My first theatre experience was…

I’d say it was either a school trip to see Cinderella or watching Morecambe and Wise do Antony and Cleopatra on one of their Christmas specials. I do remember going to see Cider with Rosie and being struck by a very tall actor doing a convincing incarnation of a baby in a very small basket. But was it my first?

If I was a character in a play I'd be…

The sidekick or the discontent, the agitator or the smart-arse - but never the protagonist.

I hate theatre when…

I can’t get to see it because it’s too far away.

Playwrights who inspire me …

Those who have the courage of their convictions to say things that could get them locked-up in prison and worse. Don’t think I’d have the guts.

The best line that never made it into one of my plays is ...

That’s not a tea-pot. (still brings me to tears).

My best or worst moment working in the theatre was ...

The best moment is always the thing that’s going to happen next and the worst moment is always that the last thing just came to an end.

Heroes or villains - whose side are you on…

The modern taste is for a blurring of the boundaries between these two poles. I’m all for bringing the opposites back and watching them both fail.

My last big laugh was about…

The Election. Still going strong. Especially the emergence of ‘end of the world’ rhetoric by those that failed to form government. I still haven’t worked out if life is a tragedy or a comedy.

My last big whinge was about…

Time. Time. Time. Never enough of it. A truism I know. But it becomes ever more acute as you get older.

The role of theatre in 21st century Australia is…

To be the protagonist not just the sidekick, the discontent, the agitator or the smart-arse.