Simon Eales, Journalist

“To remind us of our follies and to not be blind-sided by that which doesn’t really matter in the end. That’s kind of how I spiritually approach all these things. But a lot of the time I am just wearing knickers and swearing at people... So maybe it’s somewhere in the middle.”

“It’s a strange combination and it has a lot of different elements to it: it is quite high energy with lots of different characters and, like our last show, it’s still quite narrative driven. It kind of all weaves together from seemingly disparate elements.”

“We’re fighting against TV, radio, the internet, but I think people are starting to realise that you can’t have as fun an experience as coming and sitting in a room with a comedian when he’s doing his magic.”

Rhys Nicholson’s up-coming Fringe Show, On Trial is exactly that – a trial of what he’s come up with since he realised it was time for another show, he tells Simon Eales.

Old-worldy double act Enzo Ficco – aka Al Cappuccino – and Nicole Gregurek work their magic on Simon Eales ahead of their Gangsters’ Ball appearance.

“I like the directness of ‘fuck’. In the show I don’t think it’s gratuitous, I can justify it. I think there are one or two filthy moments when they’re just there to be filthy, but on the whole it’s kind of… it comes down to just doing things that make me laugh.”

Animator Lissa Pascale explains to Simon Eales about getting lost in a vortex of creativity with The Last Photo screening at the Melbourne International Animation Festival at ACMI.

Animator Lissa Pascale gets lost in a vortex of creativity with The Last Photo.

Barry Morgan is a very close friend of comedian and musician Stephen Teakle.

Simon Eales chats with one of the Jamie Bells about his latest role in Aiden Fennessey's National Interest, and the melding of music and theatre.

When I first came I was quite naïve. I had never done that role before, so what I really wanted to do was not fuck it up!