Podcast appearances and mentions of jonathan biggins

In her memoir Oh Miriam!, the British-Australian actress, writer and comedian Miriam Margolyes shares hugely entertaining stories from her life with her trademark wit and disarming candour. This year she brought those stories — and more — to the stage, touring her show Oh Miriam! right across Australia.Former prime minister Paul Keating was one of the great parliamentary performers. His ruthless wit and self-confidence take centre stage in Jonathan Biggins' hugely popular tribute to Keating, The Gospel According to Paul. It's a role that Jonathan — an actor, singer, writer, director and co-creator of The Wharf Revue — has been performing, on and off, for five years.

Former prime minister Paul Keating was one of the great parliamentary performers. His ruthless wit and self-confidence takes centre stage in Jonathan Biggins' hugely popular tribute to Keating, The Gospel According to Paul. The upcoming season at the Sydney Opera House may be Jonathan's final outing as the boy from Bankstown.Also, with her new show Gurr Era Op coming to RISING, Torres Strait Islander dancer, actor and theatre maker Ghenoa Gela shares the artworks that take pride of place on her Top Shelf, and we meet Melissa Toogood, a former member of Merce Cunningham's company, now teaching his methods to dance students at the Victorian College of the Arts.

Jonathan Biggins will appear in The Gospel According to Paul at the Sydney Opera House, from 4 June to 23 June. He joins John to discuss the intricacies of playing the role, and the unique insights the show has provided. The show highlights the landmark achievements of Keating's prime ministership, from his revolutionary economic reform to confronting our colonial past. Tickets are available here Listen to John Stanley live, Monday to Thursday from 8pm-12am on 2GB/4BCSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robyn Arthur is one of Australia's leading theatre performers who soon celebrates 50 years working in the Industry. Robyn toured with Jonathan Church's Singin' in the Rain and Jonathan Biggins' Australia Day for Hit Productions and Mother & Son with Noeline Brown for McLaren House. In 2013, she toured Australia in Elizabeth Coleman's play It's My Party (And I'll Die If I Want To!) with Henri Szeps for Hit Productions and appeared in the Production Company's Singin' in the Rain directed by Gary Young at the State Theatre. In 2011, she starred again alongside Todd McKenney in the hit revival of The Boy From Oz having also appeared in the original cast. Robyn played Mrs Potts in the Aria Award winning Australian premiere season of Beauty and the Beast with Hugh Jackman and will be long remembered for her performance as Madame Thenardier (Victorian Green Room Award) in the original cast of Les Miserables directed in Australia by Trevor Nunn. Robyn clocked up almost 1,300 performances in the role. In 2007, she was nominated for a Helpmann Award for her performance in the Australian premiere of Sideshow Alley (Keelan/Young) for QPAC. Robyn's other theatre highlights include Stuart Maunder's production of My Fair Lady (Opera Australia); Minefield's and Miniskirts by Terence O'Connell (Malthouse), Gale Edwards' production of Sweeney Todd (Opera Queensland); Stephen Sondheim's Company directed by the late Richard Wherrett and Michael Gow's classic Away for the Sydney Theatre Company. Television credits include The Newsreader, Rosehaven, Five Bedrooms, Sisters, Woodley, Twentysomething, Laid 2, The Librarians, City Homicide, Very Small Business, Kath and Kim, Blue Heelers, MDA, Neighbours, and the US production, Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Robyn also appeared in Charlotte's Web with Dakota Fanning for Paramount Pictures and the Tropfest short film Hoarder Control directed by Nichola Colla. Robyn's been a proud member of Actors Equity since 1975 and serves on the Victorian Actors Benevolent Trust (VABT).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

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 and satire takes centre stage, in a season at Sydney's Seymour Centre. This year's offering, The Wharf Revue: Pride in Prejudice, has been written by the team we adore - Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phil Scott (incidentally, who all have been featured on the podcast and can be found in the STAGES archive!).The cast consists of Mr Biggins, Mr Forsythe, Mandy Bishop, David Whitney and Andrew Worboys. Bookings at seymourcentre.com. From November 8th.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

An acclaimed actor, director and writer, Jonathan Biggins has entertained audiences for decades with his wit, cheekiness, and a very healthy dose of irreverence. He's played Peter Sellers, appeared in The Mikado, and directed Australian productions of Avenue Q and Noises Off. But his most well-known work is in political satire, as one of the brains behind, and a performer in, The Wharf Revue, which has been going strong since 2000. The Wharf Review is back, playing at the Seymour Centre until the 23rd of December, for their new show Looking for Albanese. Jonathan joins Simon Moore to share some stories of the world of satirical comedy from his long career, what's changed and what hasn't, the perils of impersonating someone who happens to be sitting in the audience in front of you, and presents a diverse selection of music that he's encountered in his travels.

Mandy Bishop is a graduate of the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Known and revered for her deft impersonation of Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard; Mandy is also an actor, comedian, musician and writer of considerable accomplishment. Commencing her career with the celebrated A cappella group Bite My Chilli, Mandy toured Australia performing concert and corporate entertainment, while also developing skills in producing and arts management. Her theatre credits are extensive and include a variety of of repertoire; The Pillowman, Boston Marriage, Fallen Angels, Vicious Streaks, Angry Penguins and Withering Heights. On television she has been seen in Heartbreak High, Blue Heelers, All Saints, Big Sky, My Place, Rake and Drop Dead Weird. Most recently she appeared in Anyone Can Whistle for Neglected Musicals. Mandy has collaborated with producer Michael Bourchier on two children's television series; The Upside Down Show, on which she played the role of Mrs. Foil in every episode, and Penelope K, by the Way, on which she played the title role. In 2011 Mandy co-wrote and created the four-part sitcom, At Home With Julia, in which she portrayed the sitting PM. She has acted in Sydney's legendary Wharf Revue since 2008, inhabiting a vast array of political and pop-culture characters. Each demonstrating a penetrating examination and superlative execution. Mandy joins the Wharf Revue team of Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phil Scott once again as Soft Tread Enterprises presents Looking for Albanese. This much anticipated event on our calendars commences its Sydney season at The Seymour Centre from November 12th and through December. “The world is grim - what better time to have a laugh?” Mandy examines the craft of humour, her artistic relationship with ‘Julia' and the joy of satire and revue in this sparkling episode of the STAGES podcast. 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. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages). www.stagespodcast.com.au

The Art of Costume Design is a key element in the evolution of a production. The work of the Designer helps to establish the ‘world of the play', the definition and resonance of character, and a ‘skin' in which the performer can execute their best work.Australian Costume Designers, Jennifer Irwin and Julie Lynch have decades of experience helming the aesthetic of attire in a vast repertoire of entertainments across many genres and disciplines.Jennifer Irwin's commissions include over 90 ballets as well as some of the largest scale spectacular productions ever staged in Australia; including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and Francesca Zambello's ‘West Side Story' staged on Sydney Harbour.Jennifer designed the costumes for the International Box office sensation ‘Dirty Dancing' the musical, breaking all pre box office pre sales of any show ever staged in the history of London's West End.Her costume design for the feature film ‘SPEAR' was nominated for an AACTA award in 2017. She was recognized for her contribution to Dance at the Australian Dance Awards ‘Service to Dance' in 2015. Jennifer has designed for Bangarra Dance Theatre since the company's inception.Jennifer's work can currently be seen on the stages of the Sydney Opera House in 3 seperate productions with Bangarra and Opera Australia.Julie Lynch enjoys a successful costume design career spanning 35 years, working with many of Australia's leading directors, including: Neil Armfield, John Bell, Jonathan Biggins, Richard Cottrell, Gale Edwards, Lee Lewis, Elke Neidhardt and Richard Wherrett.She has designed for Australia's leading theatre companies, including: The Sydney Theatre Company, Opera Australia, Belvoir St, Bell Shakespeare, Victoria State Opera, The State Theatre Company of South Australia and Opera South Australia.After a year of teaching young students online during the first wave of COVID-19, Lynch decided to leave her leadership position as Director for Design Practices at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) to pursue her passion for Visual Art and has loved every minute.A great discussion ensued at STAGES ‘Live' dissecting the process of the designer and exploring the immense possibilities presented with Costume Design.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Whooshkaa, Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

Kenneth Moraleda is an actor/director/writer/producer of Filipino descent. He started training at Australian Theatre for Young People before being accepted into the National Institute of Dramatic Art graduating with a Bachelor of Acting in 1995.As a performer his recent theatre credits include An Enemy of The People with Belvoir Street, and Kasama Kita for 25a, the Global Creatures national tour of Muriel's Wedding The Musical, Talk at the Sydney Theatre Company and Australian Graffiti– a debut play from Disapol Savetsila playing Boi.Other theatre credits include playing Banzai in Disney's The Lion King Musical under the direction of Julie Taymor, the National Theatre Of Great Britain and Global Creatures' production of War Horse, playing Kulygin in Sport for Jove's critically acclaimed Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, creating the role of Roger Chan in Nick Enright's A Man With Five Children, Hilary Bell's The White Divers of Broome, David Williamson's Cruise Control, the satirical comedy Australia Day by Jonathan Biggins and Yellow Moon-The Ballad of Leila and Lee directed by Susanna Dowling. His Philippine stage debut was with Repertory Philippines in the Pulitzer Prize Winning Play August: Osage County.His directing debut was an immersive theatrical and cinematic music show They Say She's Different written and starring Cecilia Low. After a showing at Ding Dong Lounge in Melbourne, it was picked up by the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and was a highlight of the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015 for a season at Gasworks receiving rave reviews.He was a leading artist in This Here Land. – an experimental performance part of Liveworks Experimental Arts Festival in October 2017 for Performance Space. He has several writing projects in development including One Hour No Oil co-written with Jordan Shea.Numerous television credits include Schapelle, East West 101, Maximum Choppage, Bondi Banquet, City Life, Water Rats, Wildside, White Collar Blue, City Homicide, Janet King and Bureau of Magical Things.Notable film roles include The Great Raid, Locusts and Arun in the iconic Australia comedy Lucky Miles which has won him the Best Actor Award at the Cinemanila International Film Festival. He was also in Dead Europe and lead the short films, Perfection by Jane Eakin and The Fence by Lucy Gaffy, Banana Boy by Steven Woodburn and Legacy by Josh Mawer.In December 2020, Kenneth co-founded the theatre company KWENTO alongside Jordan Shea and Jana Vass. The company seeks to create new Australian works, that challenge the norms of Australian society.In April they will premiere a new work titled ATE LOVIA by Jordan Shea which will be directed by Kenneth Moreleda.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Whooshkaa, Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

Chaired by Tom Wright. John Bell and Jonathan Biggins have spent their lives on the stage. John is our foremost interpreter of Shakespeare. He documents lessons from Shakespeare's plays in Some Achieve Greatness: Lessons on Leadership and Character from Shakespeare and One of His Greatest Admirers. Jonathan is best known as a leading political satirist and was recently acclaimed for his embodiment of our 24th Prime Minister in his one man show, The Gospel According to Paul, recently adapted into a book. They discuss their lives in the theatre, the essence of leadership and the power of imagination.

Katrina Retallick is one of Australia's foremost leading ladies with an ever-growing list of theatre, film and television credits to her name. She grew up in Wagga Wagga and trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama in London.Her phenomenal credits include Big Fish, Titanic and New Rocky Horror Show. She was also in Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf Revue, alongside comedy legends Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott.Other performances include Ruthless! The Musical, with Katrina winning rave reviews for her lead role in the hilarious showbiz satire. Prior to that, Katrina's dramatic talents were on vivid display in her role as ‘Trina' in the musical Falsettos and her riotous turn as brash Oklahoma heiress ‘Jolene Oaks' in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels earned her a Sydney Theatre Award.As the high voltage ‘Alice Beineke' in the New Theatricals' production of The Addams Family under renowned director Jerry Zaks, Katrina received outstanding critical acclaim and a Helpmann Award Nomination for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.Earlier roles include A Little Night Music as ‘Charlotte Malcolm', Wind in the Willows, Jekyll & Hyde, Las Vegas The Musical as ‘Francesca Carlucci', Company as ‘Sarah' and South Pacific as ‘Nellie Forebush'.Katrina Retallick wrote and performed in her one-woman show called Impossible Blonde, which featured songs and stories of iconic blonde performers such as Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Julie Andrews and Doris Day among many others.In film, Katrina appeared in the magic realism feature Accidents Happen with the legendary Geena Davis. She also performed in an operatic feature film co-produced by Channel 4 UK and ABC Australia called The Eternity Man.She is currently gracing stages as ‘Diane' in the brilliant Come From Away - a show that proves the perfect tonic with its joyous celebration of humanity, community, and kindness. Welcome to STAGES … Katrina Retallick.The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Drew Forsythe first appeared on stage in Sydney over 40 years ago. He grew up in far north Queensland and his prolific career on film, stage, and television has seen him become one of our favourite actors; equally adept in dramatic, comic and musical roles.A graduate of NIDA, he spent several years performing with the Old Tote Theatre company and the exciting new Nimrod theatre company, in a variety of roles that included The Seagull, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard 3, Twelfth Night, The Club, Comedy of Errors, Gone with Hardy, Romeo & Juliet, Henry 4, The Life of Galileo, The Three Sisters, The Bacchoi, Are you now or have you ever been? and Servant of Two Masters.Among his legendary performances, the title roles of the heroic Tonino and the foolish Zanetto in the Nick Enright/Terence Clarke musical, The Venetian Twins, are always recalled in awe. The show was written for Forsythe. He originated these dual roles for Nimrod Theatre Company in the first Sydney Theatre Company season in 1979, and subsequently in two revivals.Other stage musical appearances include Big River, Strictly Ballroom, The Republic of Myopia, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado. Drama credits include Mrs. Warren's Profession and Under Milkwood for the Sydney Theatre Company.He can lay claim to the unique position of being in the company of productions as they have opened new theatre venues. These include the Drama Theatre at the Sydney Opera House, Nimrod, Belvoir, and the Sydney Theatre (the Roz Packer).For the film Caddie, Forsythe received the 1976 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. His television appearances include The Miraculous Mellops, The Dingo Principle, and Three Men and a Baby Grand, satirical sketch television comedy programs for which he was a writer/performer with Phillip Scott and Jonathan Biggins. The 'Three Men' team started in revue at the Tilbury Hotel, and much of the thematic material from these revues has been revisited and developed in the Sydney Theatre Company's 'Wharf Revue' series.He is presently performing in the Sydney season of the Wharf Revue, now playing at The Seymour Centre. The show is the perfect tonic to the tumultuous year in politics, and delivers the laugh we all need. Drew is erudite, engaging and possessed of a brilliant career in Australian theatre. At long last we can add Drew Forsythe to the absorbing alumni on STAGES.The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Whooshkaa. Also where you find your favourite podcasts. www.stagespodcast.com.au

Jonathan Biggins is a legendary Australian satirist, actor and writer, who is currently performing his one-man show The Gospel According To Paul - a theatrical biography of the reforming Labor Treasurer and Prime Minister, Paul Keating.  I asked Jonathan about his thoughts on Keating's complicated legacy - the good and the bad - and how his (often arrogant, but politically effective) leadership contrasts with the shit we have today. We discuss "economic rationalism", the waging of culture wars and identity politics and Jonathan's grave concern about the effect that social media technology is having on our society..  If you’ve got the means please support this show by becoming a Patron Join the LIASYO Facebook group here please and thank you I'm taping a comedy special across two shows at Chapel Off Chapel in early June, feat. my best jokes of the past three years You can see my show WE ARE ALL IN THIS at the Newcastle Comedy Festival in May  WE ARE ALL IN THIS will be at the Brisbane Comedy Festival in August jonathanbiggins.com.au The Gospel According To Paul by Jonathan Biggins is on at the Arts Centre in Melbourne until May 23rd  It then tours to Bendigo and Brisbane ARTICLE: Scott Morrison wants a big, simply country. With Labor dumbstruck and blindsided, he's getting one by Guy Rundle Cause of the Week: The Actor's Benevolent Fund (actorsbenevolentfund.org.au)  

A new political satire launching at the Arts Centre in Melbourne today takes an uncompromising look at one of Australia's most memorable Prime Ministers, Paul Keating. The Bankstown boy and former PM is played by actor, comedian and musician Jonathan Biggins in 'The Gospel According to Paul'.

For this episode, John is joined by Jonathan Biggins, an actor, writer, director and comedian probably best known for his performances in The Wharf Review over the course of the last two decades, where - for comic effect - he pretended to be various politicians. While his other guest doesn't need to pretend to be a politician, because she actually is one. Tanya Plibersek was elected to the House of Representatives at only 28 years of age. She has been the minister for the status of women, the minister for Human Services, the minister for Health and Medical Research as well as the Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party. Politics is obviously an area of expertise for both of them and they are lucky that quite a few of the questions in the quiz are at least politics adjacent. In which city is the historic Reichstag building? Who was president of the United States from 1933-45? And what breed of dog was the international box-office success Rin Tin Tin? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonathan Biggins joins Regina Botros to talk about his life as an entertainer, where he's from, his working relationships and how he got to where he is now. One of the creators of the STC's Wharf Revue, winner of two AWGIE's, he is also the author of three books, including The 700 Habits of Highly Ineffective People.    

Jonathan Biggins channels Paul Keating for a live recording of stage show "The Gospel According to Paul."

The Australian Government has vanished the Arts portfolio within the new Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. No mention of 'The Arts' at all.  The lack of any reference to the arts in the new department’s title, and the loss of a dedicated department overseeing the arts and cultural sector, is of significant concern within the arts. In this edition of the podcast, Esther Anatolitis of the National Association for the Visual Arts expresses NAVA's perspective on the change.  Also, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance is delivering a campaign to ensure The Arts is not forgotten within the corridors of Parliament House, nor within the local community. MEAA members Jonathan Biggins, Camilla Ahkin, Jonathan Mill, and Equity Director Andrew Crowley express their frustration and their plans Transcripts of interviews are available for download HERE. The transcriptions are made possible by the support from Pixel Perfect Prolab - The photolab for professionals.

Jonathan Biggins channels Paul Keating for a live recording of stage show "The Gospel According to Paul."

Trevor Ashley has accomplished a number of roles - Director, Writer, Producer, Musician, Actor, Singer, Drag performer and Superstar ... he can now add Impresario to the extensive list of credits populating his CV.Ashley is about to give birth to his very first celebration of international cabaret - as founder and Artistic Director of the Sydney International Cabaret Festival arriving in the city from July 5th to 14th.No stranger to cabaret, Ashley made his performing debut at Sydney’s previous dalliance with the art form; an annual festival conducted at the SydneyTown Hall.Since then he has of course given us celebrated performances in shows that have affectionately rendered Liza Minelli, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner and Susan Boyle. He has also presented personally tailored pantomimes .... crowd pleasers that have included Black Swan,The Bodybag and Little Orphan Trashley. All have content that launches from the stage into an unsuspecting audience, exploding with tremendous energy, wicked storytelling, joyous laughter and an abundance of naughty.It is these traits that have made Ashley a consummate cabaret performer and have guided him in the selection of an exciting program of performance for the inaugural Sydney International Cabaret Festival.It is a program of which he is very proud and excited. And one that we cannot wait to see!Trevor Ashley was a guest of ours in season 1, episode 4 of STAGES. He returns for a second time to discuss his exciting program and the magical, theatrical form of Cabaret.

Eliza surprises Geraldine with a declaration of love for her new city. It’s only taken nine months. But Eliza has finally got past the chaos and misery of Beirut to fall for its beauty, charm and fascinating history. It’s a relationship she was never able to build during her previous posting to Jakarta, Indonesia. In the final days before the election the women discuss the possibility of a new Labor Government and the legacy of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. They talk books before Geraldine rushes off to the Opera House to watch Jonathan Biggins being Paul Keating. Ronnie Chatah Walking Tour of Beirut https://www.bebeirut.org/walk.html Mohamad Chatah murdered https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mohamad-chatah-lebanons-man-of-dialogue-is-murdered-in-beirut-9027578.html Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Attack Saudi Oil Facilities https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/world/middleeast/saudi-oil-attack.html The NYT Daily Podcast: John Bolton’s Plan for Iran https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/13/podcasts/the-daily/bolton-iran-nuclear-deal.html Hotel Mumbai - movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5461944/ Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know – Colm Toibin https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Mad-Bad-Dangerous-to-Know/Colm-Toibin/9781476785172 The President in Missing – James Patterson & Bill Clinton https://www.amazon.com/President-Missing-Novel-James-Patterson/dp/0316412694 Brothers of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian Civil War – Marwam Hisham https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Gun-Memoir-Syrian-War/dp/0399590625 Inside Syria’s Secret Torture Prisons: How Bashar al-Assad Crushed Dissent https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/middleeast/syria-torture-prisons.html?fbclid=IwAR1BryXMyYJbqWRe9H3GJFbV8Xpfm6gr87rTh0tWeY99u-GArtzUZkwx7SA The Gospel According to Paul https://www.artsontour.com.au/tours/gospel-according-paul/ Keating on Dutton – ABC Radio https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-14/paul-keating-peter-dutton-political-stake-through-dark-heart/11110814

Jonathan Biggins loathes all forms of social media. When I invited him onto STAGES, he told me he’d never listened to a podcast! I was thrilled to introduce him to the format. As one of Australia’s preeminent writers, actors, directors and speakers, he comes with quite an intimidating pedigree. I tread carefully, only to be met with his immense charm and insightful opinions.Mr Biggins is thoroughly engaging and armed with the wit we know and crave. He is perhaps best known as one of the creators and performers of the Sydney Theatre Company’s WHARF REVUE – a popular date on the Sydney calendar for the past 20 Years! In our discussion we analyse the workings of comedy and how we've perhaps lost the ability to laugh at ourselves.Jonathan was born in Newcastle; his parents meeting at university doing amateur drama. No wonder then that he has embraced a broad career in the arts … achieving excellence in whatever role, form or medium he has turned his hand to.Soon he commences a tour of THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PAUL - a biographical account of our great visionary and reformer, Paul Keating. And at year's end another joyous offering from the WHARF REVUE.He is responsible for some of the biggest laughs I have ever had in the theatre – so it was with great joy – and considerable curiosity, that I sat down with Jonathan Biggins.

Jonathan Biggins, who has been sending up politicians as part of The Wharf Revue for almost two decades, has some sharp words about social media - “the enemy of democracy, not its ally” - and a warning on political correctness. “We are entering an age of a new puritanism that is actually not only driven by the censorious right but by the equally censorious left who are saying this is no longer acceptable,” he tells The Conversation. “We’ve always had a free rein at the wharf but I can see shadows looming at the door”.

In this special episode of highlights from the year so far, Monkey Baa adapts Jackie French's Josephine Wants to Dance for the stage, Jada Alberts' new production of Brothers Wreck comes to Adelaide, playwright Alana Valentine outlines how her experiences inspire her writing, and we drop into a reunion of the original Australian cast of Cats.

We hear about Monkey Baa's adaptation of Jackie French's Josephine Wants to Dance, Hugo Weaving and Kip Williams give us the lowdown on the STC production of Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, we hear a live performance of Genevieve Lacey's new work Nest, and we meet US comedian Joel Kim Booster.

Tom Stoppard is one of the world's greatest dramatists, with a body of work that includes 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,' 'The Real Inspector Hound,' and 'Shakespeare in Love.' Watch Stoppard in conversation with Australian writer Jonathan Biggins at the Sydney Opera House.