Stirling Players presents the Australian Premiere of Hansard by Simon Woods, Directed by Sally Putnam.

This episode of For the Love of Theatre Podcast is Hosted by Annabel Whitford, Admin Officer for the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild & The Theatre Association of South Australia (T.A.S.A) Committee Member. This episode focuses solely on The Stirling Players' upcoming production of Hansard. Annabel interviews Director, Sally Putnam and some voiceover work has been provided by the Vice President of The Stirling Players, Bronwyn Chapple.

More About Our Guest Host

Annabel Whitford is a dedicated theatre enthusiast who has stage-managed several productions and serves as the Administrator of the Theatre Guild. An avid tap dancer, Annabel is part of the Dragonfly Dance performing company and believes in the importance of supporting the arts in all its forms. In her spare time, she co-hosts and edits the occasional podcast and has been fortunate enough to interview television writers and producers. Whether working behind the scenes, tapping out rhythms, or discussing TV shows, Annabel is committed to contributing to and promoting the arts community.

MORE ABOUT THE PLAY

Simon Woods’ first play Hansard, had an impressive debut and sold out season at The National Theatre UK in 2019.

Stirling Players will be presenting the Australian premiere under the direction of Sally Putnam and two of Adelaide’s most experienced actors, Anita Canala and Andrew Clark.

Hansard is an intimate and intense domestic drama about a marriage. It is also a comedy about politics, identity and the failings of the ruling class told with witty sarcasm and much passive aggression between a long-married couple of differing political views.

A prim Tory MP (Robin Hesketh) and his liberal, bohemian wife (Diana) quarrel and exchange witty barbs in their Cotswold cottage. The year is 1988 and Robin has arrived home from Westminster after voting for an important piece of legislation in Maggie Thatcher’s government. The subject of the new law and his role in helping it pass is the source of conflict and shared anguish and is integral to the deeply emotional and heart-rending reveal at the end.

The title, ‘Hansard’ refers to the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and Commonwealth countries, including Australia. This play presents us with another verbatim record of a more personal and compelling debate.

SEASON

September 12 - 27th

Evening shows: 7.30 pm,

(12th, 19th, 26th and 27th)

Matinees: 3 pm

(13th, 14th,20th and 21st))

Running time: 90 minutes, no interval.

BOOKINGS

Tickets - TRYBOOKING

Visit Stirling Players for more information.

www.stirlingplayers.sct.org.au

VENUE

Stirling Community Theatre,

7 Avenue Rd, Stirling.

Accessibility. Drop off area at front door.

Please call the Box Office, 0488 746 951 for wheelchair seats.

HILLS HOSPITALITY

We welcome everyone to our beautiful theatre with a free glass of sherry on arrival. Bar opens half an hour before performance. Tea, coffee and excellent Adelaide Hills wines from our partners, Howard Vineyard.

MUSIC

Gentle Instrumental by Gensanmaier https://pixabay.com/users/gensanmaier-14000784/

Title Track For the Love of Theatre Podcast, Written & Performed by Ben Waller.

EPISODE: Neighbourhood Watch

Written by Lally Katz

Directed by Lesley Reed

Produced by St. Jude’s Players

Season: 7th-16th of August, 2025

This episode of For the Love of Theatre Podcast features interviews with Director, Lesley Reed, Actors, Nathan Brown, Taya Rose, Christopher Cordeaux, Megan Robson and Dylan McGaw. We welcome back Mark Wickett, as our Host, who is also the Assistant Director of Neighbourhood Watch.

MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST HOST - MARK WICKETT

Mark has been working in Adelaide’s community and professional theatre for more than twenty years, much of it designing technical and creative solutions in video projection. Productions include: Les Misérables, Next to Normal and Oliver! For the last ten years, Mark has been directing corporate video and working with high schools in theatre and video, with productions including Matilda, The Book of Everything, and Where Words Once Were. Mark supports South Australia’s performing arts as a critic for Australia’s Stage Whispers Magazine and through serving on the Board of the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. He was Assistant Director for the Guild’s 2023 production of The Tempest, and directed The 39 Steps for them in 2024. Later this year, he will be Assistant Director to Lesley Reed for St. Jude’s Players' production of Neighbourhood Watch.

STAGE WHISPERS ARTICLE

Click the link below to read Mark Wickett's Stage Whispers' Article on the For the Love of Theatre Podcast.

https://www.stagewhispers.com.au/community-theatre/love-theatre-podcast

Actor and Director Olivia Jane Parker talks to Stage Whispers’ Mark Wickett about her role in promoting South Australian community theatre through a podcast.

MORE ABOUT NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

Memories are windows into the past, not only for 80-year-old Hungarian refugee Ana, but also for young actor Catherine, the only neighbour Ana truly befriends in the Australian neighbourhood where she now lives.

With a story drawn from playwright Lally Katz's elderly Hungarian-Australian neighbour's real experience, NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH takes audiences from an Australian street into WWII- ravaged Hungary and back again.

With Julie Quick as Ana and Ellie Schaefer as Catherine.

SEASON

Evenings - Thursday August 7 & 14, Friday August 8 and 15, 7.30 pm.

Matinees - Saturdays August 9 and 16, 2pm.

VENUE

St Jude’s Hall,

444 Brighton Rd,

Brighton, South Australia.

BOOKINGS

Tickets https://www.trybooking.com/DCCMU

Or call 0436 262 628

Or email bookings@stjudesplayers.asn.au

MUSIC

Title Track For the Love of Theatre Podcast, Written & Performed by Ben Waller.

Original Music Composed and Performed by Sarah Bradley

IMAGE

Courtesy of Christian Hardi

www.pixabay.com

#adelaidetheatre #adelaide #NeighbourhoodWatch #StJudesPlayers #FortheLoveofTheatrePodcast #FortheLoveofTheatre #SouthAustralianArt #StageCraft #StageWhispers #Theatre

NEW EPISODE: THE WATSONS

The Watsons

Written by Laura Wade

Directed by Matthew Chapman

The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild

SEASON: 1st - 10th August 2025

📍The Little Theatre

This episode of For the Love of Theatre Podcast is hosted by Annabel Whitford, featuring interviews with Director, Matthew Chapman, and cast members Lindy Lecornu (Lady Osborne), Genevieve Hudson (Miss Osborne) & Imogen Deller-Evans (Emma Watson), all from the upcoming production of The Watsons, written by Laura Wade, produced by The University of Adelaide Theatre Guild.

SUMMARY

The Watsons are in crisis. Cut off financially from her benefactor, the youngest, Emma, returns to her dying father and spinster sisters with the task of finding a husband - and finding one now. Matchmakers, match breakers, cads, stuffy clergymen and an overactive rumour mill all conspire as wedding bells ring in the distance and Emma eyes off a certain man…and that’s where we leave it.

See, Jane Austen never finished the story.

So it’s up to Emma, with the help of modern-day Laura, a jaded playwright with a rapidly approaching deadline, to find her own happy ending…

And that’s where the fun really begins.

Laura Wade’s witty, bold adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel is a playful, provocative exploration of choice, control, and who really gets to write the ending.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS

SEASON: 1st - 10th August 2025

📍The Little Theatre

Tickets from http://trybooking.com/cxjin

MORE ABOUT OUR HOST

Annabel Whitford is the Administrator of the Theatre Guild. She dances through life as a cheeky mix of backstage boss and jazz-handed showoff. A passionate arts advocate, champion for the underfunded, spreadsheet whisperer, and sequinned menace, Annabel is here to make the world more fabulous and slightly more organised.

📸 Headshot taken by Richard Parkhill

MUSIC FOR THE EPISODE

The Tile Track - For the Love of Theatre Podcast,

Written and Composed by Ben Waller.

All other music for this episode was sourced in the Public Domain.

Freccero - 6th Street (Austin), Pixabay

Scarlatti - Sonata in G major, K.547 - Arranged for Harpsichord by GregorQuendel, Pixabay

#ForTheLoveofTheatrePodcast #TheWatsons #LauraWade #JaneAusten #Matchmakers #SouthAustralianArt #Plays #SouthAustralianTheatre #Stage #Community #CommunityTheatre