Hi Bridget. You’ve had a long acting career can you tell us what you’re working on at the moment?
I’m always working on something. I just finished Peter Panto where I played Captain Hook which was a lot of fun. I’d never done a panto before.
Then I started work on ‘Red’ which will be showing at the end of March as part of the Fringe Festival.
Red is based on my story – a creative emergence from trauma. My life has not always been easy, I was abused by my father at a young age, my mother left when I was 15 years old and I struggled with anorexia and alcoholism. But I’m alive and it’s possible to get through these things and have a wonderful life.
The show is theatrical, engaging, fun, and musical with costumes designed by Uli von Radichevich from Rike Design.
I love theatre. It’s ephemeral and collaborative and everyone is equal. It chose me and even if I try to pull away it calls me back in.
How did you become involved in acting?
I went to the Les Strasberg Theatre Institute which was pretty incredible.
I spent my roaring 20s living in the West End of London and hanging out with movie stars and rock stars.
Your voice may sound familiar to many MainFM listeners. How did you first start in radio?
In 1983 I started presenting a music show and a feminist magazine show, ‘On the Common’, on 3RRR. I started out at MainFM in 2014 presenting Chantoosies for three years. After a break, I came back and present Femme Fortissimo on Friday mornings.
What other careers have you had?
I’ve got a Ph.D. in creative writing, focussing on how creative emergence from trauma is written, which is half critical, half creative, and very feminist.
Before that, I worked at a variety of universities and in the past, I worked in film and tv and as the head of the props department at the Victorian State Opera.
There have been a lot of different jobs.
These last few years have been busy, I’ve been working full time as the head of Course Development at Collarts (Australian College of the Arts), raising a teenager, doing theatre, and during the 2021 lockdown, I had cancer treatment for breast and ovarian cancer and found out I have the BRCA2 gene. I’m hoping to get surgery sometime soon this year.
Wow, that is definitely a varied career. You’re also a strong advocate for women’s housing – can you tell us how that came about?
I think it’s incumbent on me when I have a platform, to use it to highlight issues, particularly feminism, and homelessness.
When I lived in London I lived in squats so I know what it can be like. When I first moved to the Castlemaine area I was renting and had to move six times over six years.
I really encourage people to donate to Women’s Housing Limited.
How long have you lived in Castlemaine?
I’ve lived in the district for 17 years and before that, I was living in Breamlea.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m in a Proust reading group and I’m listening to Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.
What philosophies do you live life by?
Live and let live and ecofeminism.
What music do you enjoy?
The music I play on my radio program. My taste is fairly varied but I’m mostly listening to female artists at the moment.
And finally, what do you like most about the place you call home?
I feel very privileged to live here. I love the quiet, the birds and animals, and the community.