1 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: From The Australian. This is the weekend edition of The Front. 2 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: I'm Claire Harvey. Of all the performing arts, musical theater 3 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: has to be the most polarizing, So it makes sense 4 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: that the hero of the genre, Andrew Lloyd Webber, is 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: loved and loathed in equal measure. Our own Richard Ferguson 6 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: is a musical feeder fan and an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan. 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 2: No, don't see that. I hear andre Lloyd Webber. If 8 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 2: I do enjoy some of the musicals, I'll explain that. 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: Okay, But Richard does think that Andrew Lloyd Weber is 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: having a moment right now, just not here in Australia. 11 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,599 Speaker 1: Is that okay to say, yeah. 12 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 2: But I do not approve of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Just 13 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 2: meet that very. 14 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: Clear, Richard Ferguson, tell me about the moment Andrew Lloyd 15 00:00:57,920 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: Webber is having right now. 16 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 2: Andrew Lloyd Weber, for the first time in about fifty years, 17 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 2: has become chic, which is unbelievable to anybody that has 18 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,479 Speaker 2: followed musical feared her. So when Andrew Lloyd Webber first 19 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 2: came onto the musical fearder scene, he was a young 20 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 2: English composer, working with the songwriter Tim Rice. Probably their 21 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 2: first big hit was Jesus Christ Superstar, which was so 22 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 2: controversial at the time because it was pretty irreligious. It 23 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 2: did not state that Jesus Christ was the Lord and Savior. 24 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 2: It had Judas as the hero, and it also had 25 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 2: some of the best songs I think in musical fear 26 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 2: to history, including probably the best romantic ballad, I Don't 27 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 2: Know How to Love Him, which is the song by 28 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: Mary Magdalene, and Mary Magdalene goes on to Snogham at 29 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 2: one point that being Jesus, so you know he was edgy. 30 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 2: And then they had a Vita which was a pretty 31 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 2: interesting kind of edgy musical. Then he started Phantom of 32 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,639 Speaker 2: the Opera, and then it really made a turn when 33 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 2: it came to Cats, which was the musical version of ts. 34 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 2: Eliott's collection of Poems and at Children, which makes no 35 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,119 Speaker 2: sense whatsoever to anybody who has ever watched the darn thing. 36 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 2: So when he first came up with the idea of 37 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 2: doing ts. Eliot's Possum Cats as a musical, he went 38 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 2: to the great Broadway director Harold Prince, who did many 39 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 2: of the great Broadway hits with Steven Soheim and Harold 40 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,919 Speaker 2: Prince told the story of saying to Andrew Lloyd Weber, 41 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 2: I don't really get what this about. Is it an 42 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 2: I allegory for Victorian politics? Is you know one of them? 43 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 2: Queen Victoria is one of them, Lord Melbourne. And Andrew 44 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 2: Lloyd Weber said, Harold, it's about cats. And that's when 45 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 2: he turned it down and said to ever none did 46 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 2: it instead, and has ever since made millions and millions 47 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 2: of dollars off the fact that Trevor Nunn wrote the 48 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 2: lyrics to the song memory Your Fast to them. But 49 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:21,959 Speaker 2: very quickly Andrew Lloyd Weber became a goal word for ghosh. 50 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 2: He was famously Margaret Thatcher's idea of high culture. She 51 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 2: loved Andrew Lloyd Webber because she said, you know, Andrew 52 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 2: Lloyd Webber makes money. You know, this has been exported 53 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 2: to the United States and makes money. So Margaret Thatcher 54 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 2: loved Andrew Lloyd Webber, which, as you can imagine, did 55 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 2: him great favors in the British cultural scene of the 56 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 2: nineteen eighties at the time. Well. 57 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: He was also later at a life pee who said 58 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: in the House of Lords and generally voted with the conservatives, 59 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: wasn't he exactly? 60 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 2: But you have to admit some of the musicals are fantastic. 61 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: Don't cry funny Gentine. 62 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 2: Some of the songs in particular are brilliant. I mean, 63 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 2: don't Cry for Me. Argentina is actually an extraordinary political satifire. 64 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 2: I mean, don't Cry for Me Argentina is basically full 65 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 2: of all these Pirhnian kind of platitudes that mean absolutely nothing, 66 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 2: and that is the point. He is responsible for some 67 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 2: of the most successful musical fear hits that have their 68 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 2: own lives as songs, as top cultural moments outside of 69 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:29,839 Speaker 2: the musicals, which is very hard to do, you know. 70 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 2: Stephen Sondheim famously said, I'm going to play you a 71 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 2: collection of my greatest hits played sending the clowns, and 72 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 2: then he said, well that's it. All the other songs 73 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 2: don't work outside the context of musicals. While as Andrew 74 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 2: Willoyd Webber turned his songs into major chart topping hits, 75 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 2: but then he just develops this reputation for being cheap, 76 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 2: for being lowest common denominator. But things really get bad 77 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 2: when they make the film of Cats. So this came 78 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 2: out about five years ago. Tom Hooper who directed the 79 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 2: King's Speech, won an Oscar for that. He made a 80 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 2: very successful version of Le mis Rabelais, which also won 81 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 2: a couple of Oscars. But then he did Cats. Tonight 82 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 2: is a magical night film. It is, without a doubt, 83 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 2: probably the worst big budget film ever made out of Hollywood. 84 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 1: Going to the Ball could get dangerous. 85 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 2: It is atrocious, It is weird. They didn't even finish 86 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 2: the CGI in time for the premiere. They had to 87 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 2: release another version two weeks afterwards. Didn't matter because anyone 88 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 2: who saw the fair told everybody else, don't bother going. 89 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 2: It's extraordinary that you can have a film with Judy 90 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 2: Dent and Taylor Swift in it, and yet it's still 91 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 2: absolutely appalling. It doesn't make any sense. The cats look 92 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 2: so strange. They're weird and kind of creepy with each other, 93 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 2: like sexually creepy with each other. Just the whole thing 94 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 2: is a complete disat and it was a real box 95 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 2: of Was this the end of alw Then Jamie Lloyd happened. 96 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 2: We know that we can reinvent Shakespeare, we know we 97 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 2: can reinvent Chickle. Why don't we reinvent angeloid Webber? Let's 98 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 2: give it a go. So Jamie Lloyd is a terrible 99 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 2: thing I think for a lot of us more traditional 100 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,279 Speaker 2: fear of lovers, because he has shown that you could 101 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 2: do post modern deconstructing everybody just wearing black or no 102 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 2: clothes at all, running around with pants in your head 103 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,600 Speaker 2: kind of theater and actually make it good. But what 104 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,839 Speaker 2: he did was he did Sunset Boulevard, not a great musical, 105 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,800 Speaker 2: but he got in the Coach Schwerzinger, who is most 106 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 2: famous as the lead singer if the pussy Cat dolls, 107 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 2: you know, don't yell, don't you wish fund like me, 108 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 2: don't you Button? You know songs that I'm not sure 109 00:06:57,360 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 2: many of our were just from the big fans of 110 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 2: But she was extraordinary as Norma Desmond. It is one 111 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 2: of the best performances I have ever seen. She won 112 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 2: the Olivia on the West End for it, and then 113 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 2: she won the Tony the Best Actress in the musical. 114 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 2: Nicole Scherzinger is here to perform with one look from 115 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 2: the critically acclaimed Broadway musical sun Set Boulevard, Take it Away. 116 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 2: So this brings everybody back saying they can make Sunset 117 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 2: Boulevard cool? Can they make anything seem cool. So then 118 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 2: we come to Avita. So Avita on the West End 119 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 2: stars Rachel Zegler as Eva Peron, the first Lady of Argentina. 120 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 2: She has just come out of doing Snow White, which 121 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 2: may be the only film to ever rival Cats for 122 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 2: being the worst big budget film ever produced by Hollywood. 123 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 2: Absolute disaster. But what Jamie Lloyd also does, as well 124 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 2: as screens and people running out round looking like their 125 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 2: backstage at the Rockus Deedford, is he does parts of 126 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 2: the performance outside. So every time she sings Don't Cry 127 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 2: for Me Argentina, Rachel Zegler goes onto the balcony of 128 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 2: the theater out on the London Street and she sings 129 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 2: it to the crowd outside. She doesn't sing it to 130 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 2: the audience wow, which is quite controversial because people say, 131 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 2: we're paying, you know, up to two hundred pounds for 132 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 2: these seats and she's going to sing main the main 133 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 2: song outside. But it has been a triumph. This has 134 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 2: led to some other really interesting things with alw They 135 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 2: seem to have found the way to do Cats, which is, 136 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 2: don't do it with stupid leatards and people with silly makeup, 137 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 2: do it as a ballroom competition. So just like the 138 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 2: ballroom culture of the nineteen eighties in the early nineties 139 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 2: in New York where a lot of these street kids, 140 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 2: gay kids, trans kids will go to these ballrooms and 141 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 2: do basically disco competitions. That's putting it very simply. There's 142 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 2: a great film about it called Paris Is Burning, which 143 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 2: is a great documentary. But this is where voguing came from, 144 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 2: which of course was popularized by Madonna and song vogue. 145 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 2: So they're doing Madonna style dancing as a competition, because 146 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 2: the whole point of Cats is that the cats are 147 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 2: competing to go to Heaven. Then you've had the Jesus 148 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,640 Speaker 2: Christ Superstar Concert at the Hollywood Bowl where Cynthia Reevo, 149 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 2: who is obviously the Wicked witch and Wicked playing Jesus Christ, 150 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 2: Adam Blambert, the winner of American Idol playing Judas. That 151 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 2: has never been an absolute huge hit in America. 152 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,120 Speaker 1: Coming up, how Australia is responding to the alw face 153 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: lift happening overseas. 154 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 2: So in Australia they're celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Cats, 155 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 2: not by doing the cool ballroom thing, not by trying 156 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 2: to make it interesting. They're doing leotards and funny makeup. 157 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 3: Let the Memory Live Again. Cats, the musical loved all 158 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 3: around the world, is celebrating its fortieth Australian anniversary and 159 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 3: the original cast and creative team from that historic production 160 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 3: are all still in fine voice. 161 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 2: They're about to do Phantom of the Opera again, which 162 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 2: will be beautiful, but it's the same production. Opera Australia 163 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 2: have been in a big crisis recently. Lynnin Terrencini, who 164 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 2: left Opera Australian twenty twenty two, had a big success 165 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 2: bringing musicals into the fold. But the artistic director who 166 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 2: succeeded Tera Sini, Joe Davis, she left in twenty twenty 167 00:10:56,679 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 2: fours just nine months into our contract. The CEO for that, Allen, 168 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:03,839 Speaker 2: was out the door in January twenty twenty five. They 169 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:08,079 Speaker 2: haven't been replaced, but once again ALW comes into the picture. 170 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 2: Recently they did a production of Sunset Boulevard. They brought 171 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,079 Speaker 2: out Sarah Brightman, who was in the original Phantom of 172 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 2: the Opera, former romantic partner of ALW. She hadn't been 173 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:23,319 Speaker 2: on stage in many, many years, so people were very 174 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 2: excited to see her. But she played Norma Desmond and 175 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 2: was very disappointing according to a lot of ruts. Now 176 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:31,440 Speaker 2: there are some people who feel that this was unfair, 177 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 2: but it was a disaster. It was a critical and 178 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,200 Speaker 2: box office disaster. It did a lot of damage to 179 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 2: Opera Australia. But what was coming to popularity at the 180 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 2: same time, Sarah Brightman was in this tired Opera Australia 181 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,680 Speaker 2: production of Sunset Boulevard. The pussy Cat Doll, who was 182 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:51,080 Speaker 2: about to become the new Douyena musical theater was just 183 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 2: starting in the West End. So this is a problem 184 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 2: that Australia is having. It is behind theatrical trends. It 185 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 2: is unwilling to take risks. There are some examples. You know, Sydney. 186 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 2: Theader companies obviously come out of a bit of a 187 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,840 Speaker 2: funk with the picture of Dorian Gray. It's about to 188 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:12,839 Speaker 2: do Dracula again with Cynthia Ravel playing Dracula on the 189 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 2: West End. But after the hey days of Linden Terrenceiny 190 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 2: at Opera Australia, Cate Blanchette and Andrew Upton at the STC, 191 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 2: let's not even start on Melbourne. Theoder there's this andre 192 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 2: Lloyd Webber revival of people being innovative, different, but still 193 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 2: going to classic hits that everybody loves and making them cool, 194 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:38,560 Speaker 2: making them, making them big financial winners. And yet we 195 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 2: can't seem to grasp this, despite the fact that it's 196 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 2: happening in front of our eyes. We're still going for 197 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:43,199 Speaker 2: the leatards. 198 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: Staging seems to be a part of the problem, doesn't it. 199 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: I recently saw the arena spectacular version of Le miserab 200 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: at the ICC in Sydney and I was hugely disappointed 201 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: because there was no acting. It was a standard and 202 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: deliver format where the actors stood at microphones are just 203 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: sang into the audience, which meant that the. 204 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 2: Plot was very difficult to follow. 205 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: I wonder our theater producers a bit lazy when it 206 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: comes to Australia because we do love musical theater and 207 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: we'll kind of go and see anything. Does that mean 208 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: they don't have to work as hard here? 209 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 2: Yeah? I think this is absolutely true. So Tim mentioned 210 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 2: had a huge success with the musical version of Matelda. 211 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 2: It is one of the great musicals in the past 212 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,840 Speaker 2: twenty years, and he was talked about it lasting for 213 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:34,920 Speaker 2: a long time on the West Stand as long as 214 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 2: the Phantom of the operank At and he said, well, 215 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 2: I'm not sure about that because I just went to 216 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 2: see The Lion King, which has been on Broadway for 217 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 2: nearly friddy years now, and he said, and it just 218 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 2: looks so tired. It looks so tired. 219 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: Richard Ferguson is the Australian's canber Bureau chief. You can 220 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,720 Speaker 1: read his work anytime at the Australian dot com dot au. 221 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 1: This episode of the Front was hosted by me Claire 222 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: Harvey and produced by Jasper Leak, who edited the episode 223 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: and also wrote our theme. Thanks for joining us on 224 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:16,559 Speaker 1: the Front this week. Our team is Kristin Amiot Leat, Samaglue, 225 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: Tiffany Dimac, Joshua Burton and Stephanie Coombs.