Embedded Files
With Carrie Bickmore, Dave Hughes, Charlie Pickering and Andrew Rochford:
Charlie: (intro) Catherine McClements has proven herself one of the hardest working and most revered actors in Australia. Since appearing in her first film back in 1986, with that bloke 'Colin Carpenter' (ask your folks, kids), Catherine has appeared in countless television shows, movies and stage productions, earning a Logie and three AFI awards in the process. Her latest gig has her playing the title role in the new play Phèdre. And if you thought the theatre was all about romantic love and a happy ending, the French classic Phèdre is a different beast entirely. A tragic tale of forbidden lust, betrayal and revenge. (Huh. That's just like any other day in our office!)
Charlie: Please welcome Catherine McClements!
[audience claps]
Charlie: We were having a go at fairly dramatic, sort of, soap opera faces there.
Carrie: I don't know what Dave's was though, a bit like... (she pulls a face and moves her head around in a circle)
Dave: I got direction on that. I was told to look like I smelt something bad.
Charlie: Do you have a favourite dramatic end-of-scene face?
Catherine: Oh, probably just like... (covers her face) 'Get me outta here!'
Charlie: People often experience that in our interviews.
[laughs]
Charlie: Now, tell us about Phèdre. I didn't really go into it then, but this story is pretty in there and growing.
Catherine: Well, you know, it's based on a Greek myth which has been around for hundreds of years, and it's about... we all know what a oedipus complex is where the son wants to marry the mother. Well the Phèdre complex would be, it's the mother wanting to marry the son. So, she falls in love with... on her wedding day, she falls in love with the son of her husband from a previous marriage.
Dave: So her step-son?
Catherine: Yeah, her step-son. But it is treated like an incestuous passion.
Carrie: Wow.
Catherine: So, it all starts from there.
Dave: Yeah. So you've got two kids?
[laughs]
Catherine: Yeah!
Dave: Is it fair to say that Quincy won't be going to the play?
Catherine: He might love to come!
[laughs]
Carrie: You have played some pretty tough characters, I mean, have your kids seen many of your roles?
Catherine: No, no. I don't... no, they're a bit young for all that, yeah.
Dave: How old's Coco?
Catherine: She's 11. And Quincy's six...
Dave: She'll be Google-ing soon though, won't she?
[a video clip of Kerry smashing Geoffrey's car in episode one of Rush plays while they are talking]
Catherine: [laughs] I think she's just starting to pick it up, you know, I think some of her classmates watched Rush, even though I... a bit against it. So she's just starting to realise what it's all about.
Andrew: I'm glad we clarified what we were watching. It could've been home videos too!
[laughs]
Andrew: Is that fun?
Catherine: Oh yeah. It's dream come true stuff! It really is.
Charlie: How close are you to the... like, your characters are so strong, in particular the character on Rush, quite a mouth on her.
[laughs]
Catherine: That's alright!
Charlie: How close to you are... I mean, how much of you is in that?
Catherine: Yeah, it's all me! It's all true. [laughs] Well, everything is you... but it's how much you suppress in life I suppose.
Dave: Can I talk a bit about your recent work. You're in Wentworth which is, it's a remake of Prisoner. How much fun was it to get involved in that?
Catherine: Yeah, it's great. I mean, what an opportunity. Such an iconic show. So when they asked me, how can you say no? I mean, we as kids were never allowed to watch it. I don't know...
Dave: It was unbelievable. It was a sensation. I mean, my school banned it, we weren't meant to watch it. You were going against the man if you flicked it on. It's amazing.
Catherine: I know.
Charlie: Now your character in Wentworth, am I right in saying this, doesn't actually survive beyond the first episode. Spoiler alert.
Catherine: Well she comes back.
Charlie: Oh she comes back?
Catherine: Yes!
Charlie: Really?
Catherine: Anything can happen!
Charlie: Oh now I'm absolutely... I'm gonna get the DVDs!
[laughs]
Andrew: If we can just quickly go back to your kids, do they realise that you play all these characters? That you're on stage, you're on TV. Do they know mum's famous?
Catherine: Um... no, not really. At the moment, it's a bit tricky because there's a big billboard for Phèdre on the back of a bus. So when they see that, they go 'what are you doing?'. But you know, we keep it to a minimum.
Dave: Do you have an imagination, I mean my kids are like 4 and 2, and we have to pretend on a daily basis.
Catherine: Oh yeah, we do play games. When my daughter was little... because it happens more in life, we used to have a little, she'd love to have a cafe. And you were the guest at the cafe, and you'd go down there and she'd serve off some French fritters.
Carrie: Oh!
Catherine: I don't know what they were. [laughs] They were delicious. And then she'd stand back, and she'd go 'do I know you from Water Rats'? [laughs], as the maitre d'! That was as far as it gets.
Carrie: Well, Phèdre kicks off its Melbourne run on May 17th before heading to Sydney on June the 6th. Head to our website, all the details are there. Would you please thank Catherine McClements!
[audience claps]
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