STAGES with Peter Eyers

Australian/American soprano Rachelle Durkin began her career in Australia, winning three of that country’s major vocal competitions: The Herald Sun Aria, The Marianne Mathy Scholarship and The Metropolitan Opera Award. Immediately following her successes, she flew to New York City where she was a recipient of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was accepted into the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

Rachelle subsequently became an established solo artist at The Met, singing leading roles for many years – most notably Norina in Don Pasquale (recorded live for Sirius Radio), Lisa in La sonnambula (recorded live Sirius Radio), Clorinda in La Cenerentola (recorded live Sirius Radio and DVD release), Mrs Schlesen in Phillip Glass’ Satyagraha (recorded live Sirius Radio and DVD release), Frasquita in Carmen, Masha in Pique Dame, First Flower Maiden in Parsifal (also at Salzburg Festival under the baton of Maestro Levine), and Young Girl in Moses und Aron.

2021/2022 engagements included Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Governess (The Turn of the Screw) in Adelaide, Morgana (Alcina) in Canberra and Musetta (La bohème) in Perth; in 2023, she returned to Opera Australia as Mrs Schlesen, to Perth as Musetta and was soloist with the Sydney, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. In 2024, she sang Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) in Hawai’i and was soloist for West Australian Opera, Opera Queensland, Australian Baroque and the Australian Youth Orchestra. In 2025, she returns to Opera Australia as Musetta in their Sydney Winter Season of La bohème.

A highly adept interpreter in a wide range of repertoire spanning from the baroque to modern masterpieces, Rachelle’s other noteworthy performances include: Kumudha in John Adams’ A Flowering Tree for The Perth International Arts Festival; the title role in Alcina (c: Richard Hickox), Armida in Rinaldo (c: Trevor Pinnock) and Angelica in Orlando for Opera Australia. Rachelle received Helpmann Award nominations for all four of the aforementioned appearances. She received her fifth nomination for Haydn’s Armida with Pinchgut Opera (c: Antony Walker).

Other highlights have included Romance at the Met – Opera’s Most Romantic Moments (an iTunes exclusive with tenor Matthew Polenzani); soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Detroit Symphony Orchestra (c: Leonard Slatkin) and West Australian Symphony Orchestra (c: Asher Fisch), performances with Bryn Terfel and Lisa McCune at Leeuwin Estate Winery and Gala Concerts with Placido Domingo and José Carreras.

Rachelle returns to Opera Australia in August and September as Musetta in gale Edward’s celebrated production of Puccini’s La Boheme.

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).

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Marg Horwell is a multi-award-winning Theatre, Opera and Film Designer, Installation Artist and Photographer.

Marg’s recent select credits include; The Confessions (Alexander Zeldin Company/The National Theatre), The Picture of Dorian Gray (Sydney Theatre Company/ Michael Cassell Group), The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde (Sydney Theatre Company), The Dead City (Deutche Oper Am Rhein), The Happy End (Victorian Opera), The Marriage of Figaro, The Human Voice and The Call (Opera Queensland), Lorelei (Opera Queensland/Victorian Opera), Because the Night (Malthouse Theatre), Our Town (Theater Basel).

Marg designed costumes for Kip Williams’ The Resistible Rise of Arthur Ui and Lord of the Flies and designed set and costumes on How to Rule the World and The Lifespan of a Fact, at Sydney Theatre Company, Salome (English National Opera), Avalanche (Barbican Theatre), Leviathan (Circa), Common Ground (Chunky Move), Anthem (Performing Lines), Animal (InFlux), Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography (Griffin/Perth Theatre Company), Nora (Belvoir)

For Melbourne Theatre Company Marg has designed Bernhardt/Hamlet, Escaped Alone and What If If Only, My Sister Jill, Girls and Boys, The Truth, Lilith the Jungle Girl (MTC/Sisters Grimm), Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes (MTC/Belvoir), Marlin (MTC/Arena Theatre), Cock (MTC/La Boite), The House of Bernarda Alba, Birdland, Peddling, Constellations, Music, The Dream Life of Butterflies, The Water Carriers, Circle Mirror Transformation.

In 2017, Marg was the Designer in Residence at Malthouse Theatre, and has designed The Homesexuals, Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again, The Testament of Mary, and The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man, Edward II, The Good Person of Szechuan (Malthouse / The National Theatre of China), Bliss (Malthouse/Belvoir St), Melancholia, Blasted, The Histrionic and Caravan for the company.

For independent company Dee & Cornelius Marg has designed productions of Big Heart, Savages, Shit and Love that toured as part of the Theatre program at the Venice Biennale.

As Artistic Associate with Angus Cerini Doubletap Marg designed productions of Wretch, Save For Crying, Chapter from the Pandemic, and Resplendence.

Marg has been recognised for her outstanding work with three Sydney Theatre Awards and Thirteen Greenroom Awards, including Best Scenic and Costume Designs for The Picture of Dorian Gray touring to the West End and Broadway in 2023. She adds to this collection with an Olivier Award and Tony Award for her striking Costume Designs which populate the celebrated production.

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

Charles Busch has forged a unique place in the world of entertainment as playwright, actor, director, novelist, cabaret performer and drag icon. He is the author and star of over twenty-five plays including The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom; one of the longest running plays in the history of Off-Broadway. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway, won the Outer Circle Critics’ John L. Gassner Award for playwriting, received a Tony nomination for Best Play and is the longest running Broadway comedy of the past twenty-five years. 

He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. 

For two seasons, he appeared as Nat Ginzburg on the HBO series OZ and is the author of the auto-biographical novel Whores of Lost Atlantis. He has directed two films; the Showtime short subject, Personal Assistant, and a feature, A Very Serious Person, which won an honourable mention at the Tribeca Film Festival. His most recent film is the comedy caper The Sixth Reel starring Charles along with Julie Halston, Margaret Cho and Tim Daley.  In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright, and was given a star on the Playwright’s Walk outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre. He is also the subject of the documentary film The Lady in Question is Charles Busch.

He is a two-time MAC award winner, a Bistro Award Honouree and has performed his cabaret act in many cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Barcelona and New York. In winter of 2016, his show The Lady at the Mic premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Centre’s American Songbook series. 

His autobiography Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy was published by BenBella Books in 2023. Charles Busch was among the 2024 inductees in New York's Theatre Hall of Fame.

Photo: Eric Stephen Jacobs

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

Charles Busch has forged a unique place in the world of entertainment as playwright, actor, director, novelist, cabaret performer and drag icon. He is the author and star of over twenty-five plays including The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom; one of the longest running plays in the history of Off-Broadway. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway, won the Outer Circle Critics’ John L. Gassner Award for playwriting, received a Tony nomination for Best Play and is the longest running Broadway comedy of the past twenty-five years. 

He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. 

For two seasons, he appeared as Nat Ginzburg on the HBO series OZ and is the author of the auto-biographical novel Whores of Lost Atlantis. He has directed two films; the Showtime short subject, Personal Assistant, and a feature, A Very Serious Person, which won an honourable mention at the Tribeca Film Festival. His most recent film is the comedy caper The Sixth Reel starring Charles along with Julie Halston, Margaret Cho and Tim Daley.  In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright, and was given a star on the Playwright’s Walk outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre. He is also the subject of the documentary film The Lady in Question is Charles Busch.

He is a two-time MAC award winner, a Bistro Award Honouree and has performed his cabaret act in many cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Barcelona and New York. In winter of 2016, his show The Lady at the Mic premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Centre’s American Songbook series. 

His autobiography Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy was published by BenBella Books in 2023. Charles Busch was among the 2024 inductees in New York's Theatre Hall of Fame.

Photo: Eric Stephen Jacobs

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

Seann Miley Moore graduated from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2013. They quickly established themself in the world of musical theatre in productions of Rent, Sweet Charity and the King & I.

"Seann Miley Moore stole the show," Cameron Mackintosh said of their pioneering performance as The EnginQueer in Opera Australia’s Miss Saigon. Awarded Best Actor at both the Sydney Theatre Awards and Naarm’s Green Room Awards - “They are a complete revelation."

A true embodiment of queer Asian excellence, Seann now brings unmatched charisma and fearless queer spirit to the role of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, playing stages across Australia.

Loved worldwide, Seann first captured our hearts on X Factor UK in 2015 and The Voice AU in 2021, where their powerful performances of Freddie Mercury’s "The Show Must Go On" and Andrea Bocelli's "The Prayer" led Simon Cowell to declare, "This kid's a star!" Since then, Seann has headlined major Pride events globally—from the UK to Amsterdam, New York, and most recently at Sydney World Pride 2023.

Their bold & unique style has caught the eye of brands like Lululemon, Camilla With Love, Fenty Beauty, and Jean Paul Gaultier, with Vogue Australia featuring them in the Get Used To It pride campaign supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

An advocate for love and equality, Seann’s disco-pop anthem My Lovers, a collaboration with St Croix, soared to #5 on the ARIA Charts. Support this Slayzian showgirl and stream it now on Spotify!

In October they return to the role of The Engineer in Miss Saigon for the UK tour.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch plays Carriageworks in Sydney from July 17th.

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

Wendy Harmer is one of Australia’s most versatile entertainers – broadcaster, author, journalist and stage performer.

As a stand-up comedian she performed her one-woman shows at the Melbourne, Edinburgh, Montreal and Glasgow Mayfest Comedy Festivals, in London’s West End and the Sydney Theatre Company.  Wendy enjoyed huge popularity leading Sydney radio station 2Day FM’s top-rating Breakfast Show for 11 years. She was the co-host of ABC’s 702 Sydney morning show from 2016 -2021.  She has hosted, written and appeared in a variety of TV shows including ABC’s The Big Gig.

A former political journalist, Wendy is the author of eight books for adults including her bestselling novel Farewell My Ovaries, Love and Punishment and Nagging For Beginners, a how-to guide for women.  She has also written two teen novels, I Lost My Mobile at the Mall and I Made lattes For a Love God. 

Wendy’s children’s book series about Pearlie the park fairy have sold more than 700,000 copies in Australia and internationally since the first title Pearlie in the Park was published in 2003.  A stage show of the books adapted by Wendy played at the Seymour Centre in Sydney and toured regional NSW in 2005 and then nationally in 2007. The animated television series based on Wendy’s Pearlie books, co-produced by Sticky Pictures and Canadian broadcaster Nelvana, premiered on Network Ten in October 2009 and aired on Nickelodean Australia and in 11 other countries around the world.  Wendy developed the series as Creative Producer and wrote multiple episodes.

Stuff, a four-part television documentary series which Wendy produced, wrote and presented, premiered on ABC TV in March 2008. In late 2008 Wendy and Angela Catterns recorded a 16 part podcasting series for ABC Radio Local called Is It Just Me? which returned for a second season in 2009. 

Wendy teamed up again with Angela Catterns on ABC News Radio with a new show called It’s News to Me!, which recapped the week’s events.  

Wendy has been a columnist on many publications including the Good Weekend and The Sunday Telegraph.

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 Smillie has captivated audiences over several decades. Commencing his career at the age of 10, as an in-demand boy soprano singing with symphony orchestras and on radio, he continues to charm with his velvet voice on countless commercials, documentary narrations, and audiobooks.

Smillie was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His parents emigrated to Australia in the early 1950s when Smillie was still a child. He has worked in both Britain and Australia in film, extensively on stage, on television, and with voice work.

Growing up in Perth, he quickly established himself as an actor of note performing with the university graduate company in productions of Hamlet and Mourning Becomes Electra before journeying to the East coast and diversifying work at Channel O as newsreader, booth announcer and host.

While his family remained in Perth, Smillie returned to the United Kingdom to appear in stage roles in London's West End and would divide his time between the UK and Australia for several decades.

In Australia his television work includes roles in Adventure Island, The Magic Circle Club, Homicide, Division 4, Prisoner and as suave Dr Dan Marshall in the 1980s drama series Return to Eden. And in the UK, Red Dwarf, Z-Cars and Highlander.

With J.C. Williamson’s he played the role of Edward Rutledge in 1776, alongside a stellar cast that included Lewis Fiander, Bruce Kerr, Rod McLennan, Bruce Barry and Geraldene Morrow.

On the London stage, his break-out role was as Tony in West Side Story. His presence in the role ensured that Arthur Laurents permitted the show to open in the West End. 

The following years saw him playing leading men in a string of West End productions that included, Henry II in Thomas and The King with a score written by John Williams; Dr. Thomas Barnardo in Ernest Maxim’s Barnardo; Nicos in Kander & Ebb’s Zorba; Georges in Jerry Herman’s La Cage aux Folles at the London Palladium; and also as Fred Graham in Cole Porter’s  Kiss Me Kate with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In 1996 he achieved a dream role as Mack Sennet in the London production of Mack & Mabel, opposite Caroline O’Connor as Mabel Normand. The following decade saw Smillie touring in the UK tour of 42nd Street, playing Julian Marsh, Pastor Manders in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts for the Perth International Arts Festival, Charles in Stephen Sondheim's Putting It Together at the Library Theatre in Manchester, Daddy Warbucks in a touring production of Annie with Su Pollard and as Caesar, in a Sadlers Wells Lost Musicals production of Fanny. He also has a Royal Variety Performance to his credit.

Now settled back in Glasgow, recent years have seen James appear in stage productions at the Traverse Theatre, Oran Mor, and the Pitlochry Festival Theatre; and extensive voice work and associated accolades.

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 and an opportunity to look at the ceremony and shows up for awards in our annual Tony episode.

STAGES is joined by publicist Ian Phipps and reviewer Simon Parris, to dissect the nominations and offer some predictions for the awards which will be presented on June 8th in New York City at radio City Musica Hall, hosted by Cynthia Erivo.

The three of us have all recently been in New York and enjoyed the delights of the Broadway stage, taking in quite a few of the nominated shows and performances, giving us a familiar insight to where the awards might land.

Australians are an ever growing presence on the Broadway stage and this year were are cheering for the Sydney Theatre Company and Michael Cassel’s production of The Picture of Dorian Gray; a play that has taken the world by storm and garnered a host of nominations for the Australian creatives and performer Sarah Snook.

Ainsley Melham is co-leading the company in the musical Boop! which has also earned nominations and Sarah Bowden is in the ensemble of SMASH, also up for some awards. John Frost is also one of the producers who has brought the Bobby Darrin story, Just in Time, to the Broadway stage - another show in a fierce competition.

It has been a sensational season on Broadway, and I’m thrilled to join by 2 fellow travellers who are able to offer some insight to what has been playing - in this 2025 TONY edition 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

Ainsley Melham began his Music Theatre Career in 2016, skating into the Hayes Theatre as Sonny Malone in Mathew Managements' Xanadu. 

Soon after he traded skates for a magic carpet and opened Disney's Hit Broadway Musical ALADDIN, in the title role. He toured Australia with the production playing Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

In February 2019 he made his Broadway Debut at the New Amsterdam Theatre reprising his role as Aladdin in the broadway company, before travelling to London to film the production at The Prince Edward Theatre.

Upon his return to Australia he played Molina in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Kiss of the Spider Woman, as well as the title role of Pippin in the Tony Award winning production at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along at the Hayes Theatre, and Prince Topher in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Ainsley has also guest starred as Fiyero in the Australian National Tour of Wicked The Musical. 

Preceding his MainStage theatre debut he trained at WAAPA (Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts) and was a cast member of the International Children's Pop Group Hi-5, having appeared in its Australasian tours, and its televised Hi-5 House Series . 

Ainsley originated the role of Dwayne, alongside the cast of Boop! The Musical, which enjoyed a pre-Broadway run at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago. The musical is directed by 3 time Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, with a book by Tony winner Bob Martin, music by 16 time Grammy winner David Foster, and lyrics by Tony nominee Susan Birkenhead.

Boop! The Musical is presently playing at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway with Ainsley Melham starring. He joins STAGES to reflect on his stellar career thus far and the exciting venture that is BOOP! 

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

Charles Kirsch is the producer and host of the Broadway focused podcast, Broadway Babble. The show has seen Charles conduct in-depth interviews with some of Broadway’s best, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carol Burnett, Harvey Fierstein, Chita Rivera, and Kelli O’Hara. Broadway Babble is now entering its sixth year, and most impressive is that the show’s 18 year old host commenced the venture when he was 12. 

An accomplished and avid reader by the age of 3,  Charles’ parents and grandparents provided access to music and theatre, with early productions of Annie and On the Town leaving a major impression and beginning a passion for musical theatre.

Charles has extended his celebration of the Broadway theatre with a series of concerts at the iconic New York cabaret venue, 54 Below. Gathering an ensemble of Broadway luminaries and established performers in the presentation of lost musicals and celebrations of legendary theatre-makers. Last month featured a visit to the musical Coco; the Katherine Hepburn lead musical about Coco Chanel, and next month he hosts a tribute to composer Charles Strouse.

He is a regular contributor to Cast Album Reviews, and has also written articles for Encore Magazine and a chapter on the musical Annie for the book 50 Key Stage Musicals (Routledge Press, 2022). He is also a contributor to BroadwayWorld's Teen Critics series.

Charles has produced a series of virtual game night benefits for the non-profit organization Dancers Over 40, and his Zoom reunions of Follies, Applause, On the Twentieth Century, and Titanic have gained thousands of viewers.

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