Museum curator, formerly ABC Radio National/ Frank Van Straten Fellow 2021, Arts Centre, Melbourne/ Storytelling and history/ Views mine.
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Articles by Cathy Pryor
How to make it on Broadway, plus a twisted tale challenges these actors
What does it take to write a Tony-winning musical? Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty are the friends and songwriting team behind big Broadway musicals like RagtimeandAnastasia. They're also voting members for New York City's famous theatre industry prize, the Tony Awards. They join us as Tony Awards season takes off. Back stage... The make up artist.
Getting under the skin of Edith Piaf with Nathalie Lermitte
Legendary French singer Edith Piaf was a firecracker of emotion. Gutsy and seductive, while underneath -- an intense fragility. That’s the legend. But what’s it like to play a legend, show after show, year after year? Cabaret singer Nathalie Lermitte has been inhabiting the icon Piaf for well over a decade. Top Shelf with Josh Piterman. Josh Piterman is an Australian musical theatre star who’s used to donning all kinds of masks, especially as the Phantom of the Opera on London's West End.
100 years of La Boite: a little theatre with big ambitions - ABC listen
We mark the 100th Birthday of Australia's oldest continuously run theatre — Brisbane's iconic La Boite. A little theatre that's had a huge influence on the theatre and politics of Brisbane and on building a theatre culture which is distinctively Australian. La Boite's Artistic Director Courtney Stewart and former AD David Berthold (current director-in-residence at NIDA) take us through the eras, the challenges and the triumphs. Back Stage: the lighting designer.
'We're very scared when we're on stage': comedy sisters Flo & Joan - ABC listen
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has taken over the city. Comedians from across Australia and around the world are here including the UK's Nicola And Rosie Dempsey, as dead-pan singing sisters Flo and Joan.
How Anaïs Mitchell wrote the hit folk musical Hadestown
This episode of The Stage Show is about love that doesn't end well! The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is retold in a hit folk musical called Hadestown. It's won Tonys, Grammys and is now in Australia. We speak to the singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, who wrote Hades Town as a concept album, before touring it around in an old bus and then turning it into a remarkable stage show with the Broadway director Rachael Chavkin.
The story that brought Leah Purcell back to the stage
Actor, director and writerLeah Purcell has been telling us her own stories and the stories of people close to her since the 1990s. Now Leah’s back – as the adaptor and director of the true tale of Aunty Ruth Hegarty, which take us into the heart of Australia’s post-colonial history, a powerful two-person play calledIs that you, Ruthie? on at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). The life of a performer on the road can be tough, but think about the partner who’s left back at home.
Dancing in the street with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui - ABC listen
As a teenager in Belgium, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui grew up dancing with his friends in the street. He’s now a renowned choreographer with his own company and the director of the National Ballet of Flanders, choreographing everything from pop music videos to the new show MANIFEST at Perth Festival - where members of the public can train alongside his dancers for a performance in the city’s Forrest Place. Can love exist between two people on opposite sides of the nuclear debate?
'You say tomato, I say...' — A tasteful guide to flavour - ABC listen
You say tomato, I say… bleurgh. How is it that we can have such different experiences of the same foods? Taste and flavour: What are they and how do they work? We meet some of the top flavour scientists working today, including the researcher who discovered that there are 'supertasters' among us.
What the fork? A cook's tour of cutlery
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Is there anything you take more for granted in your kitchen than the cutlery drawer? We hardly give a second thought to the humble tools that carry food from plate to mouth. But maybe we should. There's history here, and stories of changing preferences and assumptions within cultures. Fork or fingers? Cut or tear? They say you are what you eat, but it turns out how you eat matters, too.
By Jonathan Green Verified, Zoe Ferguson Verified, Zoë Ferguson Verified, Kim Jirik, Cathy Pryor, Angela Grant, Rhiannon Brown
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Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
Verified
'I think the rock swallowed them up': Ian Michael takes on an Australian classic - ABC listen
When director and actor Ian Michaelfirst saw the stage play of Picnic at Hanging Rock, adapted by playwright Tom Wright, it was as a theatre attendant. Now, he is directing it at the Opera House for the Sydney Theatre Company. The Noongar theatre-maker has forged an exciting career performing deeply personal stories alongside innovative productions.
The cultural meaning of black
What role has the colour black played in mourning fashions since the time of Queen Victoria? Dr Lorinda Cramer is a fashion historian at Deakin University. She charts the changing cultural meanings associated with this darkest of hues. This interview first aired in June 2024.
Creating ice stumped many of the world's sharpest minds. Then an Australian came up with a commercial solution
Roughly three quarters of our food passes through some kind of refrigeration on its journey from harvest to supermarket. Yet our understanding of that journey, the "cold chain" process, is a little understood part of our food supply.
Australia's lost recipes
Ross Dobson is a former recipe tester and food writer who has delved into the archives to uncover some of the forgotten recipes of the past in his book 'The Lost Recipes'.
Railway station architecture
Author and journalist Christopher Beanland takes us on a world tour of some of the great 20th and 21st Century railway stations in his new book 'Station' and explores why their architecture holds such appeal.
Annie Smithers on Elizabeth David's fish
Annie Smithers leafs through the pages of Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking. This time it is the chapter on fish, and how to cook it in the best French style, that is explored.
Secrets of the Herbarium: a journey to the Arctic
We dip back into the vault of the National Herbarium of Victoria in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens with manager of collections Alison Vaughan. This time we go on a journey to the Northwest Passage of Arctic Canada via a small specimen of chickweed from the 1850s.
Designing for space
Melodie Yashar is a space architect, technologist and researcher with ICON, a company that has been contracted by NASA as it works towards missions to the Moon and Mars. She was a guest at Sydney Design Week where she explored what terrestrial lessons can be learned from designing for space.
Printing social housing in 3D
Brad Draper is the CEO and managing director of Aboriginal Sustainable Homes, a company that specialises in designing and constructing culturally appropriate homes for First Nations people. He is a partner in a project commissioned by the NSW Government to use 3D printing for social housing in the hope the technology can be rolled out elsewhere.
The Makers- Lindy de Wijn, lacemaker
Lindy de Wijn first became entranced with making lace as a child. She gives us a demonstration of how her 'dancing' bobbins can create a thing of great intricacy and beauty.
The cultural language of food labels
Dr Alison Barnes is a senior lecturer in Visual Communication at the University of Western Sydney and a scholar in residence at the Powerhouse Museum. As part of her residency she is exploring what the food labels of manufacturer W. C. Douglass tell us about the history of food production and graphic design.
Creating a medicinal garden
Caroline Parker is an avid gardener, herbalist and author of 'The Medicinal Garden'. She shares her tips for tapping into culinary herbs and common weeds in your garden.
Food security and a ministry of food
An estimated 21 per cent of Australian households have experienced severe food insecurity in recent years, so is it time for a Ministry of Food? Liesel Spencer is an associate professor in the school of law at the University of Western Sydney who argues that Australia lags behind other comparable nations and it is time to act.
Chopsticks or fork: the legacy of Chinese restaurants
Jennifer Wong and Lin Jee Kong explore all that is special about regional Chinese restaurants in Australia and what they say about us as a nation. As an extension to the ABC TV series of the same name, they have just published 'Chopsticks or Fork?', collating stories and favourite recipes from their travels.
Secrets of the Herbarium: collector Eileen Ramsay
The National Herbarium of Victoria in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens holds an extraordinary number of specimens that tell remarkable tales. We hear about the gentle passions of botanical collector Eileen Ramsay from Alison Vaughan, manager of collections.
Designing for our waterways
Can better design save our city rivers? Kirsten Bauer is the global design director of Aspect Studios which has taken part in a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria which explores design visions for Melbourne's Birrarung/Yarra for 2070.
How refrigeration has changed our world
Nicola Twilley is co-host of the Gastropod podcast and the author of a new book, 'Frostbite - How refrigeration changed our food, our planet and ourselves'. She delves into the secrets of the 'cold chain', a little understood part of our food supply that has a fascinating history and has changed how we eat today.
The Makers: Michael Colman, horologist
Michael Colman is a horologist- a maker and repairer of watches and clocks. He welcomes us into his workshop to explore the world of keeping time.
The neuroscience of architecture
What is the neurological response to bad design? Colin Ellard is a professor of neuroscience at the University of Waterloo in Canada whose research examines what happens to the human brain when architecture fails to inspire.
The fishmonger's son
Anthony Yotis learnt all there was to know about seafood from his father who was a fishmonger at Melbourne's Footscray wholesale seafood markets for more than 40 years. A few years ago he opened his own shop called The Fishmonger's Son and, alongside his wife Laura, has just published his own cookbook with the same title.
Bluefield housing and the suburbs
Could 'bluefield' architecture assist in the housing crisis and save the streetscapes of our suburbs? Damian Madigan, a senior lecturer in architecture at the University of South Australia, explains how.
The tree collectors
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Saving Michelangelo's dome
The dome of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is not only an architectural marvel but also represents the birth of modern engineering practices. The dome may not have survived if it wasn't for the intervention of a tenacious pope and three mathematicians. It is a story recounted in a new book Saving Michelangelo's Dome by University of California academic and engineer Wayne Kalayjian.
Paulette Whitney's market garden
She has explored her love of edible plants, including more unusual or hard to get varieties, in her new book Broccoli and other Love Stories.
Rethinking Mexican food
Daniella Guevara Muñoz, the owner of Adelaide's La Popular Taqueria, is on a mission to educate others about the food of her homeland. Her quest is to have us rethink our assumptions about Mexican food.
Plastics in fashion
A staggering 62 per cent of the clothes we buy in Australia have some form of synthetics in them. With the rise of fast fashion the ubiquity of plastics will only worsen over time. Dr Tamzin Rollason is a lecturer at RMIT's School of Fashion and Textiles who argues we need to rethink not just consumer behaviour but the life cycle of clothes from start to finish.
Patrick Grant on the Savile Row suit
Patrick Grant is the co-owner of Savile Row tailors Norton and Sons and the author of The Savile Row Suit- the art of bespoke tailoring. He shares his insights into the joy of a well cut suit, albeit at an eye-watering price.
Last Supper: Andrew McConnell's spaghetti vongole
Andrew McConnell is a chef and the owner of a plethora of Melbourne restaurants, wines and food providores. He shares his deep love of cooking with a dish he would choose for his last meal, spaghetti vongole.
The Makers: Nadine Keegan, glass artist
What inspires us to make and create? In this new series we visit craftspeople, artisans and makers in their studios to hear about their craft. First up is Nadine Keegan, glass artist.
The birds of Mary-Jane Walker
Mary-Jane Walker is an evolutionary scientist and artist based in Geelong, Victoria. She is working in 'paper taxidermy' to create more than 80 birds which are under threat in her Now You See Us art project.
The great milk divide
What we put in our tea and coffee has become a polarising subject in recent years, so why is it that milk has become such a hot topic? Matthew Evans is a chef, farmer and author. His new book is called Milk-the truth, the lies and the unbelievable story of the original superfood.
Plants in space - ABC listen
What role can the humble duckweed play as humans embark on missions to the Moon and Mars? And what lessons can be learned about food security here on Earth? Professor Matthew Gilliham is the director Plants for Space, a consortium of academics who are turning their attention to this question of botanical survival.
To the ends of the earth
Grand tours for the aristocracy in centuries gone by were filled with art and architecture to fulfil the senses. But what would such a tour look like today if only places created in the 20th and 21st centuries were on the itinerary? Richard Weller is a landscape architect who has pondered this question in his latest book, To the ends of the earth- a grand tour for the 21st Century.
Reinventing apartment living
As higher density increases in our cities and we look for housing solutions, how can apartment design be improved? Dr Elizabeth Farrelly is the founder and CEO of the Better Cities Initiative, an organisation which is calling for better planning models to create more vibrant urban centres into the future.
Sam Cox and naturalistic design
Sam Cox is a landscape designer who learnt his craft from one of the leaders in naturalistic garden design, the late Gordon Ford. He takes us on a tour of his garden and reflects on how we can all learn from the natural contours of the landscape.
A fashion for mourning
What role has the colour black played in mourning fashions since the time of Queen Victoria? Dr Lorinda Cramer is a fashion historian at Deakin University and co-curator of Back to Black, an exhibition at Old Government House, Parramatta. She charts the changing cultural meanings associated with this darkest of hues.
Learning to ride, penny farthing style
Dan Bolwell has a passion for penny farthings, which he says are the ultimate speed machine. He makes them from his studio in Coburg in Melbourne and teaches Jonathan how to get up on one. Sadly getting off, is less successful! You can watch Jonathan's attempts here
Tim Olsen on growing up with a famous father, artist John Olsen
John Olsen has been called "Australia's greatest living artist" but what was it like growing up within his orbit? Art dealer and gallery owner Tim Olsen reflects on his childhood and life in a revealing and poignant memoir, 'Son of the Brush. Guest: Tim Olsen, author of 'Son of the Brush' John Olsen died this week, surrounded by his family. This story is from November 2020.
How to raise girls who are confident, resilient and trust their instincts
What Fiona Wragge wants most for her daughters is for them to be happy — and happy within themselves. While she knows many of the challenges they'll face are out of her control, she is determined to give them the skills to navigate the world as resilient women who trust their instincts. "Our favourite saying in this house is 'effort equals reward'," Fiona says.
Make 'em laugh, stay alive: A circus family's extraordinary tale of surviving the Holocaust
Kubush Horowitz survived World War II by making the enemy laugh. A clown in the famous Staniewski Brothers circus in Poland, his ability to bring humour to dark times eventually became his family's ticket to freedom. Decades later in Melbourne, his grandchildren heard bedtime stories about the wonderful clown and his wife Mindla. "While the Nazis laughed, they lived," says journalist Sue Smethurst, the couple's granddaughter-in-law.
Bird lovers turn to their backyards during the pandemic
As more and more people work from home because of COVID-19, there has been an unexpected side effect. Backyard bird watching is on the rise, and for those who are taking part, it is having some therapeutic benefits. Guests: Dr Holly Parsons, Urban Bird Program manager at BirdLife Australia Sophie Black, head of publishing at The Wheeler Centre
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