Really Interesting Women

The podcast

Ep. 162 Alison Whyte

Alison Whyte is one of Australia’s most accomplished and versatile actors, celebrated for her commanding presence across stage and screen. 

Born in Tasmania she began her artistic journey as a ballet dancer before training at the Victorian College of the Arts, where she honed the craft that would define her career. 

She rose to national prominence with her breakout role in the satirical television series Frontline, earning a Silver Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress. 

Her screen career spans acclaimed performances in Satisfaction, The Dressmaker, and The Jammed and, I reckon even more impressively, in theatre, she has starred in productions with the Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, and Belvoir, including standout roles in Death of a Salesman, The Testament of Mary, and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. 

She is the recipient of multiple industry awards including Green Room, Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Awards for her work on stage, as well as Logie and ASTRA Awards for her work onscreen. 

She is currently at the Belvoir Theatre’s ‘the true history of the life and death of King Lear & his three daughters’.

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Ep. 161 Mandy McElhinney

Mandy McElhinney is one of Australia’s most respected screen and stage actors, celebrated for performances that move confidently between sharp comedy and emotionally charged drama. 

She has amassed an extensive list of credits across television, film, and theatre since her career began in 1994. As an actor, she became a household name not through those mediums but  as “Rhonda” in the hugely popular AAMI insurance commercials, a role that turned her into a pop‑culture icon. 

She went on to deliver acclaimed performances as Matron Frances Bolton in “Love Child”, mining magnate Gina Rinehart in “House of Hancock”, and Nene King in “Paper Giants: Magazine Wars”.​

Alongside recent work in series such as “Wakefield” and “Home and Away”, McElhinney now stars as Eileen in “Ghosts Australia”, confirming her status as a distinctive and enduring presence in Australian storytelling.

We had a great chat about her work and her journey in life. 

If you'd like to see her most recent work Ghosts Australia is on channel 10 and Paramount+

Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to our conversation.

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Ep. 160  Amanda MacKenzie

Amanda MacKenzie is one of Australia's most influential voices in climate change advocacy and policy communication. 

As the Chief Executive Officer of the Climate Council, she has spent over a decade transforming how Australians understand and engage with climate science, policy, and action.

And whilst terms such as ‘policy communication’ seem like government speak, the reality is both brilliant and simple. The organisation's success under my Amanda’s leadership lies in its ability to translate complex climate science into understandable, accessible, actionable information for policymakers, media, and the general public. 

It’s not a ‘one size fits all’. It doesn’t just present dry scientific data and have you try and interpret its significance. It’s a communications strategy that connects climate science to everyday concerns about health, economics, and community wellbeing. 

Amanda MacKenzie’s contributions to climate advocacy and public policy have been widely recognized here and overseas.

I enjoyed this conversation because she simplified a complex subject...or a subject that has been made complex. Unnecessarily. 

Head to the link in my bio to listen to the episode. 

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Ep. 159   Catherine Moore

Catherine Moore was a graduate of the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts and has become a multifaceted actor, voice artist, writer, and acting coach whose career spans theatre, television, and film. 

 Known for her compelling performances and creative versatility, she has carved out a distinctive space in the Australian entertainment industry. 

 No doubt you will be aware of some of her work. In movies there’s been How to Please a Woman, Runt and more recently Birthright and in TV there’s been Janet King, Drop Dead Weird, Home and Away, Crownies and Rake, amongst others and most recently in The Twelve with Sam Neill.

 She has worked in collaboration with writing partner Genevieve Hegney which led to a major success for Ensemble Theatre in Sydney with their play, Unqualified – which led to a sequel. 

 Currently Catherine has co-created and is performing in a play called Fly Girl at the Ensemble Theatre. It’s a play about the trailblazing aviator, Deborah Lawrie. It’s a fascinating story which we discuss in some detail.  It has already won the Blake Beckett Trust Female Playwrights Award and may still have a few tickets left by the time this podcast is published. But you’d better get to the Ensemble’s website pretty quickly. 

 It was such an open and honest, fun and funny conversation.

Head to the link in my bio to have a listen. 

Link to Ensemble website

https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/fly-girl/

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Really Interesting Women

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Ep. 158   Anne Fulwood

Anne Fulwood is a very prominent journalist, broadcaster, author, corporate communication specialist and advocate for the arts. 

Her career has spanned over four decades and she became one of Australia's most recognizable and respected and trusted figures in broadcast journalism with a remarkable versatility which encompassed foreign and current affairs, federal and state politics, conservation and environmental issues, sport, and media commentary. 

She went on to establish a very successful communications consultancy and in 2015 was appointed as Australia's first representative to the Women20 (W20) Engagement Group for the G20 Leaders' Summit in Turkey. 

Her work with the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the inception of the Women’s Art Group (WAGs) represents significant contributions to arts philanthropy and gender equity. Her board and advisory work is extensive.

We had a really interesting, broad ranging conversation covering her career to date and how one of the great rewards for her is giving back and the community of friends she has built over the years. 

Head to the link in my bio to listen to the conversation.

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Really Interesting Women 

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Ep. 157 Meow Meow

It would be fair to say that few performers can command attention quite like Meow Meow. She has been described as a post-post-modern diva who has hypnotised, inspired, and terrified audiences globally with unique creations and sell-out seasons from New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and Berlin’s Bar Jeder Vernunft to London’s West End and the Sydney Opera House. 

In fact, her influence on contemporary cabaret extends beyond her individual performances to her role in reshaping the genre itself. 

In further fact, the late great David Bowie once said of my guest, ‘Certain artists you just never miss; when they come into town, you go and see them’.

She’s currently in rehearsals for her show, ‘Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes.’ Opening in Belvoir Theatre in Sydney on 4 October and then in Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne from 19 November. I couldn’t put it any better than the Artistic Director, Eamon Flack....’Here’s a treat. If you’ve seen Meow’s other great takes like The Little Mermaid or Little Match Girl you’ll know there’s sophisticated silliness and seductive allure, combined with astonishing renderings of some great songs, old and new. Meow sells out wherever she goes, from Carnegie Hall to Spiegeltents around the world – I’m sure the Belvoir stage will be a perfect fit for her newest extravaganza.’

Head to the link in my bio for our conversation.

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Ep. 156 Chika Ikogwe

In the evolving landscape of Australian entertainment, few actors embody the multicultural spirit and artistic versatility of contemporary Australia like Chika Ikogwe. Chika stands out as a trailblazer in Australia's entertainment industry. 

 She’s celebrated for her dynamic acting talent, writing prowess, and unwavering advocacy for diversity and representation. 

 Born in Nigeria, Chika moved to Australia at a young age and had to navigate, at times, very challenging circumstances. After graduating high school, she enrolled at Victorian College of the Arts before transitioning to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) program at NIDA, Australia’s premier performing arts institution. 

 What followed was a string of successful theatre shows and numerous awards and accolades including the winner of 'Best Newcomer' at the Sydney Theatre Awards in 2019 and the recipient of the 2020 ATYP Rose Byrne Emerging Female Leader in the Arts scholarship. She went on to play a starring role in the Emmy award winning tv series Heartbreak High and, more recently, has worked with Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth in a major film.

Chika’s journey from a four-year-old immigrant to an award-winning actor and writer embodies the successful integration of diverse cultural perspectives into mainstream Australian arts. But there’s still a long way to go. 

To listen to our conversation, head to the link in my bio, or wherever you find your podcasts.

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Ep. 155  Tara Morice

Tara Morice has built a remarkable acting career over 3 decades that spans film, television, and stage. 

She graduated from the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1987. And in 1988 was able to find work in a play that had some success and 4 years later that play was adapted into a film and everyone, and I literally mean everyone, will know her from her iconic role as Fran in Baz Luhrmann's "Strictly Ballroom". 

 The story of how Tara got the role is fascinating and a lesson in perseverance. Once she got the role (the day before shooting started) she was phenomenal. As was the movie. Strictly Ballroom premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a seven-minute standing ovation and was sold to over eighty countries. She became (and I hate the expression) ‘an overnight sensation’ nominated for, amongst many other things, a British Academy Award.

But that whirlwind of celebrity can come at the cost of typecasting and my guest’s strength and resilience ensured that despite those significant challenges, she is an actor who continues to evolve and take on diverse projects that showcase her range and enduring appeal in the Australian entertainment landscape. 

She is currently performing in the enormously succesful musical Menopause the Musical which has been seen by over 17 million people worldwide and is an outrageous success. Do yourself a favour! You can get tickets from:

https://menopausethemusical.com.au/tickets/sydney/

It's touring Australian so head to the website and you'll find what you need. 

We had a fabulous chat. And that's what it felt like. More a chat than an interview. I heard Strictly Ballroom stories I never knew and found out a lot about the fabulous work she's been doing recently. 

Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to this episode. 

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Ep. 154 Claire Mactaggart

Claire Mactaggart has been living and working on cattle properties her whole life. Her ‘to do’ list would be overwhelming to most, well me anyway. 

And she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Claire is based in central Queensland and is deeply committed to sharing and celebrating rural Australian life and agricultural practices through her writing and through her managing several cattle properties.

Her career encompasses a unique blend of agricultural expertise, media contributions, and leadership roles and she has a profound connection to the Australian bush. She grew up as one of five children at a property north of Yaamba. This formative experience on a working cattle station provided her with an intimate understanding of rural life that would later become the cornerstone of her writing career. 

With her husband, Claire manages and oversees 3 beef cattle properties, raises 4 daughters and writes for a range of publications including Country Style, Good Weekend, Graziher and Home Beautiful. In her spare time (!)... she is Secretary/director of Beef Australia, has an executive role with the local rural fire brigade and P&C, shifted and restored a former church, operates an AirBNB and a seaside property.

It was a great discussion and to find out more head to the link in my bio to find the podcast or look for Really Interesting Women wherever you find your podcasts.

www.clairemactaggart.com

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Really Interesting Women

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Ep. 2 Nanette Carroll

It’s been 5 years since RIW first aired. And I thought that it would be well worth dipping into the back catalogues every now and again for the benefit of those who may have started following recently. 

Nanette Carroll was the 2nd ever interview…and one of the most popular episodes. And it’s easy to see why.

From unemployed, unqualified, single mum of 3, to joint CEO of a $320M company. If your obstacles seem insurmountable...you may find answers here.

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

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