WEBVTT - Felicia Foxx Is Free To Be

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<v Speaker 1>I record this podcast on Gaetigul Country. I'd like to

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<v Speaker 1>pay my respect to the traditional.

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<v Speaker 2>Custodians, and I'm recording on Urando Country, part of the

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<v Speaker 2>cooler nation. Let's go.

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<v Speaker 1>I know you're gonna dig this. It's like I've been

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<v Speaker 1>given like an extra sprinkle of something.

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<v Speaker 2>You've got layers, Yeah, I got layers. I was just thinking,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm like, we're just such beautiful storytellers.

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<v Speaker 1>You make a lot of sense to that girl. No,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm done.

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<v Speaker 2>I've been too honest to go.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, it was Marti Gras on the weekend, and what

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<v Speaker 1>an incredible year it's been for Mardi Gras. It's such

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<v Speaker 1>a good turnout. I sat at home and watched it

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<v Speaker 1>on the TV from Port Stevens. It was on my

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<v Speaker 1>first nights that I had actually watched it on TV,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's such a good broadcast. You know, there's no ads.

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<v Speaker 3>I know.

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<v Speaker 2>I love how it's just bang bang bang bang bang bang.

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<v Speaker 1>How did you spend your Saturday night?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh? I was God. I was in Brisbane doing a

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<v Speaker 2>book launch, so pretty exciting. I mean I flew to

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<v Speaker 2>Brisee on Friday morning and flew out Saturday night. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>that's how I spend it.

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<v Speaker 1>How did it go?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was went really well. My girlfriend spontaneously actually

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<v Speaker 2>booked the wrong flight on Friday morning we want to

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<v Speaker 2>fly out from Melbourne. I was flying to Brizzy. She

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<v Speaker 2>was flying back to Sydney. She realized that she booked

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<v Speaker 2>the wrong flight. So I was like, why did you

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<v Speaker 2>just come to Brisy and come to the book launch?

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<v Speaker 2>And she did so I was like, all right, So

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<v Speaker 2>that was really nice. We got to spend like Marti

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<v Speaker 2>grad together.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I saw in your story over the weekend that

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<v Speaker 1>you called her the love of your life. Oh tell

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<v Speaker 1>me about that. What is that feeling like?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know, just peace.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know.

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<v Speaker 2>I think every day I spend with Mia, I don't know,

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<v Speaker 2>we get closer and we both said I love you

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<v Speaker 2>over the weekend. So the weekend was filled with lots

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<v Speaker 2>of loves. But I don't know, it's just like a

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<v Speaker 2>comfortable feeling. I feel like she's my best friend and

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<v Speaker 2>I don't I don't know. I just feel like I'm

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<v Speaker 2>just so excited to build a life with her. I

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<v Speaker 2>think the only complication is just us living apart from

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<v Speaker 2>one another at the moment and just trying to figure

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<v Speaker 2>out how that looks. I think we just both want

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<v Speaker 2>to spend time with one another and we just kind

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<v Speaker 2>of make sure we like book the next trip, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>as soon as we can, so we can get excited

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<v Speaker 2>for whenever we get to see each other in person again.

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<v Speaker 1>But beautiful. I want to talk about Mardi Gras over

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend, and there's been so many great posts that

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<v Speaker 1>people have been doing online celebrating that weekend and especially

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<v Speaker 1>the parade. We had the first Nation's float and buy

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<v Speaker 1>Icon Barker. It was one of the people who you know,

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<v Speaker 1>were the shining figures on that float, but also an ally,

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<v Speaker 1>Isaac Compton. He was up there with his big ole

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<v Speaker 1>on the.

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<v Speaker 2>I was so happy to see that. That looks so

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<v Speaker 2>much fun. I was actually getting so much flomo and

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<v Speaker 2>it looked like, oh honestly, that just the theme Black

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<v Speaker 2>Royalty with all the mob on the flow, like that

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<v Speaker 2>would have just been the best vibe, Like I reckon,

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<v Speaker 2>I would have just been living totally be a fly

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<v Speaker 2>on the wall, would just be there in person.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's so good because they're one of the first floats,

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<v Speaker 1>so they're actually i think the first float after the

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<v Speaker 1>Duke's on bike.

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<v Speaker 2>They should be first things first. First Nation's mob should

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<v Speaker 2>be the first, always at the front and center, always.

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<v Speaker 1>But I love that because they get it over and

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<v Speaker 1>done with quickly. By the time you get to number

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<v Speaker 1>two hundred. When you're watching, I'm thinking his mob look

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<v Speaker 1>half asleep, like they look tired because they've been in

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<v Speaker 1>the holding pen since four o'clock.

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<v Speaker 2>I know, I remember, I remember being like a part

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<v Speaker 2>of hours. It is hey, like it's just but you know,

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<v Speaker 2>when you're first and you're going that first adrenaline if

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<v Speaker 2>you see, oh I feel a good little goose bumpies.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah it is. It is an amazing feeling. And I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to just talk about something that is quite amazing

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<v Speaker 1>that has come out over the weekend, and it's a

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<v Speaker 1>post from Felicia Fox, who's a bit of a queer icon.

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<v Speaker 2>They are.

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<v Speaker 1>They are somebody who has definitely made a mark on

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<v Speaker 1>the quei scene as a drag queen, Felicia Fox, and

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<v Speaker 1>I only saw them perform recently, only a week ago

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<v Speaker 1>at Barker's thirtieth and one of the really beautiful moments

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<v Speaker 1>that I saw from the weekend was a shot of

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<v Speaker 1>Felicia Fox.

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<v Speaker 2>I know exactly what shot you're talking about?

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, and the shot represented the intersection of who Felicia is,

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<v Speaker 1>so the cultural identity with a cultural garment, the lap lap,

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<v Speaker 1>and they were also painted up. The intersection was that

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<v Speaker 1>and their queer identity. So they wore thigh high red

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<v Speaker 1>boots to match the lap lap. I thought that was iconic.

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<v Speaker 2>It's given kinky boots. I was like, I'm here, but

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<v Speaker 2>I could never walk in them. I love that.

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<v Speaker 1>It just to me was such a beautiful representation of pride,

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<v Speaker 1>of everything that Felicia is, you know, and this intersection

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<v Speaker 1>that I too resonate with. So the photo was posted

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<v Speaker 1>online yesterday and it has caused a stir within the community.

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<v Speaker 1>There are very mixed emotions about this shot. I thought

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<v Speaker 1>it was amazing. I wanted to get your take on it.

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<v Speaker 1>You've seen the image, what were your initial reactions?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think seeing it, I felt a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>pride because you know that first nation's flow is the

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<v Speaker 2>first float, and if you know people are seeing Felicia,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, dressed up expressing themselves. The whole thing, whole

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<v Speaker 2>point of martigrav is self expression, love, acceptance, right, and

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<v Speaker 2>that photo just intersects so much of her personality, but

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<v Speaker 2>I see myself so much in that as well. I

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<v Speaker 2>see the queerness, I see the cultural, I see the

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<v Speaker 2>community part. I see like accepting they're a queer identity

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<v Speaker 2>and being able to forward and show that. And I

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<v Speaker 2>feel a lot of like peace with that as well.

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<v Speaker 1>But I agree it's showing.

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<v Speaker 2>Like an involvement of culture and identity and I think,

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<v Speaker 2>like I felt really proud. But I have been reading

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<v Speaker 2>the comments. I'm not on Facebook, so I have had

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<v Speaker 2>a few people screenshot. I had conversations with Kayla, my housemate,

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<v Speaker 2>about it this morning, and I can see it from

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<v Speaker 2>some perspectives, but I don't agree with all of the

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<v Speaker 2>comments and the hate that she is getting. I'd love

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<v Speaker 2>to know what your thoughts are, especially as well, because

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<v Speaker 2>the lap lap is traditionally for men in cultural practice.

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<v Speaker 2>What's your take on it.

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<v Speaker 1>I also just want to say that you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>lap lap isn't just worn at ceremony or culture practice.

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<v Speaker 1>It was traditionally worn always, you know, it was The

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<v Speaker 1>painting is the cultural element that elevates for ceremony or

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<v Speaker 1>for you know, a corrobboree that would happen with men's business.

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<v Speaker 1>But what I want to say, is that for me,

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<v Speaker 1>this beautiful image and Felicia Fox sharing these parts of

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<v Speaker 1>her identity, their identity is an expression of pride. This

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<v Speaker 1>is culture on display in both aspects. Its first nation's

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<v Speaker 1>culture and it's gay culture. I think that the views

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<v Speaker 1>that I've seen online, and this comes from Facebook, there

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<v Speaker 1>are so many comments that really are trenched in homophobia,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think that we are ingrained to feel a

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<v Speaker 1>certain way about certain parts of the community, and when

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<v Speaker 1>they intersect, it is jolting for a lot of people.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think that the later of violence that I'm

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<v Speaker 1>seeing is granted. I don't think that it is something

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<v Speaker 1>that is necessary in this moment, because it's like, this

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<v Speaker 1>is a person on the one night of the year

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<v Speaker 1>where they get to express their full set health and

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<v Speaker 1>you're trying to tear them down. I just think it

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<v Speaker 1>gives insecure I think it gives a lack of understanding,

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<v Speaker 1>a lack of empathy, a lack of knowledge. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that people who have this very black and white view

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<v Speaker 1>on this, and you know, this is disrespect to culture.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's a pick and choose moment. I think

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<v Speaker 1>they're choosing this to throw these hateful and derogatory, homophobic, racist.

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<v Speaker 2>Violence just contributes to the system that already exists.

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<v Speaker 1>Like, but what I'm trying to get at with what

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<v Speaker 1>I'm saying is the fact that I really feel that

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<v Speaker 1>these people who are making these comments wouldn't have the

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<v Speaker 1>same reaction to culture being intersected in other parts of

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<v Speaker 1>the community. For instance, the football.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, AFL RL Olympic game.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's the intersection of culture and a modern sport

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<v Speaker 1>is okay, and it isn't disrespectful to our people. Yet

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<v Speaker 1>as soon as there is this queer take on this intersection,

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<v Speaker 1>it feels like these homophobic rants are just a tirade

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<v Speaker 1>because people are so entrenched in their ways of thinking

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<v Speaker 1>and what it is about. It's about the masculinity element

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<v Speaker 1>to it. It's about the fact that a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>these men and the women who are commenting see this

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<v Speaker 1>as a blatant disrespect to masculine men and the masculinity

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<v Speaker 1>of our culture when you.

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<v Speaker 2>Can't be both masculine and feminine at the same time.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course you can, but their view is that men

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<v Speaker 1>and culture has to be masculine. You know. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>very entrenched like view and take on our culture. That

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<v Speaker 1>is it just excludes the different identities that we all

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<v Speaker 1>can carry, you know, and like people. One comment that

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<v Speaker 1>I made is that, you know, gay mob didn't just

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<v Speaker 1>pop up with the first fleet, and we've been around

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<v Speaker 1>for millennia, been a part of culture forever. And people

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<v Speaker 1>are saying, well, you know what happened to those type

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<v Speaker 1>of people in our culture when they were taken out

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<v Speaker 1>to do ceremony? They never came back. And all I

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<v Speaker 1>think to myself is that's bullshit, absolute bullshit.

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<v Speaker 2>And there's like people who come out and make these

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<v Speaker 2>comments but they don't understand the harm that they could

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<v Speaker 2>be causing, and you know, because they don't obviously get

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<v Speaker 2>it from a queer perspective, or why do we have

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<v Speaker 2>to shrink ourselves to like to fit in to this

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<v Speaker 2>this box that we're already kind of already trying to

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<v Speaker 2>like break out of, you know what I mean?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, And I think as First Nations people, we know

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<v Speaker 1>what it's like to have to fight to prove who

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<v Speaker 1>we are, to share our identity, to be proud of

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<v Speaker 1>who we are. And there is a whole another layer

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<v Speaker 1>to that when it comes to being a queer First

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<v Speaker 1>Nations person. So if you're a black fellow. You already

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<v Speaker 1>know what it feels like to be a press. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>do that to the people who are within our community

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<v Speaker 1>but who are even more oppressed because of our sexual identity.

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<v Speaker 1>Felicia Fox is free to be who they are. And

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<v Speaker 1>I want to make a hashtag which is free to

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<v Speaker 1>be Felicia Fox for the community to show their support.

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<v Speaker 1>So hashtag free to be Felicia Fox. Show your support

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<v Speaker 1>for Felicia and get behind this incredible artist because they

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<v Speaker 1>have brought so much joy, so much beauty to the

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<v Speaker 1>First Nation's queer community. So I just think it is

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<v Speaker 1>such an incredible moment of the intersection of who we

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<v Speaker 1>are as First Nations and queen people. And coming up

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<v Speaker 1>is an incredible First Nations person who also happens to

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<v Speaker 1>be a gay man. It's Ian Michael and the wonderful

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<v Speaker 1>Larinda May, Mary Paul. This is super exciting. We have

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<v Speaker 1>some incredible guests. Just before this, the segway was that

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<v Speaker 1>coming up next is a person who also is is

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<v Speaker 1>such an icon at the intersection of First Nations in

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<v Speaker 1>queer culture. So we're talking about Ian Michael and the

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<v Speaker 1>incredible Larinda May and Mary Paul. Welcome. The first things First.

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<v Speaker 2>Now where you're from.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm a woman man from the southwest of w A.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm Hungary and Susy Islander woman and I'm from Rockhampton, Queensland.

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<v Speaker 1>An earthquake. Oh you didn't know?

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<v Speaker 3>Oh wait, no, up in towns Villain.

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<v Speaker 1>Sorry is that far away? Queen It is right. I

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<v Speaker 1>just think North Queensland is just one little spot.

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<v Speaker 4>Literally.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, welcome to First things First, we're so excited to

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<v Speaker 1>have you on because we've seen some rave reviews about

0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:51.320
<v Speaker 1>an incredible show that's happening at the Sydney Opera House.

0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:56.040
<v Speaker 1>I and Michael, let's go to you first. Picnic Hanging Rock.

0:12:56.520 --> 0:12:59.839
<v Speaker 1>Iconic title, iconic name, and Michael, I mean these things

0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:00.480
<v Speaker 1>go together.

0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:11.560
<v Speaker 2>I was like, real celebrity if you're saying both names. Michael, welcome. No, yeah,

0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:13.760
<v Speaker 2>tell us a bit about the players. I've actually never

0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:15.800
<v Speaker 2>seen it, and I know we've had you on before

0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:20.000
<v Speaker 2>in talking about Stolen and now you've jumped onto now

0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.400
<v Speaker 2>working as a director at Picnic at Hanging Rock. I

0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:27.120
<v Speaker 2>don't actually know much about the play. I'm coming and blind,

0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:29.559
<v Speaker 2>so can you tell us a little bit about it?

0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:33.360
<v Speaker 4>Picnic Hanging Rock is an adaptation by Tom Wright and

0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:36.360
<v Speaker 4>it's an adaptation of the Joan Lindsay novel which was

0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:40.080
<v Speaker 4>written in the sixties, and it tells the story of

0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:43.040
<v Speaker 4>a group of school girls from the Appleyard College in

0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:48.160
<v Speaker 4>the Victorian Highlands and on Valentine's Day in nineteen hundred,

0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:51.800
<v Speaker 4>they go to a picnic and while they're there, some

0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.520
<v Speaker 4>of them fall asleep and it's this dreamy, lovely, CPR

0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:57.320
<v Speaker 4>kind of toned world that they're having this beautiful day,

0:13:57.880 --> 0:13:59.599
<v Speaker 4>and some of the girls decide that they want to

0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:02.400
<v Speaker 4>take some measurements of the rock because on Monday morning,

0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:04.560
<v Speaker 4>when they get back to the college, they have to

0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.600
<v Speaker 4>write an essay and they're they're kind of pulled by

0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:11.080
<v Speaker 4>this invisible force that takes them higher and higher into

0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.000
<v Speaker 4>the rock and they don't have any control of it.

0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:15.960
<v Speaker 4>And the four girls fall into this deep sleep that

0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:21.200
<v Speaker 4>none of them can explain why or what happens to

0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:21.880
<v Speaker 4>them afterwards.

0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:23.240
<v Speaker 1>But I don't want to tell you about the drug

0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:23.720
<v Speaker 1>they talk.

0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:28.440
<v Speaker 4>They fall into this sleep and then they wake up

0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:31.160
<v Speaker 4>and three of the girls are then taken higher and

0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:33.520
<v Speaker 4>higher into the rock and essentially go missing.

0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:38.120
<v Speaker 2>Wow, what kind of ethereal in like mysterious?

0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:38.520
<v Speaker 4>Is it?

0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:38.680
<v Speaker 1>Like?

0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:43.040
<v Speaker 2>Oh? Like, I don't know how what kind of genre

0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:44.800
<v Speaker 2>is it.

0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:46.000
<v Speaker 4>It's like Australian Gothic.

0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:51.320
<v Speaker 2>Okay, yeah, I'm here for the goth Yeah yeah.

0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:56.360
<v Speaker 4>One of the girls, Edith, so Marion, Miranda, Edith climb

0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:58.120
<v Speaker 4>the rock and Edith is the only one that comes

0:14:58.120 --> 0:14:58.560
<v Speaker 4>back down.

0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:00.480
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah you, Larinda.

0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:04.600
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well I can't exactly tell you because there are

0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.400
<v Speaker 3>seventeen roles in this show and only five actors, so

0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:10.920
<v Speaker 3>none of us exactly play any one character.

0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:14.920
<v Speaker 2>Oh I love this, so you change constantly, okay.

0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:17.920
<v Speaker 4>And first, the first section of the play is essentially

0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:19.960
<v Speaker 4>setting up the disappearance of the girls, and then we

0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:23.040
<v Speaker 4>spend the rest of the production hearing about the aftermath

0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:26.280
<v Speaker 4>and the search for them, and how the the traumas

0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:29.080
<v Speaker 4>and the ripples of that experience kind of start to

0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:32.560
<v Speaker 4>affect everybody in the college and the community. And yeah,

0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:35.440
<v Speaker 4>like Laurendu was saying, these five actors play a various

0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:37.560
<v Speaker 4>number of roles and it's written in this kind of

0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:39.960
<v Speaker 4>blank verse, which it's this kind of poeticism with this

0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:44.120
<v Speaker 4>incredible sense of imagery and rhythms, and it's it's quite.

0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:47.480
<v Speaker 1>A thing, Laurinda. When you got the script, when you

0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:51.080
<v Speaker 1>were cast. What is it that you first reacted to, Like,

0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:53.440
<v Speaker 1>what was the sort of ah moment for you?

0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.600
<v Speaker 3>I'm a mystery girl for at heart, like I grew

0:15:57.640 --> 0:15:59.680
<v Speaker 3>up on Nancy Drew, you know what I mean, Like

0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:03.600
<v Speaker 3>I love a little mystery. And so I actually didn't

0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:06.040
<v Speaker 3>know the story of Picnic at Hanging Rock either when

0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:08.600
<v Speaker 3>I first heard about this when I was first contacted.

0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.520
<v Speaker 3>So I went in and I watched watch the film,

0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.800
<v Speaker 3>watched the TV show, read the book, read the script,

0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:17.720
<v Speaker 3>and then I had my meeting with Ian, and we

0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:21.360
<v Speaker 3>kind of bonded over what we think really happened to

0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:23.160
<v Speaker 3>the girls, because that was one of the first things

0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.680
<v Speaker 3>Ian asked me, you know, what do you think happened

0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:27.200
<v Speaker 3>to them? I said, I think the rock kind of

0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:29.400
<v Speaker 3>just swallowed them up, Like they weren't supposed to be there,

0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:34.200
<v Speaker 3>so the earth just kind of took them. And so

0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.320
<v Speaker 3>I think that was what really excited me about the

0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:41.080
<v Speaker 3>story was just kind of the connection to country and

0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:44.120
<v Speaker 3>like how it talks about you've got to really respect

0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:47.840
<v Speaker 3>country and like, yeah, you know know what land you're on.

0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:52.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it does sound very sacred, like if they're like trespassing,

0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:55.520
<v Speaker 2>then there's consequences in some sense, I feel like.

0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:58.480
<v Speaker 4>Traditionally hanging Rock is you know, it's on the lands,

0:16:58.520 --> 0:16:59.840
<v Speaker 4>just want to acknowledge that it's on the lands of

0:16:59.880 --> 0:17:02.280
<v Speaker 4>the Jada wrong the way were wrung and the ton

0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:06.120
<v Speaker 4>of wrong people, and Hanging Rock is a significant sacred site,

0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:11.160
<v Speaker 4>especially for young men for initiation and trade and ceremony, and.

0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:15.119
<v Speaker 2>So women aren't allowed there. Would you say, like typically

0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:16.720
<v Speaker 2>like traditionally.

0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.879
<v Speaker 4>Or I don't know the full specifics of it, but

0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:23.119
<v Speaker 4>in terms of like the interpretation of this production, I

0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:24.879
<v Speaker 4>remember you saying that, And it's the first thing I

0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.480
<v Speaker 4>thought as well, because it's especially thinking about an initiation

0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:30.639
<v Speaker 4>site for young men that these young you know in

0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:34.000
<v Speaker 4>the novel there are the five white women who climb

0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:37.840
<v Speaker 4>this rock and have no sense of acknowledgment or understanding

0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:40.840
<v Speaker 4>of what it is and what its purpose is. And

0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:43.640
<v Speaker 4>so yeah, for me, people always ask me, and it's

0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:45.000
<v Speaker 4>one of the first things I spoke about with the

0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:47.159
<v Speaker 4>creative team was like, what do you think happened? And

0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:48.560
<v Speaker 4>I was like, the rock swallowed them because they were

0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:49.320
<v Speaker 4>not meant to be there.

0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.959
<v Speaker 1>You both had that initial thought. I love that, And

0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:55.600
<v Speaker 1>look that comes I suppose from that first Nation's lens.

0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:58.399
<v Speaker 1>You know that that connection to country. But you just

0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:01.080
<v Speaker 1>mentioned there's five white women and cast in, you know,

0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.960
<v Speaker 1>like as the characters. But you've brought this whole other

0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:06.760
<v Speaker 1>aspect to it. It's a First Nation's aspect. It's you know,

0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.159
<v Speaker 1>a beautiful ian Michael touched to it. What was it

0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:14.800
<v Speaker 1>like casting Laurinda? You know, First Nation's incredibly talented actor

0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.119
<v Speaker 1>who's just basically done a world tour, four hundred and

0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:19.080
<v Speaker 1>eighty shows.

0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:20.440
<v Speaker 2>I had the pleasure of watching.

0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:24.960
<v Speaker 1>One of them was in Angeliette. She's a superstar. Yeah.

0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:32.439
<v Speaker 4>I still can't believe you said yes, yeah, yeah. I

0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.359
<v Speaker 4>mean thinking about the adaptation and the production is the

0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:38.720
<v Speaker 4>production is book ended by two scenes, Scene one and

0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.320
<v Speaker 4>Seeing fourteen, and they are set in the present day.

0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.840
<v Speaker 4>So when the audience meet five girls in contemporary present

0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:50.040
<v Speaker 4>day schoolgirl uniforms. And I took that the note about

0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:54.320
<v Speaker 4>present day really seriously because I knew that we couldn't

0:18:54.359 --> 0:18:56.800
<v Speaker 4>retell this story in the same way it was told,

0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:58.840
<v Speaker 4>you know, even five years ago when the first production

0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:01.960
<v Speaker 4>went on, and so that our production had to look

0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:03.919
<v Speaker 4>like the present day. It had to look like the

0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:05.520
<v Speaker 4>city that we live in and the streets that we

0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.719
<v Speaker 4>walked down. Yeah, and I knew that I couldn't deal

0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:11.680
<v Speaker 4>with five white women telling the story, retelling it actually,

0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:14.959
<v Speaker 4>And when we were casting, we had, you know, this

0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:20.119
<v Speaker 4>kind of list of incredible actors, and we did a

0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:22.960
<v Speaker 4>zoom with Lorenda and she like, one of the first

0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:24.520
<v Speaker 4>things she said to me is like, I've read the book,

0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:26.199
<v Speaker 4>I watched the film, I watched the series, and I

0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.280
<v Speaker 4>was like, those are the kinds of people that I

0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:30.119
<v Speaker 4>loved to work because I feel like I've got that

0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:32.840
<v Speaker 4>same kind of ethic. And then you did the read

0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:34.200
<v Speaker 4>and I was like, it's done.

0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:35.879
<v Speaker 1>Wow, it was that easy.

0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:39.280
<v Speaker 4>Oh yeah, I mean it doesn't. Yeah. Of course I

0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:43.760
<v Speaker 4>was a and was a huge fan of Lorinda ever

0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:47.240
<v Speaker 4>since and Juliette and I was devastated. I till learned

0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:48.680
<v Speaker 4>to this all the time. I was so devastated the

0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:49.480
<v Speaker 4>night that I went to see it.

0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.400
<v Speaker 1>She wasn't on what a punch in the gun?

0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:55.120
<v Speaker 4>No, I know. And so now whenever times every time

0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:56.600
<v Speaker 4>she was singing in the rehearsal room, I'd be like,

0:19:57.320 --> 0:19:58.240
<v Speaker 4>where is it coming from?

0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:03.439
<v Speaker 1>Well into speaking of you know, not singing. You've been

0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:05.360
<v Speaker 1>doing that for so long, but this play, you don't

0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:08.560
<v Speaker 1>have to sing. And this is your first theater play,

0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:09.160
<v Speaker 1>is that right?

0:20:09.400 --> 0:20:13.920
<v Speaker 3>Or it's actually my second. I did play about four

0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:16.240
<v Speaker 3>years ago, I think, or and beginning of twenty twenty

0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:19.800
<v Speaker 3>two called Face to Face, which was actually a play

0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:23.840
<v Speaker 3>by an Indigenous writer and it was my friend Hannah Blanski,

0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:27.120
<v Speaker 3>another incredible Indigenous actress, and myself and she was my auntie.

0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:27.840
<v Speaker 2>It was awesome.

0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:32.040
<v Speaker 3>I just I love working with Blackfellows obviously, you know,

0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:34.520
<v Speaker 3>because I did the Sappires as well. But yeah, no,

0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:36.720
<v Speaker 3>this is my second play, but it's very different to

0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:39.760
<v Speaker 3>anything I've ever done before. Honestly, it feels like I'm

0:20:39.760 --> 0:20:44.560
<v Speaker 3>really stepping into a totally new genre of performing.

0:20:45.600 --> 0:20:48.919
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's really changing characters as well, Like, oh yeah,

0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:51.879
<v Speaker 2>it's really cool, as Ian were saying before.

0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:55.760
<v Speaker 3>We kind of start with scene one, which is this

0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:58.960
<v Speaker 3>sort of a monologue shared by all five of us,

0:20:59.400 --> 0:21:02.919
<v Speaker 3>and we do the things that are referred to as activations,

0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:05.280
<v Speaker 3>where we'll be kind of telling a story and then

0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:08.000
<v Speaker 3>we'll switch into speaking as the character, but then we'll

0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:10.560
<v Speaker 3>switch back into telling the story, and then we'll switch

0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:13.520
<v Speaker 3>into another character. So it's really exciting as an actor

0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:16.640
<v Speaker 3>because I think during like one paragraph that I say,

0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:18.720
<v Speaker 3>throughout it, I get to switch into a young girl,

0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:23.480
<v Speaker 3>an old man, a Scottish lady throughout this one kind

0:21:23.480 --> 0:21:27.080
<v Speaker 3>of speech. Wow. So as an actor, it's really an

0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:28.680
<v Speaker 3>exciting challenge.

0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.040
<v Speaker 1>Do you find that because you're not having to focus

0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:33.040
<v Speaker 1>on your voice in terms of singing, that you can

0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:36.400
<v Speaker 1>really hone the craft of acting as a more focal point.

0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:36.720
<v Speaker 4>Oh?

0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:37.639
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, absolutely.

0:21:37.760 --> 0:21:42.280
<v Speaker 3>I think I underestimated how much vocal technique there actually

0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:46.640
<v Speaker 3>is in acting in theater, like without the singing, because

0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:49.000
<v Speaker 3>I think when I got cast in this, I was like, oh,

0:21:49.520 --> 0:21:51.240
<v Speaker 3>I'm gonna be so chill. I don't have to rest

0:21:51.280 --> 0:21:53.800
<v Speaker 3>my voice anymore, like I'm just talking.

0:21:54.320 --> 0:21:55.200
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna go party.

0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:56.320
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:21:56.560 --> 0:21:59.159
<v Speaker 3>But yeah, I know the amount of vocal technique that

0:21:59.200 --> 0:22:03.880
<v Speaker 3>goes into performing and just speaking on stage to get

0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:06.680
<v Speaker 3>your voice to reach every single one of those five

0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:09.240
<v Speaker 3>hundred something people that are in the drama.

0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:10.080
<v Speaker 2>Theater at the Opera House.

0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:13.199
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's a It's actually such a big task, and

0:22:13.240 --> 0:22:14.800
<v Speaker 3>I'm really glad it is, because I think I'd be

0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:16.360
<v Speaker 3>bored with something less challenging.

0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:17.240
<v Speaker 2>I'm glad it is.

0:22:17.520 --> 0:22:20.480
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Brooks new to acting. Just finish the film.

0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:24.920
<v Speaker 2>I'm still struggling with the coming to terms with saying

0:22:24.960 --> 0:22:27.360
<v Speaker 2>I'm an actor. I don't know, I just feel ait unusual.

0:22:29.200 --> 0:22:32.399
<v Speaker 2>I should owner, and I think I'm like not ready to.

0:22:33.160 --> 0:22:36.560
<v Speaker 2>I just need to like jump off the cliff, like

0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:37.399
<v Speaker 2>I just.

0:22:37.400 --> 0:22:38.920
<v Speaker 1>Feel like clumb the rock though.

0:22:39.280 --> 0:22:44.040
<v Speaker 2>No, absolutely not. Yeah, yeah, no, no no. I love

0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:48.480
<v Speaker 2>watching theater plays and shows like I'm just so obsessed

0:22:48.600 --> 0:22:51.720
<v Speaker 2>with the craft. Now. I just finished a feature film,

0:22:51.760 --> 0:22:54.720
<v Speaker 2>but it was scary. I didn't have much dialogue. So

0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:57.720
<v Speaker 2>I'm overcoming that challenge that I don't think. I think

0:22:57.760 --> 0:23:02.640
<v Speaker 2>too much into the words rather than the actual doing part. Yeah,

0:23:02.680 --> 0:23:06.399
<v Speaker 2>so any advice for that? I mean, when your words heavy,

0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:09.240
<v Speaker 2>it's it's you've got to get the words right, obviously,

0:23:09.359 --> 0:23:14.760
<v Speaker 2>but it's giving justice to the characters in each form.

0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:16.920
<v Speaker 2>Is the magic in it? Right?

0:23:17.320 --> 0:23:22.240
<v Speaker 4>Yeah? This adaptation isn't a very kind of standard piece

0:23:22.280 --> 0:23:27.600
<v Speaker 4>of complex It's written with hardly any punctuation. It's written

0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:28.040
<v Speaker 4>in this.

0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:32.920
<v Speaker 2>Sort of Shakespearean Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:34.800
<v Speaker 4>I can only imagine it's a challenge as an actor.

0:23:35.640 --> 0:23:38.960
<v Speaker 4>But it's like I think, you know, I always believe

0:23:38.960 --> 0:23:40.840
<v Speaker 4>if you have a really great piece of text and

0:23:40.880 --> 0:23:43.120
<v Speaker 4>you put really great performers in it, then you kind

0:23:43.119 --> 0:23:45.320
<v Speaker 4>of can't really do any wrong. Yeah, And I guess

0:23:45.320 --> 0:23:47.639
<v Speaker 4>our biggest thing in this production as well was not

0:23:47.720 --> 0:23:51.560
<v Speaker 4>fighting the text. You just have to yeah, except what

0:23:51.560 --> 0:23:54.120
<v Speaker 4>you've been given. And you know, Tom Wright is such

0:23:54.119 --> 0:23:58.080
<v Speaker 4>a genius as a writer and as an adapter, like

0:23:58.200 --> 0:23:59.280
<v Speaker 4>everything we need to end.

0:23:59.640 --> 0:24:01.480
<v Speaker 3>We were so lucky actually to have Tom in the

0:24:01.560 --> 0:24:04.919
<v Speaker 3>room for the first week when we were really analyzing

0:24:04.960 --> 0:24:08.200
<v Speaker 3>the text. And I think for me, once I really

0:24:08.320 --> 0:24:12.120
<v Speaker 3>understood the text and understood the world, it was much

0:24:12.160 --> 0:24:16.000
<v Speaker 3>easier for the lines to just like settle into my

0:24:16.080 --> 0:24:18.400
<v Speaker 3>brain once I was really like, oh, I get it.

0:24:18.600 --> 0:24:22.280
<v Speaker 4>Yeah. And also, one of the really fascinating things about

0:24:22.320 --> 0:24:25.080
<v Speaker 4>this text is that there are no character names in

0:24:25.080 --> 0:24:25.800
<v Speaker 4>the script either.

0:24:26.200 --> 0:24:27.160
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, that's right.

0:24:27.240 --> 0:24:30.359
<v Speaker 4>We put the five actors' names in it, and so

0:24:30.400 --> 0:24:31.760
<v Speaker 4>you never really know who you're playing.

0:24:31.880 --> 0:24:33.000
<v Speaker 3>So I'm playing Laurinda.

0:24:35.640 --> 0:24:37.000
<v Speaker 1>I love that well. And I want to ask you

0:24:37.040 --> 0:24:39.359
<v Speaker 1>a question because I feel like your trajectory in the

0:24:39.359 --> 0:24:42.440
<v Speaker 1>industry has been so incredible to see. You know, You've

0:24:42.440 --> 0:24:46.440
<v Speaker 1>gone from strength to strength, from iconic show to iconic show.

0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:49.080
<v Speaker 1>Last was Stolen. Now it's Picnic a Hanging Rock. It's

0:24:49.119 --> 0:24:51.439
<v Speaker 1>your first show at the Sydney Opera House. That's a

0:24:51.440 --> 0:24:53.760
<v Speaker 1>big moment in your career. What does it feel like

0:24:53.800 --> 0:24:55.880
<v Speaker 1>to be at this moment and look back because you've

0:24:55.880 --> 0:24:57.800
<v Speaker 1>done a lot in the last few years.

0:24:58.280 --> 0:25:01.399
<v Speaker 4>Ah, I mean, I it's still like the play still on,

0:25:01.520 --> 0:25:03.600
<v Speaker 4>so I haven't really had the chance to think about

0:25:03.880 --> 0:25:06.440
<v Speaker 4>what it means yet because it's still kind of going.

0:25:06.480 --> 0:25:09.840
<v Speaker 4>And yeah, and I'm just to be honest, I feel

0:25:09.880 --> 0:25:14.359
<v Speaker 4>really proud of it. I'm it's I guess thinking about

0:25:14.600 --> 0:25:16.680
<v Speaker 4>you know, I'm from a town of seven thousand people

0:25:16.720 --> 0:25:17.919
<v Speaker 4>with one set of traffic lights.

0:25:18.119 --> 0:25:21.920
<v Speaker 1>Yea, and so you saw the green light, the one

0:25:21.960 --> 0:25:22.400
<v Speaker 1>green light.

0:25:25.359 --> 0:25:28.160
<v Speaker 4>So I think that directing a play at the opera

0:25:28.160 --> 0:25:30.640
<v Speaker 4>House was ever going to be an opportunity that would

0:25:30.640 --> 0:25:32.600
<v Speaker 4>happen for me. And directing is still only you know,

0:25:32.720 --> 0:25:35.800
<v Speaker 4>Picnics the fourth play I've ever directed, so you know,

0:25:35.840 --> 0:25:38.120
<v Speaker 4>it's all of visit stills very it feels very new,

0:25:39.440 --> 0:25:41.440
<v Speaker 4>and even you know, when we were making the play

0:25:41.440 --> 0:25:43.280
<v Speaker 4>in the room, I would always I never think about

0:25:43.320 --> 0:25:44.840
<v Speaker 4>it being the opera House. I always just thought it

0:25:45.119 --> 0:25:47.360
<v Speaker 4>about it being called it the other room. Yeah, yeah,

0:25:48.400 --> 0:25:50.000
<v Speaker 4>too much about what it meant.

0:25:50.080 --> 0:25:52.080
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, doesn't that just get scary?

0:25:53.560 --> 0:25:56.760
<v Speaker 4>It was an incredibly iconic Australian story and an incredibly

0:25:56.920 --> 0:26:01.600
<v Speaker 4>iconic Australian building, both very colonial, but you know it

0:26:01.680 --> 0:26:04.480
<v Speaker 4>was It's some. Yeah, I'm really proud of it, and

0:26:04.480 --> 0:26:07.080
<v Speaker 4>I feel really grateful to the actors and the creative

0:26:07.119 --> 0:26:08.160
<v Speaker 4>team that I got to work with.

0:26:08.480 --> 0:26:11.679
<v Speaker 2>I feel like I would love to know what you

0:26:11.720 --> 0:26:16.160
<v Speaker 2>would want people to be left with from watching this play,

0:26:16.240 --> 0:26:20.159
<v Speaker 2>not just from you know, obviously as a director, you

0:26:20.200 --> 0:26:24.520
<v Speaker 2>want people to love your work, but then also this

0:26:24.680 --> 0:26:28.400
<v Speaker 2>is a story that you're doing in adaptation to what

0:26:28.440 --> 0:26:29.879
<v Speaker 2>do you what do you want to want people to

0:26:29.960 --> 0:26:37.120
<v Speaker 2>leave with feeling knowing or even feeling challenged on per se.

0:26:37.600 --> 0:26:40.960
<v Speaker 4>Being a very new director, I also have had experiences

0:26:40.960 --> 0:26:42.720
<v Speaker 4>that aren't so great in rooms, and I want to

0:26:42.760 --> 0:26:45.479
<v Speaker 4>create spaces where people feel safe, and I want to

0:26:45.560 --> 0:26:49.159
<v Speaker 4>create and collaborate with people and build trust because I,

0:26:49.960 --> 0:26:53.399
<v Speaker 4>you know, really love to I love as an actor

0:26:53.400 --> 0:26:55.200
<v Speaker 4>to be pushed, and I think that's what I love

0:26:55.280 --> 0:26:57.000
<v Speaker 4>to be able to do with really great actors is

0:26:57.040 --> 0:26:59.199
<v Speaker 4>kind of push as far as we can go. And

0:26:59.240 --> 0:27:02.080
<v Speaker 4>so it is a holding space, but creating space so

0:27:02.119 --> 0:27:04.000
<v Speaker 4>people feel safe and they can do their best work

0:27:04.000 --> 0:27:08.000
<v Speaker 4>and can dare to fail. You know, I'm really yeah.

0:27:07.880 --> 0:27:10.639
<v Speaker 1>You know that's important that from so many people that

0:27:10.680 --> 0:27:13.080
<v Speaker 1>have worked with you, is that you create a safe space.

0:27:13.160 --> 0:27:15.359
<v Speaker 1>You know, Like there's so many people that I've crossed

0:27:15.359 --> 0:27:17.920
<v Speaker 1>paths with in this industry who've been in your rooms

0:27:18.240 --> 0:27:20.919
<v Speaker 1>and have just spoken, you know, so highly of you.

0:27:21.040 --> 0:27:23.680
<v Speaker 1>So I think that like comes very natural to you, Yeah,

0:27:23.840 --> 0:27:27.480
<v Speaker 1>to be able to create a safe space. Yeah, And

0:27:27.760 --> 0:27:30.800
<v Speaker 1>I love that because what a beautiful part of your reputation.

0:27:31.080 --> 0:27:33.800
<v Speaker 1>You know, great at what you do, a great guy,

0:27:34.160 --> 0:27:35.560
<v Speaker 1>and you create a safe space.

0:27:35.640 --> 0:27:39.639
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean I can imagine you know,

0:27:39.760 --> 0:27:41.920
<v Speaker 2>being a shit scared like actor walking into a room,

0:27:42.000 --> 0:27:44.760
<v Speaker 2>like you want to feel like, Okay, this is like

0:27:45.040 --> 0:27:47.000
<v Speaker 2>my playground and I get to play and I get

0:27:47.040 --> 0:27:48.840
<v Speaker 2>to create, and like I don't want to feel judged

0:27:48.920 --> 0:27:51.440
<v Speaker 2>or I don't want to feel like okay, I would

0:27:51.440 --> 0:27:53.719
<v Speaker 2>have think about what I'm what I should and shouldn't say,

0:27:53.800 --> 0:27:56.600
<v Speaker 2>like that just it just it really like fucks up

0:27:56.600 --> 0:27:58.320
<v Speaker 2>your craft. I think, like it really just fucks with

0:27:58.359 --> 0:28:02.480
<v Speaker 2>your head. And like being able to just freely do

0:28:02.560 --> 0:28:05.600
<v Speaker 2>what you want to do. I can imagine, like that's

0:28:05.680 --> 0:28:08.960
<v Speaker 2>just so important for just people in the room when

0:28:09.000 --> 0:28:13.640
<v Speaker 2>you're creating, you know, something all together. I think that's

0:28:13.640 --> 0:28:16.159
<v Speaker 2>so valuable. I feel like if people could take a

0:28:16.240 --> 0:28:19.119
<v Speaker 2>little bit of a page out of your book in like,

0:28:19.800 --> 0:28:21.720
<v Speaker 2>there'd be so much more, you know, we wouldn't have

0:28:21.720 --> 0:28:25.920
<v Speaker 2>having these negative experiences, like Lorenda was saying, like, not people,

0:28:26.040 --> 0:28:27.159
<v Speaker 2>not all people are nice.

0:28:28.760 --> 0:28:35.560
<v Speaker 1>You know, this cast is stacked so many incredible I

0:28:35.600 --> 0:28:38.000
<v Speaker 1>mean Olivia de Jong we worked together on Elvis. You know,

0:28:38.120 --> 0:28:41.360
<v Speaker 1>she was the most down toward humble actor that just

0:28:41.440 --> 0:28:44.600
<v Speaker 1>lit up the set every time we shot on that film.

0:28:44.680 --> 0:28:48.040
<v Speaker 1>And working closely with you know, Basloman I could and

0:28:48.080 --> 0:28:51.040
<v Speaker 1>it was like just seeing this superstar who he fell

0:28:51.080 --> 0:28:53.600
<v Speaker 1>in love with, you know, be so humble and so nice.

0:28:53.720 --> 0:28:55.239
<v Speaker 1>She was the person I got along with most on

0:28:55.240 --> 0:28:59.680
<v Speaker 1>that set. When it came to the actors working with Olivia, I.

0:28:59.760 --> 0:29:02.040
<v Speaker 4>Mean, like, to be honest, I can't believe that anybody

0:29:02.080 --> 0:29:05.200
<v Speaker 4>said yes. I've never known these five people saying yes.

0:29:05.480 --> 0:29:07.520
<v Speaker 4>And you know the same thing I think because it

0:29:07.680 --> 0:29:12.840
<v Speaker 4>live's first play crazy, but actually, like every single person

0:29:13.040 --> 0:29:16.280
<v Speaker 4>entered this room and entered this retelling in the same

0:29:16.320 --> 0:29:18.520
<v Speaker 4>way that we kind of I guess all believed in

0:29:18.560 --> 0:29:21.160
<v Speaker 4>it and really wanted to work hard and lift it.

0:29:21.680 --> 0:29:25.000
<v Speaker 4>I couldn't believe on first preview that was Olivia's first

0:29:25.440 --> 0:29:29.360
<v Speaker 4>performance in front of an audience before you know. It

0:29:29.400 --> 0:29:31.840
<v Speaker 4>was incredible, and I've been really lucky that a few

0:29:31.920 --> 0:29:34.080
<v Speaker 4>productions that I've done, I've been able to give people

0:29:34.080 --> 0:29:37.720
<v Speaker 4>their first plays. And that's such an incredible thing because.

0:29:37.440 --> 0:29:41.400
<v Speaker 1>That means that Brooke looking at you, we haven't worked

0:29:41.400 --> 0:29:41.960
<v Speaker 1>together yet.

0:29:42.080 --> 0:29:48.080
<v Speaker 2>I would jump off the clue. I'm just I'm just

0:29:48.200 --> 0:29:48.920
<v Speaker 2>I'm not ready.

0:29:50.320 --> 0:29:51.880
<v Speaker 1>I want to ask you, you know, what has the

0:29:51.920 --> 0:29:54.680
<v Speaker 1>reaction been when you walk out stage door, people waiting,

0:29:54.720 --> 0:29:56.880
<v Speaker 1>you know, at the end of opening night? Have people

0:29:57.000 --> 0:29:58.240
<v Speaker 1>what did they say to you?

0:29:58.880 --> 0:30:02.800
<v Speaker 3>Oh, it's just been an credible reaction. Honestly, this was,

0:30:03.160 --> 0:30:04.560
<v Speaker 3>as I've said a few times now, it's such a

0:30:04.600 --> 0:30:07.480
<v Speaker 3>different thing for me, so I truly was not sure

0:30:08.080 --> 0:30:10.160
<v Speaker 3>like how people were going to receive it. Like I

0:30:10.240 --> 0:30:13.120
<v Speaker 3>felt like it was an amazing show, but it's very

0:30:13.160 --> 0:30:16.160
<v Speaker 3>different to anything I've seen, anything I've been in. So

0:30:16.240 --> 0:30:19.840
<v Speaker 3>it was like, not exactly nervous, but I was just curious.

0:30:20.280 --> 0:30:23.200
<v Speaker 3>And everyone has just been raving to me about it,

0:30:23.240 --> 0:30:27.320
<v Speaker 3>like they've all been completely shocked because I think it's

0:30:27.360 --> 0:30:30.200
<v Speaker 3>a hard show to kind of explain to anyone, like

0:30:30.280 --> 0:30:33.280
<v Speaker 3>it's an experience. In my opinion, it's sort of like

0:30:33.280 --> 0:30:34.840
<v Speaker 3>it's a work of art. It's kind of like you're

0:30:34.840 --> 0:30:37.880
<v Speaker 3>going into an art gallery and you're like experiencing and

0:30:37.920 --> 0:30:42.800
<v Speaker 3>you're working through those different feelings motions. Yeah, the audience

0:30:42.880 --> 0:30:46.640
<v Speaker 3>is with you on this journey and it's a massive

0:30:46.720 --> 0:30:50.959
<v Speaker 3>journey up the rock, and I think everyone feels it.

0:30:51.000 --> 0:30:54.160
<v Speaker 3>Everyone that sits in that audience really feels the journey

0:30:54.240 --> 0:30:56.800
<v Speaker 3>and is completely on it with us.

0:30:57.760 --> 0:30:59.440
<v Speaker 2>So I think they all come out kind of like.

0:30:59.600 --> 0:31:05.560
<v Speaker 3>Heavy, like oh god, that was like really like a journey.

0:31:05.280 --> 0:31:08.280
<v Speaker 1>You know. Across the board. The reviews have been incredibly

0:31:08.280 --> 0:31:08.760
<v Speaker 1>so good.

0:31:09.760 --> 0:31:11.320
<v Speaker 2>Oh guys, I really want to go to see it.

0:31:11.360 --> 0:31:13.640
<v Speaker 2>Where can we see it? I know you guys are

0:31:13.680 --> 0:31:16.440
<v Speaker 2>in Sydney. Where can people go and watch it?

0:31:16.440 --> 0:31:18.200
<v Speaker 4>It's on at the Drama Theater at the Sydney oppera

0:31:18.200 --> 0:31:18.600
<v Speaker 4>House the.

0:31:20.360 --> 0:31:20.520
<v Speaker 1>Room.

0:31:23.560 --> 0:31:26.160
<v Speaker 4>Stumping off the back of what Lolly was saying, thinking

0:31:26.160 --> 0:31:29.080
<v Speaker 4>about the lens of retelling this story and what people

0:31:29.080 --> 0:31:31.200
<v Speaker 4>should you know, hopefully take away from it is in

0:31:31.240 --> 0:31:34.720
<v Speaker 4>telling a very iconic Australian story that is about colonization

0:31:34.840 --> 0:31:37.880
<v Speaker 4>and about land and what it means to not acknowledge

0:31:37.880 --> 0:31:40.440
<v Speaker 4>it and respect it. That's what I hope people take

0:31:40.440 --> 0:31:43.480
<v Speaker 4>away from it is that they have to think about country,

0:31:44.280 --> 0:31:48.640
<v Speaker 4>the acknowledgment, what it means to exist in this place differently.

0:31:48.720 --> 0:31:51.000
<v Speaker 4>And that's the thing that I want people to take away,

0:31:51.160 --> 0:31:53.360
<v Speaker 4>is that they have to think about this story in

0:31:53.400 --> 0:31:55.760
<v Speaker 4>a different way. They can't unthink about it.

0:31:56.080 --> 0:31:58.440
<v Speaker 1>I love that. I want to ask you one final question,

0:31:58.560 --> 0:32:04.480
<v Speaker 1>and it's very in Michael question. Okay, of course it

0:32:04.520 --> 0:32:07.520
<v Speaker 1>is come on where the Captain of the Beehive tell

0:32:07.520 --> 0:32:10.680
<v Speaker 1>me how much of this show was inspired with those

0:32:10.760 --> 0:32:13.080
<v Speaker 1>visuals by Queen Bee herself?

0:32:13.320 --> 0:32:13.840
<v Speaker 4>So much?

0:32:14.400 --> 0:32:16.560
<v Speaker 1>I knew it. I knew it, I knew it come

0:32:16.600 --> 0:32:17.880
<v Speaker 1>on to her.

0:32:18.240 --> 0:32:20.680
<v Speaker 4>Every single every single play that I've ever directed has

0:32:20.680 --> 0:32:23.840
<v Speaker 4>a reference to Beyonce. I love that, you know, but

0:32:24.160 --> 0:32:26.360
<v Speaker 4>it kind of it comes from the text. Everything in

0:32:26.400 --> 0:32:28.760
<v Speaker 4>this production that we've made comes from the text that

0:32:28.760 --> 0:32:31.600
<v Speaker 4>Tom Ryders given the original source material.

0:32:31.360 --> 0:32:33.400
<v Speaker 1>The film and the novel and the original destinies che.

0:32:38.000 --> 0:32:41.160
<v Speaker 4>And you know, there's there's there's many references to the

0:32:41.400 --> 0:32:44.680
<v Speaker 4>Hanging Rock being a monolith, and so my first instinct

0:32:44.760 --> 0:32:47.720
<v Speaker 4>was the monolith from the Formation World Tour, of course,

0:32:47.960 --> 0:32:51.080
<v Speaker 4>as Devlin designed, and so you know, we thought a

0:32:51.080 --> 0:32:53.480
<v Speaker 4>lot about portals, as many references to portals and the

0:32:53.520 --> 0:32:55.800
<v Speaker 4>girls being swallowed up, and so we have this kind

0:32:55.800 --> 0:32:58.920
<v Speaker 4>of architectural thing that just looms over these women the

0:32:58.960 --> 0:33:02.160
<v Speaker 4>whole time. Is this for each others? And yeah, we

0:33:02.520 --> 0:33:04.960
<v Speaker 4>thought a lot a lot about Beyonce. Elizabeth Gadsby and

0:33:05.000 --> 0:33:08.960
<v Speaker 4>I who designed Picnic, used Beyonce and the Formation Tour

0:33:09.200 --> 0:33:09.600
<v Speaker 4>a lot.

0:33:10.360 --> 0:33:11.600
<v Speaker 2>I love little.

0:33:12.040 --> 0:33:14.160
<v Speaker 1>I said to you one day he will do a

0:33:14.200 --> 0:33:17.360
<v Speaker 1>Beyonce show, but everything because you can't get the license

0:33:17.400 --> 0:33:21.360
<v Speaker 1>to it would be this is not Beyonce. Everything about Beyonce,

0:33:21.560 --> 0:33:25.280
<v Speaker 1>but there is no mention of her. Lorinda, your cast

0:33:25.320 --> 0:33:30.200
<v Speaker 1>is Beyonce? Done well? No, we want to thank you

0:33:30.280 --> 0:33:33.080
<v Speaker 1>so much. I mean, such a pleasure and honor to

0:33:33.160 --> 0:33:37.320
<v Speaker 1>have you deadly talented mob on our podcast. So much

0:33:37.360 --> 0:33:39.920
<v Speaker 1>love and respect for what you both do. So thank

0:33:39.960 --> 0:33:41.000
<v Speaker 1>you for spending time with us.

0:33:41.280 --> 0:33:42.959
<v Speaker 4>Thank you so feeling very mutual.

0:33:43.360 --> 0:33:45.760
<v Speaker 2>Anyways, that's all we have time for today, guys, thanks

0:33:45.800 --> 0:33:47.920
<v Speaker 2>so much for listening to First things first, if you

0:33:48.000 --> 0:33:50.520
<v Speaker 2>love what you're hear, leave us obviously a rating and

0:33:50.560 --> 0:33:53.440
<v Speaker 2>a review because we need want to stars.

0:33:53.000 --> 0:33:54.920
<v Speaker 1>Totally and if you want us to cover anything on

0:33:54.960 --> 0:33:57.120
<v Speaker 1>the pod, reach out by our socials. Brooks handle is

0:33:57.160 --> 0:33:59.959
<v Speaker 1>at brookdoup Lot and my handle is at It's Mudy Meal.

0:34:00.240 --> 0:34:01.560
<v Speaker 1>He and Michael Where can they find you?

0:34:02.280 --> 0:34:05.560
<v Speaker 4>On Instagram at Ian Michael, Ian Michael, Lrenda.

0:34:05.440 --> 0:34:08.840
<v Speaker 1>At Laurinda Underscore Me too Deadly? All right, be mo

0:34:09.200 --> 0:34:09.319
<v Speaker 1>bu