Tickets are now on sale for the Castlemaine Theatre Company’s first full-stage production since COVID-19 swept across our shores – ‘Peter Panto: Or One Flew Over the Second Star on the Right’.
The production is a swashbuckling adventure! It’s Peter Pan as you’ve never seen before! It’s a proper panto, so plenty of booing and
hissing and ‘Behind you!’ moments.
Nurse Ratched is a cross-dressing Dame looking for love, the Lost Boys want to be a Boy Band, Tiger Lily is a martial arts expert (and Skipper of the Castlemaine Magpies footy team) and Nana is a Freudian analyst.
An irreverent mash-up with One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, the story begins in Castlemaine Health’s Youth Psych Ward…and it’s medication time…
Peter Panto has been a true labour of love, first thwarted after a successful casting in 2020, as the pandemic swept across Australia. The production this year is set to wow audiences.
Director Kate Stones was inspired to bring this adaptation to life after rewatching the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, featuring Jack Nicholson.
“I was struck by the similarities. McMurphy is such a Peter Pan character – he’s arrogant, a born leader, and definitely averse to being a sensible grown-up, and he ends up with his own band of lost boys in the ward, whom he takes on various crazy adventures,” Stones says.
“To me pantomime means permission to be naughty – it’s anti-authoritarian, low-brow, guerilla entertainment. It takes traditionally enshrined stories and mixes them up, there’s gender fluidity built in and lots of yelling from the audience. Families will love it, but I hope everyone comes along to enjoy the fun,” she said.
This is a pantomime sure to entertain with popular songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s to bop and sing along to!
Stellar casting rounds off the production with new and familiar faces, with a cast of both young and young at heart.
The vocal arrangements have been created by cast member Orvokki Britton (who plays Lost Boy Nibs) and fun dance routines are put together by cast member Paula Russell (Pirate Starkley).
Orvokki says “I absolutely adore turning up to rehearsal, the cast, and crew of this production are a group full of fun and many laughs. I always come in feeling excited and leave feeling fresh and full of life. I am simply bursting to get this show on the stage!”
Fellow cast member Leah Fistric (‘Pirate Coco’) says, after all the challenges faced by the performing arts industries and their audiences over the last few years, Peter Panto feels like the perfect show to bring the community back into their theatre seats, to laugh out loud and sing- along.
“We have a fabulous all-ages cast to work alongside, inclusive, warm, energized, and ready to perform,” Fistric says.
Peter Panto: Or One Flew Over the Second Star on the Right will be performed at the Phee Broadway Theatre from November 4-20. Tickets are available from Maine Shoes and Accessories, 174 Barker St, Castlemaine or on Trybooking.
Swashbuckling fun awaits!
Hockey players welcome to participate
A passionate, local group of hockey players are getting together on Sunday mornings at Castlemaine Primary School during October. Anyone is welcome to join them. There is equipment to loan. Juniors are at 9am and teens and adults are gathering at 10am. Photo: Max Lesser.
Local development making an impact
Chris Hooper, Castlemaine
Many houses going in especially on hilltops and slopes means the ground being covered by the house, driveway, paths and paving. This means more run off. Rhonda Hall wrote in Castlemaine Mail October 7 about the need for new houses to have water tanks to catch the run off from roofs. She says there’s more run off now at the bottom of McKenzie Hill which has a large number of new houses on it.
Some new housing developments have tanks connected to toilets so rainwater can be used for flushing but the more water we catch less is going into the ground. Water in the ground is good, plus creeks need the run off too. But, the more we clear or build and make non permeable surfaces the more run off we’ll have maybe in excess.
The hill at the back of Campbells Creek has many new houses on it now and I’ve heard there’s excessive run off. The new housing on the hill behind Dudley Street and Munro Court to the north of town causes excessive run off to creeks below. This is one reason I don’t like the council plan for Camp Reserve. There’s too much hard surface which means radiant heat and a lot of run off. With the heavy rainfall conditions we’re having we need more permeable surfaces and to slow the water flow.
Forest Creek creeps higher as rains continue
With today’s weather event set to further impact the region’s already swollen creeks, rivers and catchments local residents are being urged to take care. Follow our Facebook page for more updates.
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Taradale playground underwater as Back Creek swells
With today’s weather event set to further impact the region’s already swollen creeks, rivers and catchments local residents are being urged to take care. Follow our Facebook page for more updates.
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Cairn Curran spillway surging after heavy rains
With today’s weather event set to further impact the region’s already swollen creeks, rivers and catchments local residents are being urged to take care. Follow our Facebook page for more updates.
Please consider a digital subscription to support your local news coverage. Free trial available for a limited time.
Your Chewton with Duang Tengtrirat, local chef
Hi Duang. Most people will know you from your stall selling delicious food at the Castlemaine Farmers Market. How long have you been at the market and how did you become involved?
I’ve been at the weekly market since it first started three years ago. I was one of the founders. In the beginning, we only had eight to ten stalls, but now, during the busy season, there are around 30 stalls. I like that the market is curated, everything has to be made locally and sold by the makers. The ingredients I use in my food are usually bought at the market, locally, or grown at home.
How long have you lived in Australia?
I was born in Thailand in a place called Nan. I then lived in America for 35 years. I came here 14 years ago because I married an Australian man. We first moved to Eltham. I was 60 years old and didn’t know what I was going to do. I started volunteering at a community garden, which was mainly for people with intellectual disabilities. I started taking food on the days that I worked and the teachers asked me to organise catering for them and that’s how my catering business started. 10 years ago I moved to Chewton and when I saw the benchtop in this house I knew I wanted to run cooking classes.
You went back to visit Thailand earlier this year. How was that trip?
I went back twice, once in January and again in June. I try and go every year. It still feels like home. I recently inherited my family home, which is being renovated to become a cooking school. I want to turn it into a place to run food and cultural tours for people from Australia and America. My home town Nan is not yet a tourist town and I want people to see it while it is still untainted.
Have you had other careers?
I originally trained as a nurse and then as a counsellor. I taught English as a second language and ran a few businesses. But I’ve always loved cooking.
What are your other interests?
Gardening. I grow a lot of my vegetables, things that I can’t buy. In summer I grow a lot of basil. I also grow eggplant which I use a lot in my cooking. The house we live in is built on a large sheet of rock, and my husband and I are both in our 70s, so growing things in raised boxes is the most conducive.
I love to sew, but don’t have time to write now, I mostly cook. I’ve always loved cooking. I started cooking as soon as I could walk. My mother had four daughters, and I must have an aptitude for cooking. None of my sisters were interested in cooking.
Any philosophies by which you like to lead life?
I’m not sure I can answer that in a short time or condense my answer! I guess it’s people. I believe in equalising for people who are disadvantaged, such as refugees. I think food is a fantastic equaliser. During COVID I started making and giving away free food at the market, it was a lot more than I bargained for but it taught me so much about people; the people who came for food and the people who supported the idea. There were farmers who supplied food and community people who came to help cook. Those that had a lot, gave a lot. That’s what I love about this community, the generosity of spirit. So that’s part of my philosophy, to make food accessible to people as much as I can.
Who would your three dream dinner guests be?
Bruce Pascall, who wrote Dark Emu, and Behrouz Boochan, who wrote No Friend but the Mountains. He came to Australia as an asylum seeker and was put into detention in Preston. He was very badly treated. He managed to get his story out through an outsider while he was in detention. He eventually moved to New Zealand.
Annie Smither the cook or if I could choose a dead person it would be John Reid who owned the Red Beard Bakery in Trentham. He was a foodie and a supreme equaliser which is a double plus.
Pet peeves?
The misuse of language. I hate it when people say, ‘people that came’, instead of ‘people who came’ or ‘the amount of people’ instead of ‘the number of people’.
What’s your musical genre of choice?
I don’t have one. I like silence. I cook in silence and I drive in silence.
What are you reading at the moment?
How to tell a story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth and Writing the Story of Your Life by Carmel Bird.
I sense a theme here. Are you planning on writing your story?
Yes.
How’s it going?
It’s going extremely well because I haven’t written anything!
I’ve been talking about writing a book for years. I love writing for the Chewton Chat and writing Facebook posts.
The final question Duang, what do you enjoy most about the place you call home?
There isn’t anything that I don’t enjoy. I love the physical house and the people of Chewton and Castlemaine. I’ve never lived anywhere with such a sense of belonging. I’ve been blown away by how the people support what I want to do! For example, the Red Hill Pub lost a chef. They asked me if I’d do a pop-up and I thought, ‘it’s the local pub. It’s a beautiful place where my friends go to drink’. So we agreed I’d try it and see how it goes. The first date booked out in a day! He asked me to give him a second date and it also booked out in a day! This is what I mean, I can’t believe it! I’m a no-name cook and 50 people a day are booking without knowing what the menu is! I don’t even know what the menu is!
Take a look back at Straede Drapery Mostyn Street
Circa 1909
This photograph is from the State Library collection and was sourced by Lani Smith. William Straede and his brother Carl were pioneer miners of the Castlemaine district who belonged to a party of miners who made their fortune at Lady Gully. On the 8th June 1872 the brothers opened a large drapery business in Castlemaine’s Market Square. Their business was located on the north east corner of Mostyn Street and Frederick Streets, next to the Goldsmith’s Hotel and it was described as one of the most respected businesses in the town. William Straede died in 1909 but the business continued until it was sold in 1915 to a Mr. S. Newman and the shop continued under new management. This photograph was taken in 1909-1910, about the time of Mr. Straede’s death. This photograph shows the business at the time with the former Goldsmith Hotel on the extreme right.
2022
The site on the corner of Mostyn and Frederick Streets has now been occupied by the Bendigo Bank for many years. The structure of the building has remained the same since the late 1800s with the exception now of a new coat of paint. Previously, the corner site was occupied by the Benstead family who conducted a music and record shop in the latter part of the twentieth century, and earlier in 1960s and early 1970s, the Pedler conducted a similar business selling records, pianos, radios, stationery and gifts. Photo and historical details courtesy Ken McKimmie.
World premiere for Castlemaine
Internationally renowned violinist Lizzy Welsh is set to share her latest musical work as part of a ‘world premiere’ event at the Castlemaine Theatre Royal next Thursday October 13.
The event was set to be held earlier this year but had to be rescheduled after covid forced the cancellation of the event.
The baroque and modern violinist and composer will be joined by talented fellow Melbourne musos Tilman Robinson and Chloë Sobek in presenting the collaborative piece the trio penned during the lockdowns.
The concert on October 13 will fuse electronics with string instruments in a stunning collision of Renaissance and contemporary styles.
Lizzy grew up in Harcourt and was always intrigued by the violin.
“I just knew that I wanted to learn to play it one day. As luck would have it I was very fortunate to get that opportunity though a state school program at Castlemaine North Primary School in the 90s.
“I was grateful to be among six kids selected for the program and I never looked back. I was hooked and practiced religiously. My poor family!” Lizzy said.
“This was followed by playing in the symphony orchestra, string quartet and piano trio at Castlemaine Secondary College and performances at the Castlemaine State Festival and weddings from the age of 15, before studying at the Victorian College of the Arts, and then in Germany.
“I now have a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Queensland Conservatorium, and an international performance career specialising in early and new music, or at least I did have before covid!” Lizzy laughs.
Her talent has seen her perform at concert halls all over the world including China, Poland, London, the US and Germany.
“Tilman specialises in electronics, Chloë plays the viola da gamba and I play the smaller viola d’amore which was a popular instrument in the 1600s, each of us wrote a piece of music during covid and we then met up for a development session in Castlemaine where we found a way to fuse our three pieces together.
“I think it works. It’s very different, you’d definitely call it experimental! It’s very niche,” Lizzy says.
“It’s fantastic that Tim and Felicity at the Theatre Royal have welcomed us and are open to presenting all forms of music. It feels pretty special to be able to debut the piece here in my hometown”.
The project has been made possible thanks to support from the state and federal governments.
“We applied for three grants and were lucky enough to get two of them from the Australia Council for the Arts and Creative Victoria which really allowed us the time and space to focus on solely on this project during what was a really difficult time for musicians,” she said.
Doors open at 7.30pm and the show starts at 8pm. For tickets to the Castlemaine performance visit https://theatreroyalcastlemaine.oztix.com.au
Hot Rodders to celebrate 60 years
Castlemaine Rods will celebrate their 60th anniversary with a special event at Autoplex Castlemaine at the former Castlemaine Secondary College Senior Campus in Etty Street, Castlemaine this Sunday October 9.
The event will kick off at 10.30am. The day will include a small display of early cars from the 1960s when the club began, a memorabilia display of items spanning the club’s six decades, and the cutting of the 60th anniversary cake. Lunch and coffee will be available for purchase.
The public is very welcome to attend this free event and help celebrate this vibrant sector of our local community.
Planning for the future
Rhondda Hall, Castlemaine
When our family moved from Queensland to Boort in 1964 every WC where a septic tank had been added had a notice on the back of the door with the rules, one of which was “Do not flush for minor uses”.
I fear modern Australians will not want to follow that rule when the sewerage plant is full (or during droughts), so I will offer some other mad suggestions to overcome the problem.
Building regulations should specify how big the rain water tank must be for all houses: the bigger the roof (keeping your floor dry) the bigger the tank (keeping your run-off on your place).
We should all plant more trees that hold large amounts of water, where possible.
I live at the bottom of McKenzie Hill, and a lot more water runs down the hill on the highway than did 20 years ago.
It’s time to walk the talk
Trevor Scott,
Architect, Castlemaine
Mount Alexander Shire Council has in this newspaper, recently promoted its plan to redevelop the Camp Reserve in Forest Street, Castlemaine. Unfortunately, the plan involves extensive earthworks and removal of many, mature species of trees.
Council argues that it will offset the loss of trees by replacing them with new ones, but it will be many years before these can absorb as much carbon dioxide as the large trees.
The Camp Reserve has historical connections to Goldsmith Crescent and the former court house, as well as to other significant buildings such as the Powder Magazine. This plan will sever these links and have an adverse effect on the character and heritage significance of the precinct.
As has been previously reported (Mail September 22) the plan for the reserve includes the construction of a new pavilion and netball courts, additional change rooms, a new community space, public toilets, a kiosk and umpires facilities, which is admirable.
It is planned that these should be located on the south west side of the reserve, adjacent to Forest Street. However, this is one of the hilliest and most vegetated parts of the site.
As an architect, I am convinced that these facilities could be located elsewhere on the site, avoiding the tree removal, earthworks and costly landscaping. Three years ago, council declared a climate emergency for the whole of the shire. More recently it purchased a new bus for patient transport. Unfortunately again, this bus was petrol-powered and not electric. Even more recently council ordered the removal of a sign reminding us of this emergency, from a prominent building in the town. When I look online, council’s website has a climate emergency plan, but when I look at this plan for our reserve and consider the above items, it seems to me that it is struggling to “walk the talk.”
