STAGES with Peter Eyers

John Bell has been named by the National Trust of Australia as one of ‘Australia’s Living Treasures.’ Born in Maitland, NSW, in 1940, he is a theatre polymath whose work has shaped the evolution of a distinct Australian theatre.

Educated at University of Sydney, Bell acted in university theatre and made his professional debut in 1963 in the Old Tote Theatre Company’s inaugural production, The Cherry Orchard. In 1964 he was a sensational Henry V, with Anna Volska as Katherine, in an innovative Adelaide Festival tent presentation. The Sydney Morning Herald called him ‘a possible Olivier of the future’.

After training with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Bell joined The Royal Shakespeare Company for four years and was made an Associate Artist. He returned to Sydney in 1970 as Head of Acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. That same year he produced the landmark Australian musical burlesque The Legend of King O’Malley and co-founded the Nimrod Theatre Company. He was its artistic director, director and principal actor until 1985.

At Nimrod Bell presented many significant Australian plays, such as David Williamson’s Travelling North, The Club and The Removalists, Peter Kenna’s A Hard God, Jim McNeil’s How Does Your Garden Grow and Ron Blair’s The Christian Brothers. Other highlights included a dramatic adaptation of Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, The Venetian Twins, an Australian musical based on the Goldoni classic, and the Bernstein musical Candide. Bell also introduced a distinctive Australian Shakespeare style, with memorable productions of Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth.

In 1989 Bell played the Duke in Big River, his first major role in a musical. Shortly after this he was invited by the late Tony Gilbert, a Shakespeare-loving philanthropist, to establish a national touring organisation presenting Shakespeare in a popular style.

The Bell Shakespeare Company was launched in 1990 with Hamlet and The Merchant Of Venice (with Bell as Shylock), followed by Richard 3 (with Bell in the title role) and Romeo And Juliet. Thirty-four years on, the company is a vital presence in the national theatre landscape.

John Bell is a font of knowledge and anecdote and what a privilege to access a bit of that in this enthralling 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. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

Angela Punch McGregor graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1974. Her early roles were in a renaissance period of Australian cinema, with lauded performances that garnered her a slew of AFI Awards, for the films The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, Newsfront, and Annie’s Coming Out.

Her career continued in numerous television production and stage roles, working for most of the country’s main-stage theatre companies.

Angela’s television credits include Mary - The Making of a Princess, Love My Way, Rafferty’s Rules, Halifax, All Saints, White Collar Blue, and Home & Away. Further film work includes We of the Never Never, Savages Crossing, The Delinquents, Spotswood, Tom White, Ash Wednesday and Runt.

Celebrated turns in the theatre includes A Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche), Festen (Else), Long Days Journey Into Night (Mary Tyrone), Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll (Pearl), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Marquise de Merteuil), Great Expectations (Miss Havisham), The Odd Couple (Female version opposite Pamela Stephenson) Romeo & Juliet (opposite Mel Gibson), Up For Grabs (Felicity), Blackrock (Diane) and Othello (Desdemona). 

Angela is a respected mentor and teacher, guiding young artists to a career on stage and screen. She held the position of Lecturer in Acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts from 2006-2014. Further teaching has been at NIDA, The Actor’s Centre Sydney and the Actor’s Hub Perth.

As a Counsellor, her new venture is with the online resource; Soul Repair - a home for counselling, community and care. A space to foster continuity and growth.

Angela Punch McGregor joins STAGES to reflect on her brilliant career thus far, and the journey ahead.

https://www.soulrepair.com.au
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

James Elazzi is an award winning playwright, screenwriter and director. 
His plays have been nominated in the NSW Premier's Literary Award three years consecutively, shortlisted twice in the Rodney Seaborn Award, four time award winner in the Sydney Theatre Awards and is a three time Silver Gull Playwriting Award Nominee. 
James' sold out theatre stage plays include Son of Byblos (Belvoir St Theatre 25A), Lady Tabouli (National Theatre of Parramatta), Queen Fatima (National Theatre of Parramatta) and Omar and Dawn (KXT). 
In 2023-2024, James wrote, directed and produced his second short film about Lebanese migration, Seeds of Gold. In 2022, James directed and produced his short film Yannis which has officially been selected in more than 17 Film Festivals around the world including Los Angeles, Poland, Lebanon, Greece and Italy. It has since won Best Performances in the 2022 LGBTQI+ Los Angeles Film Festival and nominated 7 times in the Made in The West Film Festival, including best director and screenplay, winning best Lead Actor.
James was Assistant Director on Holding the Man (2024 Belvoir St Theatre). His new work, Karim, opens in July at Parramatta Riverside Theatres.
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

Born in 1936, acclaimed Architect Vivian Fraser passed away in 2021. His name may not be immediately recognisable, but this Master Architect left a legacy that continues to reward the Arts community and their audiences.
On his tombstone he jested that he would like the epitaph to read, “ … he provided simple answers to difficult problems.”
It would seem that this mantra would never be better tested than in crafting a design for a working theatre - considering aesthetic, safety, functionality and longevity, for temples that harbour community and celebrate humanity.
Vivian Fraser (1936–) was educated in Newcastle, where he practised independently before arriving in Sydney in 1965. He first worked as the associate of Douglas Snelling (1965-66) and then worked for Ancher Mortlock Murray and Woollley. Commencing in 1975, he operated an independent practice, mainly designing award-winning theatres and houses, 
Vivian Fraser’s most remarkable project was renovations to a cargo shed at Walsh Bay. Premier Neville Wran’s foresight to commence a State Theatre Company in NSW meant that a location was required which would house the many needs of a theatre company - auditorium, foyer, workshops, stage, administration, rehearsal rooms etc. Pier 4-5, was discovered in a wide search of Sydney - a derelict wharf in Walsh Bay which had lied dormant for 30 years; it housed zillions of pigeons, both alive and dead. And so, commenced the development of what would become a vital arts precinct.
Viv’s theatre legacy extends to other venues in NSW - the Belvoir Theatre in Surry Hills, the Australia Council office refurbishment in Redfern and the Kings School Theatre in Parramatta.
Viv’s daughter Sharon, also an Architect, joined STAGES to remember and celebrate the work of Vivian Fraser. It is a fascinating history. Hopefully this conversation enables his name to become as instantly recognisable as the theatres he conceived.
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

Fabian Aloise’s choreography has been critically acclaimed and has garnered multiple nominations including two Olivier Award Nominations for Best Theatre Choreographer, WhatsOnStage Award for Best Choreography, Stage Debut Award for Best Creative West End Debut and the Off West End Award “OFFIE” (winner). Recently he was also listed as one of The Stage 100 - a definitive list of theatre's most influential artists. 

Originally born in Canada to proud immigrant parents, Fabian moved to Melbourne, Australia at an early age to train in classical ballet and contemporary dance at The Victorian College of the Arts on a full scholarship. Fabian's career spans Australia, Europe, the United States, Asia and London's West End performing in shows including West Side Story, Cats, Chicago, Fosse, We Will Rock You, Fame, Legally Blonde.Most recently, Fabian choreographed Sunset Boulevard (Savoy Theatre) for the Jamie Lloyd Company,           In Dreams (Leeds Playhouse), The Spongebob Musical (Southbank Centre & UK Tour), Cabaret by Kander and Ebb at the LIDO 2 in Paris.
 He is Co-director and choreographer for Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder for Francesca Moody Productions (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022/ 23, Bristol Old Vic, Manchester Home), choreographer for the first non-replica production of Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked in Germany, Bring It On - The Musical (UK), Evita (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Kander and Ebb’s The Rink at Southwark Playhouse starring Caroline O'Connor, Our House (UK Tour), The View Upstairs (Soho Theatre), Madagascar The Musical (UK/Asia/Australia/New Zealand), Working (Southwark Playhouse), On The Town (BBC Proms Royal Albert Hall) and The 24 Hour Musical (Old Vic).
Associate choreographic credits include Matilda (UK tour/West End - Associate choreographer/Resident choreographer for Peter Darling, Australian premier company - Associate choreographer), We Will Rock You (European productions - Associate choreographer to Arlene Phillips) and Fame (UK national tour - Assistant choreographer to Karen Bruce).One of Fabian’s career highlights was working alongside theatre legend Ann Reinking as associate choreographer on Fosse (USA and international tours) and he continues to be inspired by the legacy of Fosse/Verdon.
On September 28th he commences previews in New York with the Jaimie Lloyd Company’s transfer of Sunset Boulevard to the Broadway stage; eagerly anticipating his sublime choreographic work being embraced on the Great White Way.
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

Melanie is a writer for stage and screen with a proven track record in Australia and the UK. 

Her first play The Vegemite Tales won critical and popular acclaim, playing eight years in London, including two years on the West End. Melanie then trained as a journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where she worked for twelve years across radio, podcasting and television.

Her next play The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race premiered at the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney in March 2019 and toured nationally in 2021. The play has been programmed right around Australia and New Zealand including at the State Theatre Company of South Australia and productions at Queensland Theatre and The Court Theatre in Christchurch. Melanie also adapted the play into a feature film with EQ Media, writing the screenplay for The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race. 

She has 5 plays under commission at Melbourne Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre, Sydney Festival and Blue Cow Theatre Tasmania and is developing an original tv series with Screen Tasmania and Next Gen Productions. She is also at various stages of development on a slew of screen projects. 

Melanie’s play A Broadcast Coup, opened in 2023 at Ensemble Theatre as part of Sydney Festival. Here next, The Queen’s Nanny, will open at Ensemble Theatre in September, and is touring nationally in 2025. 

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

Shane Jacobson is one of Australia’s most loved, award-winning actors, presenters and entertainers.  His incredible and varied career spans over 40 years both here at home and internationally.

The successful film Kenny brought Shane world-wide recognition in 2006 as well as an AFI Award for best lead actor.  Shane’s subsequent credits include Cactus, Charlie & Boots, the animated Santa’s Apprentice, Surviving Georgia and Hollywood blockbuster The Bourne Legacy, the hugely popular Oddball, The Dressmaker and, more recently, The BBQ, That’s Not My Dog!, Guardians of the Tomb, Brothers’ Nest, Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black, The Very Excellent Mr Dundee and Never Too Late. 

As a TV host, presenter and actor, Shane’s appearances have been numerous and varied. Some of his shows have included hosting and presenting at the Australian Film Institute Awards, Top Gear Australia, The Great Australian Bake Off, The Logies, Little Big Shots, Australia Now & Then and Inside Central Station, as well as telemovies Beaconsfield, The Mystery of the Hansom Cab and Jack Irish, to roles in TV series like Kenny’s World, The Time of Our Lives, Fat Tony & Co, Open Slather, The Real Full Monty, The All New Monty, Australia’s Got Talent, AACTA Awards host, The All New Monty: Guys & Gals and Australia Now & Then host.

Shane’s stage career has been just as successful.  On stage, he has received a Helpmann Award for Best Male in a Supporting Role for ‘Nicely Nicely’ in the 2008 revival of the musical Guys and Dolls.  Some of Shane’s other on-stage roles include The Drowsy Chaperone, QI Live, 8 The Play, Shane Warne – The Musical, Mother & Son, The Rocky Horror Show, Hairspray and Midnight: The Cinderella Musical. 

As an author, Shane has penned his best-selling bio The Long Road to Overnight Success and most recently his exploration of his life as a motoring tragic in his second book, Rev Head.

Shane also is a passionate producer of film, television and events, having recently produced The West Gate Bridge Disaster: The Untold Stories documentary, the TV show ManSpace, That’s Not My Dog! Comedy Festival, The Roast of Paul Hogan and The Australian Roast of John Cleese.

He is presently starring in the Sydney season of Neil Simon’s award winning play The Odd Couple with Todd McKenney.

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

To celebrate the 500 milestone we give you a highlights package - just a few of the stand-out moments from 7 years of the STAGES podcast.
It is by no means ALL of the wonderful moments, but just a few that stand out for me - joyous moments along the way.
The podcast has featured on-stage and off-stage roles from a variety of genres - Musical theatre, Theatre, Dance, Opera, Vaudeville, Drag, Television, Film, Variety and Arts Education have all been explored.
We’ve celebrated shows - such as the 40th Anniversary of the Australian production of CHICAGO (w Nancye Hayes & Geraldine Turner) and 50 years on THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW in Oz. And we chronicled the evolution of new shows, in documentations of Noelle Janaczewska’s THE END OF WINTER - and Robyn Kennedy’s commission for World Pride - CAMP - both produced by Siren Theatre Company and directed by Kate Gaul.
We’ve featured a TONY Awards episode each year - and looked at the highlights from Broadway and The West End with regular theatre pilgrims Iain Phipps and Simon Parris.
We’ve talked to creatives and performers commencing their careers (our youngest guests have been George Holahan-Cantwell and Ryan Yeates, who were sharing the role of Charlie Bucket in CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) and we’ve applauded our industry elders - our oldest guest being Lee Young at 93.
We’ve recorded conversations with 16 Drag performers, featuring them in a series during World Pride.
We’ve profiled the roles of Stage Door, Photography, Agent, Opera chorister and Scenic Design with Stage Door Johnny, David Hooley, Sonya Marturano, Jenifer Eddy, Mark Morrisey, Katherine Wiles, Stella Ginsberg and Rod Clarke.
We’ve recalled the careers and contributions of the great Gloria Dawn with her daughter Donna Lee ….. the legacy of Architect Vivian Fraser with his daughter Sharon … and the enormous contribution to Musical theatre in Australia from Betty Pounder with Kevin Coxhead.
We’ve profiled artists during the Covid lockdowns and how they navigated their way through it.
We’ve recorded with the practitioners - Dr Richard Walley, Wesley Enoch, Eva Grace Mullaley and Lisa Maza detailing the evolution of indigenous theatre in Australia.
We’ve documented the History of seminal theatre companies including JC Williamson's, Garnett Carroll, The Ensemble Theatre, the Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Nimrod, Kookaburra Musical Theatre, The Old Tote, Jane Street and the Pram Factory.We’ve examined the craft with screen writers and playwrights Joanna Murray-Smith, Danny Ball, Dr Grace Barnes, David Williamson, Melanie Tait, Jeffrey Jay Fowler, Barry Dickins, Jordan Shea, Tommy Murphy, Laneikka Denne, David Sale, Tony Sattler, David Mitchell, John-Michael Howson, and Barry Creyton
We’ve saluted Australians making big waves on global theatre stages - Carmel Dean, Fabian Aloise, Kaye Tuckerman, Michaeljon Slinger, Neil Gooding, Yve Blake, David Harris, and Daniel Assetta, to name but a few.
We’ve looked at actor training with staff from key institutions such as NIDA, WAAPA, VCA and The Actor’s Centre. And championed the work of Drama teachers in secondary schools and at State Theatre companies.
We’ve hooked 'big fish' ….  like Lyricist Sir Tim Rice, Composer Stephen Flaherty, Director Francesca Zambello, Maestro Richard Bonynge, and Broadway performers Ruthie Henshall, Robbie Fairchild, Michael Misita, Andy Karl, and Stephanie Beecham.
And each year we’ve concluded the season with a Christmas episode featuring regulars Kate Fitzpatrick, Rhonda Burchmore, Geraldine Turner and Ron Creager.
And sadly we’ve also preserved precious story from artists who have passed since recording - and to them I’d like to dedicate this episode - Rod Dunbar, Michael Falzon, Kevin Jackson, Maureen Howard, Tony Geappen, Keith Robinson, Lee Young, Frank van Straten, Jacqueline Dark, Lisle Jones, and Martin McCallum. 

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts.

To celebrate reaching this milestone of 500 … the podcast will be dropping an episode a day for the next week.
It’s a stellar line up and I cannot wait to share each episode with you.
Episode 502 is a highlights package featuring some of my favourite moments from the seven seasons of the show.
Episode 503 features funny man and all round nice guy Shane Jacobson, currently on stage in Sydney in Neil Simon’s THE ODD COUPLE.
In Episode 504 we talk with Playwright Melanie Tait. Her new play THE QUEEN’S NANNY takes to the stage in September at The Ensemble Theatre.
For Episode 505 I was thrilled to talk with Australian choreographer Fabian Aloise. Fabian has recently opened his first show in the West End theatre district of London as Director, with the musical KATHY & STELLA SOLVE A MURDER.
Fabian is also the choreographer for the exciting new take on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s SUNSET BOULEVARD. The production directed by Jamie Lloyd and starring Nicole Scherzinger won 7 Olivier awards and opens on Broadway in October.
Next up in Episode 506, it was my privilege and honour to celebrate the legacy of Theatre architect Vivian Fraser with his daughter Sharon. Viv is the man responsible for designs of the Belvoir street theatre and the development of the Wharf 4/5 theatre precinct in Walsh bay. It is an extraordinary legacy and I know this chat will inform and fascinate.
Concluding the week with episode 507 is playwright James Elazzi who also opens a new show on July 27th - KARIM which will play at Parramatta Riverside theatre for the National Theatre of Paramatta.
But for this episode - 501, I’d like to take you back to STAGES very first episode in April 2018. I was beyond thrilled when the legendary Toni Lamond keenly accepted my invitation. A woman of firsts, it seemed inevitable that she’d have to be first guest on a podcast that has now made it to 500!
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

After many requests and prompts, I’ve given in. The A-listers were not available for this milestone episode of the STAGES podcast, so you get me in the chair.

But who to fire the questions and prod the guest? There was only one person in my mind; longtime listener and champion of all things theatre, Mark Humphries.

The talented Mr Humphries is urbane, informed and care personified. What else could one ask for?

And yes!!! It is an old headshot. I know. It’s from the attic!

Thankyou Mark. And thank you listeners. Episode 500! Here we go!

Peter Eyers is a graduate of the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He is presently the Head of Drama at an Independent School in Sydney. 

Peter is a passionate advocate for the Arts in education and a keen proponent of Australia’s rich Arts heritage. These qualities have contributed to the evolution of the STAGES podcast and a quest to record oral histories from the artists, the creatives and the ancillary roles that have contributed so vividly to what we relish on stages and screens.

As producer and host, he features an array of guests that range from the elders who rightly wear the mantle of legend and star, to the emerging talents, set to shape and define the content of the future. 

As an actor his work has encompassed theatre, television and film. Theatre roles include My Fair Lady (WA Music Theatre Company), The Judgement of Paris (Hole in the Wall, Perth), Winnie the Pooh & The Magic Faraway Tree (Garry Ginivan Attractions), How To Succeed In Business Without ReallyTrying (The Production Company), The Voyage of Mary Bryant (Ensemble Theatre),The Wizard of Oz (Gordon Frost Organisation), An Ideal Husband directed by Sir Peter Hall (Gordon Frost Organisation), Fallen Angels (Downstairs Belvoir), La Cage aux Folles (Miranda MS), Rope (Bondi Pavilion), On Golden Pond (The Actor’s Company), and Privates on Parade, Harvest, Australia Day & The Real Thing (The New Theatre). 

His screen credits include Home & Away, Farscape, Backberner, Water Rats and Danny Deckchair. 

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