Robyn Archer AO FAHA is a singer, writer, artistic director and public advocate for the arts. Winner of the Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer 2013 and named Cabaret Icon at the 2016 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, she currently performs highly acclaimed recitals of French (Que Reste-t’Il) , German (Dancing on the Volcano) and American (The Other Great American Songbook) song, wrote and directed The Sound of Falling Stars (2017/18) and released her album Classic Cabaret Rarities in 2019. 

In July 2022 Robyn premiered Robyn Archer: an Australian Songbook with a two-week season for Queensland Theatre. Working with long term accordionist George Butrumlis, actor and guitarist Cameron Goodall and pianist Enio Pozzebon the show was an audience and critical success and will tour in 2023.

Robyn is recognised internationally for her expertise in the repertoire of the Weimar Republic (Brecht and his musical collaborators and others from 1920s and 30s Germany) which she has been performing through Australia and worldwide since the 1970s, including at the National Theatre, London in 1977, in Hong Kong, Honolulu, and at the Brecht Festival in Augsburg. 

Her many other stage successes include The Seven Deadly Sins which opened the Space in 1974, and one-woman shows A Star is Torn (through Australia and at Wyndham’s in London’s West End for a year) and Tonight Lola Blau both at the Adelaide Festival Centre. She has written and had produced, plays including Il Magnifico, Poor Joanna (with poet Judith Rodriguez), and Architektin; plays with music including Songs from Sideshow Alley, Café Fledermaus and The Bridge; and devised cabarets featuring her own songs and writing such as The Pack of Women, Scandals and Cut and Thrust. 

Robyn has published numerous books from The Robyn Archer Songbook to Mrs Bottle’s Burp and Detritus (a collection of her public speeches) as well as writing for the Griffith Review and the Australian Book Review. Among her many awards, including the ABR Laureate, the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Cultural Leadership Award, the SA Premier’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the International Society for Performing Arts’ International Achievement Award and an ARIA Award for Best Soundtrack (The Pack of Women), the 2018 Adelaide Festival of Ideas Dedication recognised Robyn for her contribution to the world of ideas and public life. In the same year she also received the JC Williamson Centenary Lifetime Achievement Award. Robyn is an Officer of the Order of Australia, Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), Officer of the Crown (Belgium), Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and has Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Sydney and Adelaide as well as Flinders, Canberra and Griffith Universities and the University of South Australia. 

Robyn Archer - An Australian Songbook - commences a National Tour - kicking off in Melbourne tonight playing …. 
June 12th & 13th - Victorian Arts Centre
Adelaide Cabaret Festival - June 17th and 18th
Canberra - July 7th and 8th - Canberra Arts Centre
Darwin - August 19th and 20th - Darwin Entertainment Centre
Sydney - October 18 to 29 - Belvoir Theatre
Hobart - November 3rd and 4th - Theatre Royal
A journey through Australian music that spans 150 years, from convict lament to Kate Miller Heidke and First Nations songwriters, Robyn explores the unique sound of our country with a repertoire full of passion, politics, landscape and laughter. 
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

Joel Fenton is a contemporary dance theatre artist. Born in Tasmania, he completed a Master of Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2017 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) at Queensland University of Technology in 2010. His masters explored the process of creating and crafting contemporary dance theatre through his SITCOMS task based improvisation practice.
Joel received a JUMP mentorship in 2013, where he was mentored by Shaun Parker. This mentorship has been ongoing with Joel currently developing his skills in the roles of Project Coordinator, Tour Manager and Rehearsal Director for Shaun Parker & Company.
Since joining the company in 2015, Joel has performed in KING, Happy as Larry, Trolleys, Hover, The Box, Axle & Spin, touring extensively across Australia and internationally to Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Austria and Germany.
Joel has also performed, taught or choreographed for Tasdance, Devize Co, Brand X, Lyric Opera, Phluxus2Dance Collective, QL2, Stompin, Arts Tasmania and several independent artists.
Joel was Artist in Residence at University of Tasmania in 2018 and undertook an Arts Tasmania Education Residency at Launceston College in 2019.
He produced Summer Solo Series in Melbourne 2012-14, Tasmanian Solo Series in Launceston 2020 and The Dance Photography Exhibition in Brisbane 2010.
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

It’s TONY time once again - the annual celebration of the Broadway community via their awards ceremony - The Tony’s - named after Antoinette Perry, an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing
The 2023 awards have been surrounded by some controversy as producers negotiated with the striking writers guild of America for cooperation to present the ceremony. Happily, the awards will proceed as scheduled featuring live performances but in a non-scripted format.
The televised performance is an essential marketing tool that can boost sales for those shows nominated and those that are awarded prizes. The ceremony will be broadcast on American network CBS on June 11th. The awards were postponed for approx. 18months in 2020 during the Covid pandemic which made such an event impossible. Audiences have yet to return to prepandemic levels, so such a telecast is understandably needed.
Australians are an ever growing presence on the Broadway stage and this year were are cheering for Suzie Miller’s production of Prima Facie; a play that  has taken the world by storm. After a commanding production starring Sheridan Harbridge which commenced at Sydney’s Griffin Theatre, it landed triumphantly in London’s West End starring Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer. The production won Best Play and Best Actress at the Olivier Awards. 
The production opened on Broadway in April, once again starring Comer. Once again conquering box-office and compelling audiences with its visceral storytelling. A recent announcement has informed us that the play will be adapted into a feature film starring Tony winner Cynthia Ervio.
Prima Facie is nominated in these categories at the Tonys …Best Leading Actress in a Play - Jodie Comer (first time on stage), Best Scenic Design of a Play - Miriam Buether Best Sound Design of a Play - Ben & Max Ringham, Best Lighting Design of a Play - Natasha Chivers. And Australian Daniel Edmonds is Assistant Conductor on the Best Musical nominee - Shucked!
STAGES is joined in this episode by Musical afficiando Mark Humphries who will share his experiences of the Great White Way and offer his own predictions as to where the Tony’s may land amongst this year’s nominees.
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

Peter Carroll’s distinguished career has spanned over 100 productions and 50 years. He continues to work in musical theatre, new Australian texts, and global classics. He has worked with the major theatre companies and commercial managements in Australia including, MTC, QTC, STC, STCSA, Belvoir, Bell Shakespeare, and Opera Australia. 

Peter began his career as a teacher (English, History and Drama) while gaining experiences in theatre work. In 1968 he went to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama where he topped the course. He returned to Sydney in 1970 and for three years headed the Voice and Speech department at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. During this time, he produced many plays for the students and kept up his acting work with guest appearances.

At the end of 1973 Peter decided to attempt a full-time acting career and his work since then has more than vindicated his choice. He was a founding member in the 1970’s of the Nimrod Theatre Company, performing up to seven or eight major roles a year, ranging from Shakespeare and Restoration comedy to contemporary Australian drama. He has acted for the Sydney Theatre Company from its beginnings at the Sydney Opera House.

Some of his early performances were as Benedick in John Bell’s hilarious production of Much Ado About Nothing, the dual roles of Hotspur and Pistol in Richard Wherrett’s production of Henry IV, Jesus in a Perth Festival production of The Mystery Plays of Wakefield and Thomas à Becket in a Perth Festival production of Murder in the Cathedral.

As one of Australia’s most admired and popular stage actors, he is particularly well remembered for his beautifully studied role of the Catholic priest in Ron Blair’s one-character play, The Christian Brothers, which was performed to acclaim from leading critics and audiences in all Australian capitals, numerous country centres, NZ and Riverside studios in London. In a vast career some standout performances include, Money and Friends, The Cherry Orchard, The Blind Giant is Dancing, A Hard God, Happy Days and Night on Bald Mountain. His repertoire is extensive.

His casting in the role of Juan Peron, in the musical Evita marked a return to the earliest days of his career when he sang Gilbert and Sullivan productions at Sydney University. A resume of iconic musical theatre roles have peppered his career - Sweeney Todd, Thenadier in Les Miserables, Gus the theatre cat in CATS, Bella Zangler in Crazy for You, Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar and The Narrator in Into the Woods.
His film and television career has been extensive here in Australia and internationally. TV credits include titles such as Aftertaste, The Letdown, Bloom, and Rake. Film credits include The Power of the Dog, Sleeping Beauty, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, and Crazy Rich Asians.Peter has won many awards including Green Room Awards, a Helpmann Award, a Sydney Theatre Critics’ Circle Award and an Honorary Doctorate of Creative Arts. He is the inaugural recipient of the Media Arts & Entertainment Alliance’s Lifetime Achievement Award; and he continues to be a proud supporter of the union and was awarded an AM for services to the theatre in 2021.

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

Peter Carroll’s distinguished career has spanned over 100 productions and 50 years. He continues to work in musical theatre, new Australian texts, and global classics. He has worked with the major theatre companies and commercial managements in Australia including, MTC, QTC, STC, STCSA, Belvoir, Bell Shakespeare, and Opera Australia. 

Peter began his career as a teacher (English, History and Drama) while gaining experiences in theatre work. In 1968 he went to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama where he topped the course. He returned to Sydney in 1970 and for three years headed the Voice and Speech department at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. During this time, he produced many plays for the students and kept up his acting work with guest appearances.

At the end of 1973 Peter decided to attempt a full-time acting career and his work since then has more than vindicated his choice. He was a founding member in the 1970’s of the Nimrod Theatre Company, performing up to seven or eight major roles a year, ranging from Shakespeare and Restoration comedy to contemporary Australian drama. He has acted for the Sydney Theatre Company from its beginnings at the Sydney Opera House.

Some of his early performances were as Benedick in John Bell’s hilarious production of Much Ado About Nothing, the dual roles of Hotspur and Pistol in Richard Wherrett’s production of Henry IV, Jesus in a Perth Festival production of The Mystery Plays of Wakefield and Thomas à Becket in a Perth Festival production of Murder in the Cathedral.

As one of Australia’s most admired and popular stage actors, he is particularly well remembered for his beautifully studied role of the Catholic priest in Ron Blair’s one-character play, The Christian Brothers, which was performed to acclaim from leading critics and audiences in all Australian capitals, numerous country centres, NZ and Riverside studios in London. In a vast career some standout performances include, Money and Friends, The Cherry Orchard, The Blind Giant is Dancing, A Hard God, Happy Days and Night on Bald Mountain. His repertoire is extensive.

His casting in the role of Juan Peron, in the musical Evita marked a return to the earliest days of his career when he sang Gilbert and Sullivan productions at Sydney University. A resume of iconic musical theatre roles have peppered his career - Sweeney Todd, Thenadier in Les Miserables, Gus the theatre cat in CATS, Bella Zangler in Crazy for You, Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar and The Narrator in Into the Woods.

His film and television career has been extensive here in Australia and internationally. TV credits include titles such as Aftertaste, The Letdown, Bloom, and Rake. Film credits include The Power of the Dog, Sleeping Beauty, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, and Crazy Rich Asians.Peter has won many awards including Green Room Awards, a Helpmann Award, a Sydney Theatre Critics’ Circle Award and an Honorary Doctorate of Creative Arts. He is the inaugural recipient of the Media Arts & Entertainment Alliance’s Lifetime Achievement Award; and he continues to be a proud supporter of the union and was awarded an AM for services to the theatre in 2021.

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

From an early age Tim Rice was a pop music fanatic. He began his professional life as a trainee solicitor. While still an apprenticed clerk Tim approached the head of Arlington Books, Desmond Elliot, with the idea of writing a book about pop history. The idea didn't impress Elliot, but the fact that Tim was also a budding song-writer did. Elliot knew someone in need of a collaborator: a young man called Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wanted to be a composer. At Elliot's suggestion, Tim wrote to Andrew, and a meeting was quickly arranged. The two men hit it off immediately, and, owing to Andrew’s love of American musical theatre, began to try to write a musical rather than pop singles.

And so this story begins. Tim Rice continued to work with Andrew Lloyd Webber, giving us visceral and intelligent musical theatre fare that includes Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita.

The pair also share the unique accolade of writing a song for Elvis Presley; “It’s Easy for You”. The song is also remarkable in that it is the last song on the last album released during Elvis' lifetime.

Subsequent collaborations have been with fellow titans of the craft - Elton John, Alan Menken, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson creating popular theatrical fare that includes Chess, The Lion King, Aladdin and Aida.

His output has been presented by the Disney Organisation, on Broadway, in The West End and for commercial stages around the globe. The popularity of his works with community and school theatres has ensured that at any time, somewhere in the world, a Tim Rice musical is being produced. This year in Australia alone we have seen commercial productions of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat and Beauty & the Beast.

Tim is the recipient of 3 Academy Awards, 4 Tonys, 5 Grammys and 1 Emmy - making him that ‘rare bird’ in the entertainment industry - one of only 17 artists to have garnered an EGOT.

He was knighted by Elizabeth 2nd for services to music in 1994. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is an inductee to the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, a Disney Legend Recipient, a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, and has his own Cricket team.
With Andrew Lloyd Webber he wrote a musical for Queen Elizabeth titled Cricket, and has crafted songs for Freddy Mercury, Placido Domingo and David Essex.
Tim Rice has contributed songs to soundtracks, such as “All Time High” for the Bond movie Octopussy. His most recent musical work, From Here To Eternity opened in 2013. He is the co-author of the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and a co-founder of Pavilion Books.
And today, celebrates 400 episodes 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

John Diedrich is one of the Australian theatre’s greatest and most versatile talents, having contributed to the industry across many platforms as actor, writer, director and producer. 
John commenced his career at age 11 with J.C. Williamson’s, appearing in the classics Camelot and then Oliver!, playing the Artful Dodger. At the age of 19 John produced and directed his first musical, presenting Minnie’s Boys, a musical based on the life of the Marx Brothers. Regular engagements as an actor followed in both plays and musicals, including Salad Days at St Martins, Grease for Harry M. Miller, Two Gentlemen of Verona for Kenn Brodziak, Lloyd George Knew My Father, starring alongside Sir Ralph Richardson, and with Leslie Phillips in The Man Most Likely To.
John co-wrote, directed and performed in three highly successful revues; Gershwin - a musical tribute to the songwriting brothers, The Twenties and All That Jazz and Oh Those Thirties.
In 1980, John was cast as Curly in Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s seminal musical Oklahoma!, playing the Palace theatre on London’s West End. The production was directed by Oscar’s son, James Hammerstein. For his performance, John was nominated for an Olivier Award as Best Actor in a Musical. He returned to Australia in 1982 to recreate the role in the Australian production and tour.
In 1987, John co-produced and starred as Guido Contini in the ground breaking musical Nine, for which he was nominated as Best Director of a Musical in the Sydney Theatre Critics awards. Nine was also nominated as the outstanding production of the year. John co-produced the original cast album of Nine which won the ARIA Award for Best Cast recording. He has recorded five other cast albums. 
John’s other theatre credits include Inspector Javert in Les Miserables, Wolf by Tobsha Lerner and Insignificance by Terry Johnson for Playbox, Aren’t We All with Sir Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert, High Society for the Melbourne Theatre Company, as Dr Grant Swain in David Williamson’s Dead White Males for the Sydney Theatre Company and as Vittorio Vidal in Sweet Charity. In 1993, he again appeared on London’s West End at the Prince of Wales theatre in the role of Frank Butler in Ronald Lee’s production of Annie Get Your Gun.
In 1998, John created the role of the silver-tongued lawyer, Billy Flynn, in the acclaimed revival of Chicago. In 2000, he was invited to London to play the role on the West End stage. Further theatre credits include Mack & Mabel, South Pacific, Into the Woods and Follies. 
Producing and directing credits include the musicals South Pacific, Titanic, Zorba and Jekyll & Hyde.
His television and film credits include Bluey, Special Squad, Class of ’74 and The Challenge. In the UK, the sitcom The Gingerbread Girl and Second Thoughts; and Fred Scheppsi’s The Devil’s Playground. 
In this two part conversation with John Diedrich, STAGES recounts many of those highlights, along with the challenges of a life in the theatre, and the tremendous legacy that his career has gifted us.
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

John Diedrich is one of the Australian theatre’s greatest and most versatile talents, having contributed to the industry across many platforms as actor, writer, director and producer. 
John commenced his career at age 11 with J.C. Williamson’s, appearing in the classics Camelot and then Oliver!, playing the Artful Dodger. At the age of 19 John produced and directed his first musical, presenting Minnie’s Boys, a musical based on the life of the Marx Brothers. Regular engagements as an actor followed in both plays and musicals, including Salad Days at St Martins, Grease for Harry M. Miller, Two Gentlemen of Verona for Kenn Brodziak, Lloyd George Knew My Father, starring alongside Sir Ralph Richardson, and with Leslie Phillips in The Man Most Likely To.
John co-wrote, directed and performed in three highly successful revues; Gershwin - a musical tribute to the songwriting brothers, The Twenties and All That Jazz and Oh Those Thirties.
In 1980, John was cast as Curly in Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s seminal musical Oklahoma!, playing the Palace theatre on London’s West End. The production was directed by Oscar’s son, James Hammerstein. For his performance, John was nominated for an Olivier Award as Best Actor in a Musical. He returned to Australia in 1982 to recreate the role in the Australian production and tour.
In 1987, John co-produced and starred as Guido Contini in the ground breaking musical Nine, for which he was nominated as Best Director of a Musical in the Sydney Theatre Critics awards. Nine was also nominated as the outstanding production of the year. John co-produced the original cast album of Nine which won the ARIA Award for Best Cast recording. He has recorded five other cast albums. 
John’s other theatre credits include Inspector Javert in Les Miserables, Wolf by Tobsha Lerner and Insignificance by Terry Johnson for Playbox, Aren’t We All with Sir Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert, High Society for the Melbourne Theatre Company, as Dr Grant Swain in David Williamson’s Dead White Males for the Sydney Theatre Company and as Vittorio Vidal in Sweet Charity. In 1993, he again appeared on London’s West End at the Prince of Wales theatre in the role of Frank Butler in Ronald Lee’s production of Annie Get Your Gun.
In 1998, John created the role of the silver-tongued lawyer, Billy Flynn, in the acclaimed revival of Chicago. In 2000, he was invited to London to play the role on the West End stage. Further theatre credits include Mack & Mabel, South Pacific, Into the Woods and Follies. 
Producing and directing credits include the musicals South Pacific, Titanic, Zorba and Jekyll & Hyde.
His television and film credits include Bluey, Special Squad, Class of ’74 and The Challenge. In the UK, the sitcom The Gingerbread Girl and Second Thoughts; and Fred Scheppsi’s The Devil’s Playground. 
In this two part conversation with John Diedrich, STAGES recounts many of those highlights, along with the challenges of a life in the theatre, and the tremendous legacy that his career has gifted us.
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

Martin Portus has managed media and communication strategies for five organisations, including the launch of the National Museum of Australia, for the University of Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music, Parramatta City Council and the Australia Council for the Arts.  
At Parramatta City Council Martin was also employed as senior policy/political adviser to three Lord Mayors.  Most recently, he completed a one-year contract where he reinvented the branding, media and partnership strategies for the Commonwealth’s new Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).  
NIDA trained, his first career was as a television and stage actor in Sydney and Adelaide. Later, with a BA from Adelaide University, he studied a post-graduate diploma of journalism at City University in London.  After freelancing in London, Martin worked in Sydney as an arts journalist and critic for Fairfax Media, mostly the SMH, before joining the ABC in 1989.
From 1989–2000,  Martin was an ABC TV and Radio National arts broadcaster and producer - presenter of Arts National, presenter of Performance (a specialist performing arts program) and producer/presenter of Arts Today.  
Martin continues to work as a theatre and dance critic, a freelance journalist and a PR and media strategy consultant. He also works for the performing arts advocacy organisation, Currency House. Martin is a  director of Currency and a media and editorial advisor, notably in promoting and steering the quarterly Platform Papers and quarterly Creative and Business Breakfast addresses at the MCA.
He has also served on the boards of the Sydney Star Observer, the ACT AIDS Council and the Street Theatre in Canberra.
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

Welcome back to this companion episode of the STAGES podcast and our conversation with Natalie Mosco.
In Part 1, Natalie shared anecdote from her vast career, particularly the period when she worked throughout Australia is many shows, garnering a significant profile. Natalie of course arrived in Australia via the Musical Hair, where she had been a member of the Broadway company.
Subsequent stage sojourns included Grease, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Magic Show, Gershwin, The Rocky Horror Show, Get Happy and Pippin. All of which she shares terrific insight to - the triumphs and occasional trauma. And always with tremendous passion, joy and respect; for an art form she adores and the folk who inhabit it.
She recalls her first Australian too - the great Cyril Ritchard, who directed her as an 11 year old in La Perichole at the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
In Part 2, Natalie recounts growing up and embracing an education in the Performing Arts. And revisits celebrated performances in Follies, as Emily Whitman, and Grand Hotel as the Ballerina Grushinskaya. 
Throughout her stellar career she has also worked alongside key artists, teachers, performers and creatives - everyone a contributor to Natalie’s remarkable story; and for who she continues to carry the torch of their combined artistry.
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