For the first time in a flamin’ long time, Ray Meagher hit the stage to take part in Priscilla the Musical. Now don’t you worry all you Alf fans out there, Mr Stewart isn’t going anywhere. Ray was filling in for Michael Caton while he takes a break from playing 'Bob the mechanic' in the hugely popular stage show at the Lyric Theatre, Star City, Sydney.
We had a chat to Ray about his return to theatre, the return of some old cast members to Home and Away and of course, Alf.
With these new live performances that you’re doing, do you get nervous before you take the stage? You obviously wouldn’t be nervous in front of a TV camera anymore.
Yeah, absolutely, I think its helped. If you’re not nervous before the first night of something then something’s wrong somewhere. I’ll probably be nervous until I finish with Priscilla because it’s a fairly quick run and its been a fairly rushed rehearsal period, but I feel pretty confident and comfortable with it.
So how did you come to choose this role?
It was chosen for me. The producers phoned and said that Michael Caton wanted a break and asked if I would be interested and I thought doing that with Home and Away would be a bit too much to handle. I said, “Look I’m really flattered you asked, thank you, but no thank you” and then one of the producers said, “Well, will you just do me a favour and have a look at it before you finally make up your mind”. So I went to see it and my god is it a fabulous show. It is just sensational and I thought, “Well, you’re a long time dead, you’ve got to have a bit of this” and so I said I’d love to have a crack at it.
And what was it about the show that won you over?
Just everything about it. It’s a big, Australian musical and it’s something that everyone in Australia should be proud of. It’s such a good show, full of life and vitality and fun and terrific music. Spud Murphy’s arrangements are just fantastic. Everyone goes out with a smile on their face, its just such an uplifting show and the performances are just sensational. The whole chorus is so strong, it’s not just the leads who are wonderful, there’s not a weak link in it.
Infact it's such a good show that Kate Ritchie, Charlotte Best, Lynne McGranger, Paul O'Brien, Sharni Vinson, Jessica McNamee, Jessica Chapnik, Indiana Evans, Lincoln Lewis, Jessica Tovey, Nic Bishop, Ada Nicodemou, Chris Sadrinna, Bobby Morely, Jon Sivewright, Rachel Gordon, Tim Campbell, Lyn Collingwood and Danny Raco all turned up to support Ray in this amazing musical. (Tickets are still available).
NOW BACK TO NEWS IN SUMMER BAY
A new family has just joined the Bay from a nearby farm. Having grown up on a sheep and cattle station, do you still have an affinity with the land?
I love to go out there whenever I get the opportunity. It’s a bit difficult with our schedules here, but I still have relatives out there and I love to get out in the bush every now and again.
What’s your feeling on the plights of the farmers? They have been doing it tough lately with the drought.
Well, they have been in lots of areas. Some have got a bit of rain recently, but there’s still lots of areas where they’re struggling. It can be very tough and often when it breaks it’s the reverse. You know, floods or droughts.
Have you worked with Chris Haywood (who plays Bruce Campbell) before?
Yes, Chris and I did a movie called ‘Breaker Morant’ together and we also did some of that Crawford stuff years ago: ‘Cop Shop’ and those sorts of things. I remember one where we were both villians in the same gang. I’m sure we met a nasty end.
Mr Fisher is about to return to the Bay. How is it working with Norman Coburn again?
Working with Norman is just sensational. It’s wonderful to have him back and he’s a terrific bloke and a wonderful actor and it’s really fantastic that hes come back for a while.
It seems Alf is starting to lose his sight. What do you think is going through his mind?
Alf immediately thought the worst. He didn’t go to a doctor for a long time because he was worried that he was losing his sight and he was quite convinced that he had Glaucoma. Unbeknownst to Alf, quite a few people have glaucoma and there are forms of it where you lose your sight very slowly, but other forms you can apparently lose your sight quickly. He immediately thought he was going blind and that’s why he didn’t want to go to a doctor to have it confirmed. When the family eventually talked him into going to see a doctor he found out it was only cataracts and that can be cured with an operation.
And will you be doing any pantomines this Christmas in England? (Home and Away actors are in hot demand for the pantomine season)
Yep, I’ll be playing ‘King Rat’ who is the villian in ‘Dick Whittington’. London’s overrun by a rat plague and Dick comes down from Gloucester to try and clean the rats out. I’m doing that in the Grand Theartre in Swansea in Wales this year.
Thanks Ray (what a busy man!)
