The Stage Show

In One Man in His Time, the legendary Australian performer and director John Bell, now 80 years old, reflects on his own life and career — so much of it lived in company with William Shakespeare.

Also, Enlightenment by Joe Paradise Lui reimagines The Buddha and The Monkey King as two young women in contemporary Australia, and we reconnect two Harry Potter and the Cursed Child cast members a year after COVID-19 put the magic on hold.

Actor and playwright Meyne Wyatt, recently named one of Time magazine's 100 emerging leaders, reflects on his life in the arts, success with the paintbrush at the Archibalds and his recent turn as a voice actor, narrating The Boy from the Mish for Audible.

Also, Opera Queensland present the Australian opera Lorelei, conceived and performed by Ali McGregor, and we learn about Sooraj Subramaniam's journey from Indian classical dance lessons at the age of six to a career as a globetrotting dancer.

For decades, Patricia Cornelius has been writing tough, passionate plays about people who are rarely seen or heard in Australian theatres. Through those years, she's often had director Susie Dee alongside her. Their new play is called Runt.

Also, The Twins reunites comedian Greg Fleet and documentary maker Ian Darling more than 40 years after they starred in a school play together and Opera Australia's new production of Bluebeard's Castle by Béla Bartók confronts the work's uncomfortable themes.

Robyn Nevin has been a leading talent in Australian theatre for decades, but her latest role may be one of her toughest yet — in A German Life at the Adelaide Festival, she'll become Brunhilde Pomsel, secretary to the Nazi minister for propaganda, Joseph Goebbels.

Also, how Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold, the first part of his Ring Cycle, changed the sound of opera forever and we discuss Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard with creatives from Black Swan's new adaptation and two Year 12s studying the play.

Composer and performer Eddie Perfect's Broadway adventures included some of the highest highs and lowest lows of his career. Now with two Broadway credits and a Tony nomination on his CV, he's touring a new show of stories and songs: Introspective.

Also, we hear a scene from La Boite's Naked & Screaming by award-winner Mark Rogers, and America's most-produced living playwright, Lauren Gunderson, tackles the story of her own husband, virologist Nathan Wolfe, in The Catastrophist.

Following its acclaimed world premiere season, the Australian musical Fangirls returns. We learn how the show's writer, composer and original lead, Yve Blake, a theatre geek who can't play any instruments came to write one of the hottest musicals around.

Also, voice and dialect coach Leith McPherson shows us how to find the performer within when reading stories to children and Dr Erin Brannigan continues to share the joys of watching contemporary dance.

As Wesley Enoch wraps up his five years as artistic director of the Sydney Festival, he reflects on his decades-long commitment to Indigenous storytelling, the legacy of his directorship and what comes next.

Also, we hear a performance from Black Brass at the Perth Festival, inspired by stories of resilience from Perth's African communities, and discuss the enduring popularity of Our Town by Thornton Wilder.

Queensland Ballet artistic director Li Cunxin has continually shown his capacity for triumphing against the odds. He's drawn on that strength again to guide his company through the COVID-19 shutdown.

Also, Tony Award-winning composer of Fun Home, Jeanine Tesori, joins us from her Manhattan living room to share her insights into creating great musical theatre.

Two of Australia's most celebrated actors, Hugo Weaving and Wayne Blair join us in an extended version of our conversation from the Sydney Theatre Company, where the lights were back on and they were appearing together in Angus Cerini's new play, Wonnangatta.

Two of Australia's most celebrated actors, Hugo Weaving and Wayne Blair join us in an extended version of our conversation from the Sydney Theatre Company, where the lights were back on and they were appearing together in Angus Cerini's new play, Wonnangatta.