Backstage

Rebecca Massey joins me on Backstage to discuss Belvoir's revival of The Book of Everything, returning to the stage for the first time in more than a decade. An acclaimed actor, writer and director, Massey was also part of the original cast, giving her a unique insight into a production that has become one of Belvoir's most cherished works. We talk about revisiting the play years later, reuniting with director Neil Armfield, and why this remarkable story continues to resonate with audiences today. The Book of Everything runs at Belvoir St Theatre from 22 August to 20 September.  

On this episode of Backstage, Regina Botros is joined by Trisha Starrs and Roderick Chambers for a compelling conversation with one of Australia's most celebrated actors, Pamela Rabe. Currently starring as Sister Aloysius in John Patrick Shanley's Doubt: A Parable, Rabe brings her formidable intelligence, emotional depth and commanding stage presence to a role that sits at the heart of one of modern theatre's most gripping dramas. Together, we explore the play's enduring themes of certainty, suspicion, faith and power, and discusses why this Pulitzer Prize-winning work continues to resonate so strongly with contemporary audiences. Insightful, erudite and endlessly engaging a remarkable production—this is an episode not to miss.  

Yve Blake's new play Mackenzie takes Shakespeare's Macbeth and gives it a gloriously camp, darkly comic makeover. Best known as the award-winning creator of FANGIRLS, Blake turns her attention to the cut-throat world of child stardom, stage parents and celebrity obsession. Mackenzie is 13 and has just landed her first television role. It's only a small part, but her ambitious mother is convinced greatness awaits. When a make-up artist delivers a prophecy that Mackenzie will become the world's biggest pop star, a chain of events is set in motion that echoes Shakespeare's classic tragedy. Directed by Virginia Gay, the play mixes comedy, music and horror to explore what happens when ambition takes hold. In this conversation, Yve Blake joins Backstage to discuss the origins of the work, her decision to reimagine Macbeth through the lens of early 2000s celebrity culture, and the themes of ambition, power and corruption that continue to make Shakespeare's play resonate today. She also reflects on balancing comedy with darkness, and why Mackenzie might leave audiences laughing one moment and deeply unsettled the next. Yve Blake is a writer, composer, lyricist and performer whose hit musical FANGIRLS has become one of Australia's most acclaimed new theatre works. Her latest play, Mackenzie, is a hilarious and macabre exploration of fame, family and the costs of getting exactly what you wish for.  

On this episode of Backstage, award-winning director and lighting designer Alexander Berlage, currently directing Sonder joins Regina. Alexander has become one of the most distinctive voices in Sydney’s independent theatre scene. He is a two-time Sydney Theatre Award winner for Best Direction of a Musical, for American Psycho and Cry-Baby at Hayes Theatre Co, and won Best Direction of an Independent Production in 2023 for A Streetcar Named Desire at the Old Fitz Theatre. From 2020 to 2023, he served as Co-Artistic Director of Redline Productions at the Old Fitz. Now, with Sonder, Alexander brings that same precision and visual imagination to a new production — and joins us to talk about directing, design, and what draws him to a work in the first place.      

  In this episode I'm taking you backstage at Belvoir Street Theatre for a closer look at The Birds — not Hitchcock, but a tense, immersive stage adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s story. This striking one‑woman work, performed by Paula Arundell, is as much about sound and atmosphere as it is about narrative, pulling the audience into a world of unease and sensory intensity. I’m joined by writer Louise Fox and director Matthew Lutton to talk about how this adaptation came together — from shaping the text for a solo performer to building a sonic landscape that carries so much of the storytelling weight.