CategoryAudio interviews

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Ralph McTell – Streets at The Street

Singer-songwriter Ralph McTell
Street Theatre, Canberra City
Saturday 10 February 2024 as part of a national tour

At the age of 22, Ralph McTell wrote Streets of London, a song which has arguably been covered more than any other in modern history and launched a career which is still going strong more than half a century later. But it nearly didn’t happen.

Richard spoke to Ralph McTell via Zoom from his home in London. The recording of Streets of London is from the 1975 best-selling LP, Streets.
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Karina May – Never ever forever

Published by Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia P/L Australia, 2023
Cover design Debra Billson
Cover images Shutterstock

Karina May’s second romance novel (following her debut Duck a l’Orange for Breakfast) ticks all the boxes for rusted on fans of the genre – a youthful heroine in search of herself and love, an old flame, a new flame, exotic places, a grand mansion, female friends, a touch of fashion, chiselled jaws and bare chests, sexual tension and a little bit of actual sex, conflicts, conflicts resolved and a happy ending.

Karina May talks to Barbie about Never ever forever
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Bronwyn Saunders and Andrew Plant – Diprotodon – A Megafauna Journey

CSIRO Publishing, Australia, 2023
Cover and text design and layout by MDCN Creative

This book will be welcomed by the many school librarians who are constantly trying to meet requests from young students for information books.

Bronwyn Saunders spoke to Barbie about Diprotodon – A Megafauna Journey
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Steve Matthews – Ted Watts’ Diary

Big Sky Publishing, Australia, 2023
Cover design Think Productions

Steve Matthews’ Hitler trilogy was inspired by a personal connection that led him to visit Auschwitz. This latest stand alone, still a war story but in a different theatre, is also born of personal connection.

Steve Matthews talks to Barbie about Ted Watts’ Diary
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Milena Cifali – One Foot Forward

Echo Books, Australia, 2023
Design by Peter Gamble

Milena’s second contemplative work (following Mallacoota Time, Echo Books, 2020) continues the author’s process of ‘writing out’ the intensity of her experiences, joyous or traumatic.

Barbie spoke to Milena Cifali about One Foot Forward
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Tania Blanchard – A Woman of Courage

HarperCollinsPublishers,  Australia, 2023

I think the thing about historical fiction that appeals to so many readers is the way it ties the present to the past. In writing a story about the growth of the suffragette movement in late 19th century and early 20th century Britain, Tania Blanchard has cogently placed the advancement of women’s rights on a continuum which includes the modern reader’s world.

Tania Blanchard talks to Barbie about A Woman of Courage
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Favel Parrett – Kimmi/ Queen of the Dingoes

Published by Lothian Children’s Books, an imprint of Hachette Australia, 2023
Cover design and illustration and internal illustrations by Astred Hicks, Design Cherry

Kimmi is written from the author’s passion for dingoes. It is a fictionalised account of the life of a tropical dingo from her infancy to her successful placement in the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary.

Favel Parrett talks to Barbie about Kimmi/ Queen of the Dingoes
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Mariedl – Selfies with a Giantess

The Street Theatre Canberra
Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 November 2023.

Austrian star of stage and screen Maxi Blaha (Soul of Fire, Beloved Muse) presents the premiere of the English production of Mariedl, Selfies with a Giantess, a collection of stage tableaux about our fascination with anatomical difference.

Barbie talks to Maxi Blaha about Mariedl – Selfies with a Giantess
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Carol Cooke and Sharon Peoples – Exuberance/ An Embroiderer’s Perspective

Published by Carol Cooke and Sharon Peoples
Canberra, Australia, 2023
Design Praxis Creative Art Canberra
Cover image The Watering Hole by Sharon People, embroidery and plastic waste

This is indeed an exuberant book, created as a by-product of an exhibition of fibre and fabric art by 20 artists, including the two book creators.

Carol Cooke and Sharon Peoples talk to Barbie about Exuberance/ An Embroiderer’s Perspective
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Sarah Firth – Eventually Everything Connects

Published by Joan, an imprint of Allen & Unwin
Australia, 2023
Text hand lettered by Sarah Firth
Cover and text designed by Sarah Firth and Joanna Hunt

The publication of this book by a mainstream Australian publishing house is significant. It is recognition of something teachers and parents have always known – that people learn, see things and process information and ideas in different ways.

Barbie speaks to Sarah Firth about Eventually Everything Connects
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Helen Machalias – This Rough Magic

World Premiere – A Street Produced Professional Theatre Production
The Street Theatre, Canberra
Friday 10 – Saturday 11 November, 7:30pm
Wednesday 15 November, 6:30pm
Thursday 16 – Saturday 18 November, 7:30pm
Sunday 19 November, 4pm
2h 20min including interval

Helen Machalias draws on Shakespeare’s The Tempest in this work about survival and the cost of pursuing the promise of a better life. Refugees Prospero, Miranda and Ariel are washed ashore on Christmas Island seeking asylum in Australia.

Reza Momenzada and George Kanaan talk to Barbie about This Rough Magic
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Canberra Spinners and Weavers – Transformation with a Twist and a Turn

70 Maclaurin Crescent Chifley ACT
Friday 10 and Saturday 11 November 2023 10am to 4pm
Sunday 12 November 2023 11am to 3pm

The annual exhibition of the Canberra Spinners and Weavers includes open days, a silent auction, demonstrations and sales tables. Beautiful handmade garments, scarves and other textile objects are available for sale as well as hand spun yarns.

Lynne Johnson from Canberra Spinners and Weavers talks about Transformation with a Twist and a Turn

Information: https://www.canberraspinnersandweavers.org.au/