culture

After almost six distinguished decades in a notoriously fickle industry, Nancye Hayes is still captivating Australian theatre audiences with her indomitable mix of sass and charm. “Some people can’t stand musicals, but they’re joyful and moving. Music is very emotional and touches people.”

The Bull sisters took their gospel-singing Tongan background and perfectly blended harmonies and carved a decades-long career as both quintessential musician’s musicians and popular favourites. “I like the challenge of creating something out of nothing,” says younger sister Linda. “And then what happens at the end of that process is you get a song that you can sing for years.”

Fiona Foley’s groundbreaking new book Biting the Clouds traces a hidden colonial history of addiction and slavery. “None of the information in this book was ever taught to me in a classroom setting … We have no critical race studies in the curriculum in this country.”

On the verge of international stardom, Rose Matafeo combines supremely confident ambition with deep personal doubt. “Seeing yourself on screen is the fucking worst thing ever. Your perception of yourself is the best version of yourself that you perform in the mirror, and that is not what other people see.”

In his first interview since his appointment, celebrated Colombian curator José Roca speaks about bringing a sense of radical urgency to his new role. “I intend to look for practices that are already under way and let the biennale be a catalyst for the process. One of my guiding principles is to build upon what is already built.”

Four years ago, children’s author Ted Prior thought he had finished with his beloved character Grug. But with a new book and a theatre adaptation celebrating its 10th anniversary, it seems that he is far from done. “I just enjoy the way young children think and the way they do things – and I think there is a bit of the young child in all of us.”

For Melanie Chisholm global fame came at a high price, but she lived to tell the tale. At 46, she has just released her eighth solo album, which she says is her most vulnerable yet. “All of that time I spent searching, trying to find myself, trying to move away from Sporty, I felt like that’s what I had to do: to become an individual I had to leave her behind.”

After a quarter of a century as one of Australia’s finest stage actors, Anita Hegh is well placed to channel Virginia Woolf in A Room of One’s Own. “Although it is a much kinder world for women than it has been, there’s still a long way to go.”

A Facebook message seven years ago prompted poet and activist Janet Galbraith to found a writing group that brought hope and connection to refugees. “It was formed out of the relationships between human beings, reaching through prison fences and beyond borders.”