Mother & Son star Henri Szeps dies, aged 81
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Perth Now
9 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Timeless' Disney musical set to enchant Perth audiences
After a 30-year wait, audiences finally have the chance to see Disney's Beauty and the Beast in Perth as this musical tale as old as time is performed at Crown Theatre from Thursday night. Just as thrilled by the prospect are the stars of the Australian touring production Shubshri Kandiah and Brendan Xavier, who are set to enchant audiences of all ages in their title roles as Belle and Beast. 'It's really such a timeless tale, and the fact that Beauty and the Beast has never been to Perth before makes it so exciting,' Kandiah said. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian, Shubshri Kandiah and Brendan Xavier, the stars of Beauty and the Beast in Kings Park, Perth Xavier said Beauty and the Beast had 'everything you want and expect from a Disney musical; lavish costumes, incredible sets, high energy dance numbers, world-class music played by a live orchestra. It's steeped in nostalgia'. Perth-born and raised Kandiah arrived at her hometown in style thanks to prominent Perth designer Steph Audino, who created a custom spectacular yellow dress for the occasion. Audino spent more than a month designing and creating the contemporary homage to the famous yellow gown Belle wears when she first dances with Beast. 'I love this bespoke Steph Audino piece; the colours, textures. . . it's the perfect nod to a modern-day Belle,' Kandiah said.
Perth Now
9 hours ago
- Perth Now
Beauty and the Beast star on playing Hugh Jackman's role
A Beauty and the Beast musical star says he is honoured to play the role of Gaston, a character brought to life by a young Hugh Jackman in the original Australian production. Jackson Head and the rest of the stellar cast, including Perth's Shubshri Kandiah as Belle, took to the Crown Theatre stage on Thursday night for the musical's debut WA performance. The Brisbane actor channels his inner villain as Gaston, an arrogant and ruthless hunter whose unrequited feelings for Belle make him want to kill the Beast once he learns she loves him instead. It was the role a young Hugh Jackman played in the original show, which opened in 1995 and also starred Rachael Beck, Michael Cormick and the late Bert Newton. Shubshri Kandiah as Belle and Brendan Xavier as Beast. Credit: Daniel Boud 'It's incredible, Hugh is amazing,' he said. 'WA's own (acting product), very cool, great to be on the hallowed turf of Hugh Jackman. 'Gaston is a really cool role and lots of fun, the Gaston-Le Fou dynamic as well is really fun to play with, The charming and charismatic but ultimately dark character has his sidekick, Le Fou, played by Adam Di Martino, with him at all times. Di Martino, who has also starred in the Aladdin musical, said as Gaston's buddy, he was there to 'make sure he's feeling great all the time'. 'It's a pretty fun job because Jackson's a pretty good guy himself, so it's not too bad,' he said. Head responded with: 'I get the privilege of being supported every night.' There are a total of 300 costumes and 119 wigs in the show. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian The duo take part in a Gaston prodcution number, during which the cast clink their mugs more than 800 times. It's taken a huge team to bring the musical over to Perth from Adelaide with 23 trucks needed to transport the set and a team of 70 spending 15,000 hours to load it all up. After a national tour enchanting more than 1.2 million Aussies in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, Perth is the final stop and last opportunity to see the show in Australia. After the Perth season wraps up, the musical will head to Singapore in December.
The Age
10 hours ago
- The Age
Romance in the capital: The designers happy to hang in Canberra
The anniversaries of most love stories are celebrated with lavish dinners, sparkling jewellery or breakfast and supper in bed, but Australian label Romance Was Born likes to push the envelope. After 20 years of creating intricate and amusing clothing that defies the churn and burn of fast fashion, and delights the likes of Cate Blanchett and Rose Byrne, design duo Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales now have their portrait by Samuel Hodge hanging at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. Hanging in Canberra is rarely the dream of fashion designers, who prefer pictures of Paris and Milan for their mood boards. Being preserved in portraiture would never have occurred to either Plunkett or Sales when they met in 2002, while studying at East Sydney TAFE's Fashion Design Studio. 'I find the idea of just a normal portrait a bit bizarre, especially when we feel like we're so young in our career,' says Sales, in front of the artwork revealed on Friday. 'I would say we're halfway through our career, but who knows?' Plunkett adds: 'It's all rather humbling, but when you're hanging beside Nick Cave, it really doesn't get much better.' For 20 years, the Romance Was Born designers have been the darlings of dressers who appreciate clothing layered with meaning and emotion. Turning their back on internships with John Galliano in Paris to start their label, they have attracted artistic appreciation rather than the financial success of Zimmermann or the label recognition of Aje and Camilla. Loading 'The other day, I was in an Uber with Anna, and I was like, if we just made clothes and sold them like everyone else, our lives would be so much easier,' Sales says. 'But it's just not how we work. We have these big ideas, and we want to follow them.' It's the exact reason why National Portrait Gallery director Bree Pickering welcomed Hodge's collage, interweaving the brand's history with images of Plunkett and Sales, into the collection.
