Backstage

Mitchell Butel and The Normal Heart

Mitchell Butel joins Regina Botros Backstage. He's an acclaimed actor, four‑time Helpmann Award‑winner, and Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company — and he's here to talk about STC’s powerful new production of The Normal Heart, on stage at the Drama Theatre in the Sydney Opera House.

Timed for Sydney Mardi Gras, this landmark play by Larry Kramer is set in early 1980s New York, during the terrifying, grief‑stricken and politically charged rise of the AIDS epidemic. The story follows a group of activists, lovers, friends, and fighters demanding to be seen, heard, and protected in a world that refused to acknowledge the crisis.

 

Zindzi Okenyo

Director Zindzi Okenyo joins Regina Botros to talk about Purpose — the most awarded new American play of 2025, now on at Sydney Theatre Company in its first production since Broadway. Branden Jacobs‑Jenkins’ drama centres on a powerful African American family whose public legacy begins to crack when the estranged youngest son returns home with an unexpected guest.

Stepping into this sharp, funny, emotionally volatile play: what drew Zindzi to it, how did  she navigated the tension between public image and private truth, and how did she shaped the dynamic between a civil‑rights patriarch and the matriarch trying to hold everything together, while it falls apart.

Featuring Grace Bentley‑Tsibuah, Deni Gordon, Markus Hamilton, Tinashe Mangwana, Maurice Marvel Meredith, and Sisi Stringer.

 

Mehhma Mahli and Fitz Happens

In this episode, we dive into Fitz Happens — a bold new initiative by New Ghosts Theatre Company designed to launch and raise funds for their Playwright Fund. This unique monologue showcase, part of the company’s Mainstage program, brings together five original 10-minute monologues inspired by the haunting theme: “Home is Where the Haunt Is.”

We explore how this project came to life, the creative risks involved, and the spirit of generosity that fuels it — from seasoned legends like Kate Mulvany, Louis Nowra, and Belinda Giblin, to emerging talents like Justin Li (making his Mainstage stage management debut) and Finlay Hogan (currently studying at NIDA while designing sound for the show).

Mehhma Malhi, director of Fitz Happens, returns to Sydney from New York with a rich background in philosophy, bioethics, and journalism. With degrees from NYU and Columbia University, we explore how her academic lens informs her directorial approach — especially in a project that grapples with themes of memory, identity, and home.

Gabrielle Scawthorn and Matilda Ridgeway and The Edit

In this episode of Backstage, Regina Botros speaks with Gabrielle Scawthorn, the writer and director of The Edit, and Matilda Ridgeway, one of its powerhouse performers.

The Edit, now on stage at Belvoir, is a sharp, provocative work born from Gabrielle’s deep dive into the world of reality television. Drawing on countless interviews, the play explores the blurred lines between truth and performance, and what happens when our lives become content.

Joseph Althouse in Whitefella Yella Tree

In this episode of Backstage, Regina Botros sits down with Joseph Althouse, the Pertame and Tiwi actor captivating audiences in the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Whitefella Yella Tree by Dylan Van Den Berg.

Set in the early 19th century, Whitefella Yella Tree is a tender and devastating love story between two young Aboriginal men, Ty and Neddy, from neighbouring mobs. Meeting under the branches of a lemon tree, their romance blooms just as the colonial world begins to encroach on their lives. Joseph plays Ty, a young man learning to be his mob’s storyteller, navigating the tension between tradition, love, and the looming threat of colonisation.

 

Sydney Theatre Company: Wharf 1 Theatre, until 18 October 2025

Alex McClintock - 24 Hours in Kings Cross

Photographer Alex McClintock joins Regina Botros on Backstage to talk about his latest collaboration with audio documentarian Mike Williams: 24 Hours in Kings Cross, a genre-bending live documentary showing at Sydney Fringe Festival. Captured over a single sleepless day, the show is a gritty, glamorous tribute to Sydney’s infamous red-light district, blending McClintock’s evocative street photography with Williams’ immersive audio storytelling.

Together, they shine a spotlight on the misfits, lovers, drag queens, tattoo artists, and party-goers who make the Cross pulse with life. From sunrise to sunrise, this multimedia experience is a love letter to a suburb that never sleeps.

 

📍 24 Hours in Kings Cross runs from September 10–20 at Sean & Dolly’s, as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival 

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Mayu Iwasaki and The Face of Jizo

Regina Botros sits down with actor Mayu Iwasaki, who stars as Mitsue in The Face of Jizo at the Seymour Centre. This poignant play, written by Hisashi Inoue, explores the emotional aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing through the eyes of a young librarian and her father’s ghost.

Mayu shares her journey into producing this play and the role, plus the emotional weight of portraying a survivor.

Don't miss this one.

 

Nick Schlieper on Grief is a Thing with Feathers

In this episode, Regina Botros sits down with legendary lighting and set designer Nick Schlieper to explore the hauntingly beautiful world of Grief is the Thing with Feathers, now playing at Belvoir Theatre. Co-adapted by Schlieper alongside Simon Phillips and Toby Schmitz, this theatrical reimagining of Max Porter’s acclaimed verse novel dives deep into the surreal and poetic terrain of grief, memory, and transformation.

Nick shares insights into the creative process, the challenge of translation, and the character of Crow.

 

On at Belvoir Theatre.

Peter Evans Takes on Coriolanus

Peter Evans, Artistic Director of Bell Shakespeare, talks with Regina Botros about his new production of Coriolanus as well as, how he came to be the Artistic Director of the company.

One of Shakespeare’s least performed and most politically charged plays, it's staged at the Neilson Nutshell Theatre at Wharf 2/3—Bell Shakespeare’s home.

Evans has long been a driving force in Australian theatre, with a career spanning decades and stages across the country.

Come Backstage!

 

Jessica Arthur Talks Koreaboo

In this episode, Regina Botros speaks with Jessica Arthur, director and dramaturg of Koreaboo, a bold new work for Griffin Theatre Company. 

Currently the New Work Associate - Artist Development at Malthouse Theatre, Jess has held key creative roles at Sydney Theatre Company, including Resident Director (2019–2022), Directing Associate, and Richard Wherrett Fellow.

Her directing credits span Belvoir, Griffin, La Mama, Kings Cross Theatre, Old Fitz, Melbourne Theatre Company.

In this conversation, we dive into the making of Koreaboo, its cultural resonance, and Jess’s process of developing new work that speaks to contemporary audiences.

From The Dictionary of Lost Words to The Wolves, Jess’s career is a testament to innovation, collaboration, and the heart of storytelling.