Last Monday, I joined a bunch of farmers out at the Royal Easter Show in Homebush for a special ‘country comes to town’ edition of the much loved ABC TV show Q & A. I was lucky enough to have my question selected and share it with y’all here: Troy stands up for country The …
Back in 2001 I wrote a little book about my experience of being the infamous ‘Debbie’ in ‘Puberty Blues’. It was part of the Australian Screen Classics series published by Currency Press and I have just received the remaining stock. If anyone would like a signed copy I can send it off to you for …
I travelled to the Leard Forest Blockade in between Gunnedah and Narrabri fully intent on getting arrested. 82 people, including a 92 year-old war veteran, had been charged a few weeks previously after they occupied the Maules Creek Coal Mine inside the state forest and hindered the operation. The protectors were defending, among other things, …
How do you make city slickers realise that what happens in the country has a direct impact on them? With a whopping 80% of NSW now covered by mining licences and applications, you’d think they’d be awake to the fact that their food and water supplies are under threat. But they seem to be in …
My old buddy Baz Luhrmann got in touch the other day to ask if I could be MC Big Nelly at the launch of his new vodka, Absolut Oz. The do was at the Bondi Pavilion where Baz and I launched our own theatrical careers back in 1982. We’d both starred in movies the year …
Last night I had the pleasure of being the guest speaker at Woollahra Council’s citizenship ceremony where we were treated with those great Aussie classics, lamingtons and pies. Mayor Toni Zeltzer, who taught me Biology at school, wore her ceremonial chains and gave each new citizen a native plant as a memento of the momentous …
What a fully sick honour it was to be invited to open ‘The Green Cathedral – a celebration of the history and culture of surfing on the South Coast’. And on a very auspicious day too, when the official waiting period began in Hawaii for the Pipeline Masters where the world title will be decided. …
About three and a half hours north west of Sydney you’ll come across a little town called Kandos. Nestled beneath the escarpments of the Great Dividing Range with the spectacular Wollemi National park as its backdrop, this classic country town was created back in 1915 to provide housing for workers at the newly commissioned cement …
When I was a teen babe grommet I used to keep my surfboard in a grotty old basement under a block of flats at the back of Sir Thomas Mitchell Rd in Bondi. I also stashed an old record player there with a small collection of vinyl including the classic psychadelic rock album ‘Cheap Thrills’. …
At 6pm each night, members and visitors of the North Bondi RSL Club are encouraged to stand, face the Eternal Flame and remember those who died in battle. The ‘Rissole’ is a club like any other except for the gala view from its balcony out across the iconic bay and the exceptional trattoria below. Constantly …
Had a blast yesterday catching up with the original gang for a featurette extra on the upcoming Blu-ray edition of ‘Puberty Blues’. Hadn’t seen Geoff Rhoe for decades and didn’t even recognise him at first due to some new front teeth. He said he lost them when a bull ran at him and the new …
Orlando Bloom downs his blacksmithing tools and takes up medieval armoury in a Crusade to create a Kingdom of Conscience in the Holy Land. For a spectacular lesson in the origins of the world’s longest running imperialistic battle, you’ve got to check out Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven. This impressive epic is set in between …
From the outer realms of the cosmos to the domestic blisters of daily life, a man grapples with the powerful opposing forces of Grace and Nature The Tree of Life could very well be writer/director Terence Malick’s ultimate masterpiece. It’s a remarkable movie from the man who brought us such classics as Badlands, Days of …
A celebrity chef burns himself out after his partner loses her battle with cancer. One can only imagine how harrowing it must be to discover that your loved one has a terminal illness and then watch her waste away before your very eyes. Writer/director and co-producer Jonathan Teplitzky experienced it first hand about a decade …
For a night of pure camp swathed exclusively in leopard skin print, you can’t go past Little Ones Theatre production of Charles Busch’s ‘Psycho Beach Party’. This crazy theatrical extravaganza takes its cues from the 1959 classic ‘Gidget’ and amplifies them til your head nigh on spins with references to Neitzsche and Luaus and every …
I was delighted to help launch a new book last Wednesday that covers the history of Sydney’s southern beaches from Bondi to Cronulla and beyond. ‘Saltwater People of the Fatal Shore’ is a gorgeous and informative coffee table book that has a predecessor detailing the northern beaches in a similar luxurious manner. Author John Ogden …
Time to bust out my old Obama dress created by my San Franciscan friend Cynthia Lloyd. We strutted the two models out after the great man’s ’08 win and raised a glass to his first term at that most spectacular of bars ‘Top of the Mark’ on Nobb Hill. It was the crowning moment of …
Caught the wonderful exhibition of photographs of Old Paris by Eugene Atget at the Art Gallery of NSW and am inspired to start examining the details of my own suburb in more detail. Atget’s love of old door handles and hidden cracks and crevices captured a slice of Paris that doesn’t exist today. His glass …
It was writer/curator Kevin Murray’s idea to stage a hypothetical at the Powerhouse Museum. I’d never hosted one before but I had facilitated Dfactory there every month for three years so the powers that be knew that I could handle a panel. I’m used to dealing with around four or so people at one time …
I’m about to put together a little doco I made on the campaign trail during the 2012 local council elections starting on the day the Clover Moore Independent Team had their publicity photos taken and rolling right through until our triumphant victory on September 8. I was in the exciting position of number 6 on …
It was quite a momentous night when, after 31 years, I finally got the chance to pass on the ‘Puberty Blues’ baton to the next generation. Original cast members of the film including Tony Hughes (‘Danny’), Jay Hackett (‘Bruce’), Ned Lander (‘Strach’) and Dean Dunstone (‘Seagull’) joined me at the Bondi Pavilion for a special …
Annabelle Gaspar is a dark horse. Not only is she an awesome DJ who can keep folk dancing like demons til dawn, she’s also an incredible photographer. Her current focus is underwater photography and she has donated a really powerful work of art to the silent auction that we are holding as part of our …
With all the hype surrounding the fabulous new TV series of ‘Puberty Blues’ I thought it would be great to be able to do some good work for people suffering from mental health issues like Jad did. So I’ve organised a tribute event in her memory at the Bondi Pavilion on Oct 13th thanks to …
Getting ready to be exposed on tonight’s episode of Australian Story which features the hitherto untold story of my co-star Jad Capelja who suffered from schizophrenia and ultimately took her life two years ago. It’s been a long journey with a lot of probing and a few disappointments including the fact that I didn’t manage …
Selma Hayak paints a feisty portrait of the legendary Mexican artist who became the figurehead of a revolution and expressed her profound personal pain on canvas. The art of Frida Kahlo graces the walls of galleries all over the world and her fans include people like Madonna who is now the biggest private collector of …