Impersonating a public figure as prominent as former Prime Minister Julia Gillard would be daunting to some. But not accomplished actor, singer and comedian Mandy Bishop.
Mandy started playing Julia Gillard in the 2008 Wharf Revue at the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) when she was deputy leader of the Opposition.
“Squeezing your body into someone else’s body and that can be a challenge when the person still exists,” said the UNE Music alumna. “But, to me, it has been an honour. I started playing Julia in the 2008 Wharf Revue at the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) when she was deputy leader of the Opposition. Getting her sound right was a way in to understanding how to play her.”
Mandy has reprised our first woman Prime Minister several times since, most notably perhaps in the controversial ABC television satire she co-wrote At Home with Julia and last month on ABC TV’s Q&A. She is now in rehearsals to bring her back to the stage in the latest – and final – Wharf Revue offering that opens, fittingly, in Canberra in October*.
Not that Mandy is idle.
“At WAAPA (the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts), I was told almost every day that once you reach 35 all the work will dry up,” she said. “It’s been the exact opposite for me and the women of my generation. I am grateful to all those women who came before us for the writing, performing and producing opportunities I now enjoy.”
Readings at the STC, a Bell Shakespeare presentation on the role of the theatrical fool, a production meeting for a new play written especially for her (and which she will perform next year) are among Mandy’s current projects. The Wharf Revue appearance later this year will cap almost 15 years with the ensemble, during which time Mandy has also appeared as Anthony Albanese and Michaelia Cash.
“We have great crowds wherever we go,” she said. “I think people are needing to laugh at politics. Historically, it’s during times of war that satire thrives. We somehow need to cope with politically weighty issues by seeing a lighter side.”
That “lighter side” has its origins at UNE, where Mandy studied in the late 1980s, becoming a regular in local musicals and performances at Robb College (her home of three years), including little cabarets, music concerts and choir recitals at formal dinners. “In a smaller university, and with an even smaller yet world-class Music Department, it was a win-win for our era. We received a wonderful, hands-on, tutorial-rich education from ground-breakers such as Professor Cath Ellis (Head of Music), Claudio Pompili (Composition), Dr Rosalind Halton (Performance Studies), Dr Rex Eakins (History, Harmony), Ann Ghandar (Composition) and singing tutors Claire Keoghan and Felicity Horgan.
“We were doing fun things all the time and college life under Master Dr Jim Irvine taught me community. We were each other’s family at Robb. UNE played a big part in making me who I am and I reassure my friends, colleagues and mentors from this time.”
Although those friends and former lecturers are now scattered around Australia, Mandy delights when they attend her performances. It’s one of the joys of a creative life, which can sometimes be lonely. To reunite with fellow artists and educators around the country has been the highlight of my touring life.
Bite My Chilli (Mandy 2nd from left)
“It’s job to job and hard to get a sense of building anything except to hone some skills that hopefully make you employable. Dealing with fear and unpredictability is a big thing and I was all the clichés when starting out – a barista, a barmaid and a waitress. The work I do (typically combining acting, music and dance) demands a well-rounded approach. The gift for the actor is that you get to study the human condition your entire life. And how wonderful is that?”
Producing theatre for schools and touring a Nick Enright play early in her career also reminded Mandy of the importance of the arts to rural and regional Australia. And she has always cherished her own musical education at UNE.
“Any comic performance is music and rhythm, and music is a wonderful vector for storytelling, for education and comedy. In Armidale I got to explore that through my formal music degree, but also got to explore ideas and my own capabilities at college. I’ve drawn upon those experiences and the dear friendships I formed ever since.
“Every time I do a character, I aim to expand my education of life. I try not to repeat an interpretation. I love it all, really: the pleasure of receiving the phone call to audition, reading the script for the first time, building all the parts of your character – how they look, move and speak – and then putting your body and energy and mind into telling that story.”
*The Wharf Revue moves to Sydney from Canberra, where the show runs until Christmas. It will tour the regions in February 2025, Tamworth included.
