Backstage

138. Alex Berlage and Sonder

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.

 

 

 

137. Lousie Fox & Matthew Lutton and The Birds

 

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.

 

136. Nancye Hayes and Anastasia

The fabulous Nancye Hayes joins me to talk about Anastasia, now playing at the Lyric Theatre — a truly spectacular production. Loosely inspired by the Romanov family and set in early‑20th‑century Russia, the show is a visual feast, complete with cinematic projections and even a Swan Lake ballet in the middle.

Nancye plays the Dowager Empress, bringing immense gravitas to the role. We talk about the history behind the story and what still excites her after more than 60 years in theatre. From being drawn to the stage at the age of three to still discovering new things as a performer, this is a conversation with a true Australian theatre icon.

🎭 Anastasia is now playing at the Lyric Theatre
🔗 https://anastasiathemusical.com.au/

 

135. Giuseppina Grech in Phantom of the Opera

Come Backstage with Giuseppina Grech.

The Phantom of the Opera is back on Sydney Harbour from 27 March, and this episode goes behind the scenes with one of its most delightfully outrageous characters: Carlotta Giudicelli.

Australian‑Italian soprano Giuseppina Grech brings the temperamental prima donna to life on the spectacular Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour stage. She previously performed the role in the in‑theatre national tour across Sydney and Melbourne, but this marks her first time tackling Carlotta outdoors, on one of the biggest and boldest stages in the world.

Known for her razor‑sharp comic timing and fearless embrace of Carlotta’s larger‑than‑life ego, Giuseppina talks about why she loves leaning into the character’s outrageousness, how comedy shifts on a vast open‑air stage, and what changes when a famously dramatic diva performs against the Sydney skyline.

 

134. Sheridan Harbridge

Regina Botros goes Backstage with award‑winning writer, actor and adaptor Sheridan Harbridge, diving into her acclaimed adaptation of My Brilliant Career, now on at Sydney Theatre Company. Sheridan talks about re‑imagining Miles Franklin’s iconic novel for the stage — the choices, challenges and freedoms of adaptation, and why the story still resonates so strongly today.

We also touch on Amplified: The Rock & Rage of Chrissy Amphlett, Sheridan’s powerful tribute to the Divinyls frontwoman, which is returning soon to teh Seymour Centre.

Later this year she's back with the acclaimed Prima Facie for Sydney Theatre Company.

What a powerhouse!!

 

133. Mark Leonard Winter and Julius Caesar

Regina Botros is joined backstage by Mark Leonard Winter, whose Mark Antony has emerged as the standout performance in Bell Shakespeare’s bold 2026 production of Julius Caesar. Making his Bell Shakespeare debut, Mark brings a volatile, magnetic energy to Antony in a contemporary staging set in 1990s Eastern Europe and directed by Peter Evans.

A Helpmann Award winner and founding member of independent theatre company Black Lung, Mark is known for his fearless, risk‑taking performances across Australia’s major stages, including Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company. His acclaimed turn as Antony has drawn glowing reviews, with critics praising its wild charisma, mercurial shifts, and unsettling modernity — a performance that commands attention and divides opinion in all the right ways.

We talk about Antony as both Caesar’s confidant and political operator, the choices behind finding the character’s duplicity, and how Mark approached a role often overshadowed by Brutus. He also reflects on breaking the fourth wall, including the production’s much‑discussed funeral speech moment, and what it means to play Shakespeare with such direct audience connection.

Bell Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar runs at
• Sydney Opera House: 7 March – 5 April 2026
• Canberra Theatre Centre: 10 – 18 April 2026
• Arts Centre Melbourne: 23 April – 10 May 2026

 

 

132. 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.

 

131. 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.

 

130. 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.

129. 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.