Rocky
Radio:
Live on Stage
Walter Reid Cultural Centre, Rockhampton
February 17, 2018
Tickets on sale now:
$20 adult, $15 student/concession
Let us tell you a story...
About the Show
Rocky Radio: Live on Stage is bringing a night of old-school radio plays to the Walter Reid Cultural Centre, complete with manual sound effects, live music and a full cast of top local talent.
On Saturday Feb 17, 2018 we'll be performing a mix of feature works by established Aussie playwrights and brand new locally-written plays. It's a mix of comedy and drama, slice-of-life realism and off-the-wall adventures. You'll meet characters who'll make you laugh, make you cry, and change the way you see the world.This project has been made possible by the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), a partnership between the Queensland Government (Arts Queensland) and Rockhampton Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
Feature Plays
Works by established Aussie playwrights,
brought to life by our local team.
I'll Write to Richie Benaud: Heather Nimmo
Steven is a bloke in his thirties: he has a job, a girlfriend, and a love of cricket. He has a particular soft spot for Richie Benaud, the benevolent voice of the commentary box who always has the answers. But some problems even Richie can't solve. Steven has Down syndrome, and when his aging mother's health takes a turn everyone has an opinion on Steven's future. But has anyone asked Steven what he wants?
Featuring guest performer Deon Hume.
Welcome to Country: Colleen Johnson
Aboriginal Elder Mavis is getting ready to perform her first Welcome to Country. It's a chance to look back on her life, from growing up under the harsh rule of The Act to the landmark Mabo decision and Australia's slow move towards reconciliation. She wants to do her community proud and reinforce her grandchildren's pride in their Aboriginal culture, but the softly-spoken grandma isn't to sort to big note herself - so how will she go in front of tomorrow's crowds?
Featuring guest performers Aunty Ethel Speedy and Charlene Mann.
Deadline: Marian Devitt
The endless drumming rain of the Top End wet season messes with your head. It makes you... hear things. Things that aren't real. Or are they? Cliff thought journalism would take him to Timor, to war zones, to where history is made. Instead it strands him at remote Nulla Downs where there's water in the fuel, the phone lines are down, the power's off, and the buffalo is dead. And there's a strange, reclusive guest who might be the story of Cliff's career - if he hasn't imagined her.
Featuring guest performer Katherine Cox on violin.
Local Plays
Brand new works by local writers,
on stage for the first time.
Best House in the Street: Colleen Johnson
Helen's boys love doing little jobs around the house. And big jobs, like completely remodelling the yard. Whether Helen wants it or not...
Dear Lord: Julie Davies
Tomorrow Albie and Sue set off around the country in their own fifteen feet of caravan paradise. If they don't nag each other to death before the night is over.
The Handmaids' Pail: Julie Davies
In a dark dystopian alternative reality, any similarity of which to a currently popular book and television franchise is purely co-incidental, two women fight for freedom and fruit.
Missing: Jodie van de Wetering
Who'd miss you if you weren't there? An experimental story told entirely through manual sound effects.
Smiley Face: Brooke Alcock
A smiley face on the ovulation test kit means smiley faces for him - but she seems less than thrilled.
Meet our Cast
A team of experienced local performers and some
new voices are bringing our plays to life.
Meet our Cast
We're working as an ensemble, all taking on multiple roles and sharing equal time in the spotlight
Ian G Westley
Ian is a New Zealand-born award winning actor, writer, director and producer for both stage and screen. Ian’s acting credits include 37 stage plays as well as short films, feature films, and TV commercials. He has written and directed nine stage plays and seven short films.
Ian's short films have been shown at festivals around Australia, the United States and Europe. More recently Ian has produced his first feature film, Lost & Found, which is due for release in April 2018.
Jess Lamb
Jess is an arts educator specialising in the field of drama. Her experiences include directing, playwriting, dramaturgy and facilitation of student theatre works. On occasion, Jess has been known to dabble in acting, describing herself as a 'passable' performer.
Jess is currently completing her masters degree in Applied Theatre Studies, focusing on engaging new voices in regional theatre making.
Jesse Warren
Jesse's a familiar face from a diverse mix of productions, from the Red Foot Cabaret's outings to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and original wartime musical The Home Front. Most recently, he took on the complex central role in Monsoon, an original play inspired by cyclone Marcia and performed on the beachfront in Yeppoon.
Stella McMahon
Stella is a rock of the local theatre community both on stage and behind the scenes. She;s an essential ingredient in a vast number of Little Theatre productions in both Rockhampton and Yeppoon, and one of the stars of feature Film Lost and Found, due for release in April 2018.
Meet our Creative Team
Behind the scenes at Rocky Radio: Live on Stage
Jodie van de Wetering
Director & Producer
Jodie van de Wetering is a Rockhampton local and a writer, performer and community arts worker. She spent 15 years with the ABC as a reporter and broadcaster, and these days organises open-access community performances and is involved in theatre, comedy and improv. She's also the editor of Rocky Street Press, a fledgeling online arts and culture magazine covering the CQ region and rural and regional Australia more broadly.
One of her projects with ABC Wide Bay in Bundaberg was Upson Downs, a five-part serialised radio comedy produced in collaboration with a local theatre company. That, combined with nerdy comedy interests like I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, planted the seeds for what's now become Rocky Radio: Live on Stage.
Rod Ainsworth
Script Editor
Rod Ainsworth is a creative producer, writer and director working in Bundaberg. Impatient to make a difference in regional Queensland, he co-founded not-for-profit regional arts production company Creative Regions Limited in 2008.
Rod is a writer and producer and loves working beyond his comfort zone in new artforms and new collaborations. He wrote the libretto for an opera, The Crushing, and produced a feature documentary about the AFLOAT Creative Recovery Project in Bundaberg after the 2013 floods. He's no stranger to CQ - after cyclone Marcia he worked with Capricorn Coast communities and schools to document locals' experiences and feelings, and the results became Monsoon, a play with music that debuted on the Yeppoon foreshore in November 2017.
Rod has worked with our local playwrights to refine and polish their scripts, and provided guidance around structuring our show and making Rocky Radio: Live on Stage a reality. Thank you Rod!
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