Racheal - Production Date: 30 June – 24 July, 2004
- Production Company: Brisbane Arts Theatre, Brisbane
- Playwright: Christopher Hampton
- My Role: Emile
Back at the Brisbane Arts Theatre again, this time performing in a classic under the direction of John Boyce. I had wanted to work with John for a while, so was excited for the opportunity. I enjoyed playing the role of Emile, the Courtesan, and my casting in this role was partly (highly-likely) due to the fact that I had no hesitation in flashing my boobs at the audition. Actually, the audition was already over, but I remember a small group of us chatting in the green room after the audition (I think it might have been a group audition rather than individual) and John had just told me I was cast as the Courtesan. Someone asked how that happened, and my response was a quick “Oh, I just did this” and flashed my 14DD’s with no shame. It was a joke of course, but always stuck in my memory as a funny moment.
The show actually required two actors to be naked on stage. My role, as the Courtesan, which I appeared topless, and the role of Cecille, played by Julie-Anna. In 2004, there was no intimacy co-ordinators back then, but John and his team handled the rehearsals & show well. I don’t recall feeling uncomfortable at any time, and my scenes were rehearsed as required, with only those that needed to be there.
The show itself had a great run, but it was the first time I remember ever being really sick during a show. I can’t remember exactly what I had, but I remember it wasn’t viral so no one else ended up getting sick during the show, thankfully. The upside was that I also lost some weight because of it, so I was probably looking the best I had for quite a while (and I always seem to lose it off my belly before my boobs!). But it was bad enough that most shows I didn’t stay for curtain call, except for opening & closing nights.
It was the first show where I absolutely loved my costume – I felt so beautiful in the gold dress (this was before the topless scene of course, lol) and I also remember this cast was really the first time I felt everyone in the cast got along really well. We even kept in contact for years after (I still have a couple of them connected on Facebook).
My other memory of this show was from opening & closing nights – my topless appearance seemed to have made an impression on a few people, and I even remember one audience member giving me a hug afterwards saying how he loved my performance (but I had no idea who he even was!). Whilst it wasn’t the first time I had been ‘undressed’ on stage, it was certainly the first time I had bared myself on stage, and I have no regrets about it!
CAST: Natasha Yantsch, Julie-Anna Evans, Diana Golden, Chris Oliver, Timothy Wotherspoon, Stephen Davies, Diane O’Beirne, Michelle Milne, Ben Eckert, Leila Probets, Danika Gwynne
CREW: John Boyce (Director), Shellie Ward (Stage Manager), Leila Probets (Choreographer), Tony Millett (Fight Choreographer), Timothy Wotherspoon (Composer), Joey Fox, Graham McKenzie, Michael Dare, Lucinda Fry, Kath Slee, Jessica Morris, Sandra Harman.
