakespeare. He is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art and holds a Master of Arts from the University of Sydney. He has directed a production of Much Ado About Nothing, the Julius Caesar national tour, previously directing productions of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He has performed on many stages around town and is Capulet in Romeo and Juliet at Bell Shakespeare's new home Pier 2/3.   Photo: Rose Riley, James Evans and Monica Sayers in BellShakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Photo Brett Boardman

Anchuli joins Regina Botros backstage to talk about her motivation for bringing this story to the stage and how her career has developed as a playwright, screenwriter and multidisciplinary artist of Thai-Australian descent. As a playwright, King is interested in linguistic hybrids, digital cultures and globalization. The Royal Court Theatre's mainstage production of King's play White Pearl marked her professional debut in May 2019, directed by Nana Dakin. White Pearl was subsequently produced by Sydney Theatre Company / National Theatre of Parramatta in Sydney in 2019 and the Studio Theatre in Washington, DC in the United States. Her play Golden Shield was commissioned through Melbourne Theatre Company's Next Stage program and made its Off-Broadway debut at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2022. King has worked as a screenwriter on HBO's "The Baby," a dark horror comedy produced by Sister Pictures, and HBO's "The Sympathizer," the TV adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer winning novel. She also has writing credits on Australian shows including "The Twelve," "Deadloch," and "Class of 07."  Awards, Commissions & Residencies:  Sydney Theatre Company Patrick White Fellowship, 2020; Mona Brand Emerging Writer Award, 2020; Royal Court Theatre Commission, 2019; Manhattan Theatre Club Commission. 2019; Melbourne Theatre Company Next Stage Commission, 2019; Ars Nova Play Group 2018/19; Ensemble Studio Theatre Youngblood Member 2017-2024 ; Roundabout Theater, Space Jam Program (ongoing); Space on Ryder Farm Finalist, 2018 ; Playwriting Australia National Play Initiative Winner, 2017 ; Yellow Earth “Typhoon” Reading Series, 2017 “Liberation” Video Commission, B.W. Powe Poetry Project, 2017 ; Roundabout Columbia Initiative Winner, 2017 ; Bridge Initiative Playwriting Award Finalist, 2016 ; Red Bull Theatre Short Play Finalist, 2016.

Two of the cast from Scenes From a Climate Era (Belvoir) join Regina Botros to talk about the state of our world and bringing the issues of today to the stage in this theatrical telling. Harriet Gordon-Anderson (Bell Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ensemble Theatre's Boxing Day BBQ) Abbie-Lee Lewis (Belvoir's Wayside Bride, Counting and Cracking) This aired on Wednesday 31st May, 2023 on 2SER - the opening night of the production. A collective of more than 50 scenes written by the acclaimed climate playwright David Finnigan, Scenes from the Climate Era is an immersive and thought-provoking production.  Set against the backdrop of a changing climate, the cast will capture the exhilaration, frustration, and fascination of living in interesting times.     

Eloise joins Regina Botros to share with us the birth of this new production. Eloise is an award-winning writer, actor, producer and voice artist. She completed a Bachelor of Media in Writing at Macquarie University and received a scholarship to study in London. She has worked extensively as an actor in theatre and she works consistently on screen, most recently in Colin from Accounts. She has worked with her own independent theatre company, MopHead Productions, as well as Ensemble Theatre and Griffin Theatre Company. She is currently a Creative Producer with Critical Stages. This production PONY on at griffin at the moment is her debut and was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Drama Award 2022/23, the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award 2021, the Patrick White Playwright's Award 2022 and the Griffin Award 2022.

Vashti goes backstage with Regina Botros to talk about her life as a writer and performer. Vashti Hughes is a writer / actor and originally trained at UWS Nepean, graduating with a BA in Performance. Vashti has written and self produced works that are based in Sydney's local history. Currently Vashti is performing in Kate's final home, a site specific piece “Dinner with Kate Leigh the Gangster Queen” at 212 Devonshire St, Surry Hills, now the Jazzy Café Bar . “Dinner with Kate Leigh the Gangster Queen” is a spin off of work that she wrote and performed ten years ago - “Mum's In : Stories from Razorhurst”. Mum's In was a dark cabaret about five of Sydney's most notorious underworld characters in the 1920's –Kate Leigh, Tilly Devine, Nellie Cameron, Frank Green and Guido Calleti, with Vashti playing all of them. This played at the Bordello Theatre, Kings Cross Hotel every Sunday for a year in 2011-12. Mum's In : Stories from Razorhurst : https://youtu.be/lSjn9BbBbOU Vashti also wrote “Piccolo Tales' which played for 6 months at the Piccolo Bar, where she played the part of Vittorio the 80 year old owner of this famous Sydney café. It was a rollercoaster ride through 50 years of the Kings Cross as told by Vittorio, played by Vashti. 80 year old Vittorio also ended up being in the show. It made it into the 2015 Sydney Morning Herald's “10 Best Sydney Shows”, and was nominated for the 2016 GLUGS. Vashti wrote and performed “Dictionary by a Bitch” about the infamous Bea Miles, Sydney eccentric and bohemian rebel, famous for reciting Shakespeare in the streets for money. This was performed at the State Library of NSW. Vashti has created a lot of cabaret characters and shows, one being the all women comedy cabaret group “Six Quick Chicks”, which has been performed in various Sydney venues   Photo cr: Roz Sharpe