In My Honest Opinion…
Each fortnight, IMHO invites those in the know to tell us what they really think about arts, entertainment and live performance in Queensland and beyond.
Don’t you wish you had the inside word on which shows were five-star standouts and which were fizzing flops?
IMHO is that sassy best friend who pulls no punches to give you the lowdown on what’s worth seeing and what’s a total snooze-fest.
No topic is off limits, no answer is censored, no bridge is left unburned.
These are their unflinching, unfiltered answers and their honest opinions.
Andy Cook: My honest opinion about… the real cost of artistic success.
“There is masculinity within femininity, there is strength within vulnerability, stop pushing it away.”
9 Mar 2020
Shoshana Bean: My honest opinion about… the constant judgement, criticism and comparison performers face
With Powerhouse performer Shoshana Bean.
9 Feb 2020
Dead Puppet Society: My honest opinion about… why puppets are not for kids.
“We got obnoxiously drunk and started inserting the ‘puppet’ into famous movie titles and ‘Dead Puppet Society’ just stuck. We knew we were going to change it when we came up with a better idea and it’s now 12 years old.” In their own words, Nicholas Paine and David Morton are “hell bent on bringing their inimitable brand of entertainment to the world”. In everyone else’s book, they’re the two guys who registered one of the coolest company names in showbiz. Nick and David founded Dead Puppet Society in 2008 to create deeply imaginative theatre where the old school meets the technological and the mythic meets the modern. “When we first started the company … we were hell-bent on this idea it was adult theatre.”In this podcast, they reflect on a remarkable career trajectory that started at QUT, blazed a trail through Brisbane’s most respected arts organisations and festivals then on to the world stage, including residencies in New York and productions in the UK.Yet through it all, they continue to battle a global misconception that puppetry is just for kids. David and Nick offer their honest opinions on Brisbane as a breeding ground for artists, reveal their huge international plans and share some of the cringeworthy company names drunkenly proposed. “Anything is possible. I mean, we’d get in a lot of trouble if we had to rip a limb off our performer but it’s fine for a puppet.”For more honest opinions, follow us on Instagram @imho_aus, like us on Facebook @IMHOAUS, and sign up to become a Citizen Reviewer at inmyhonestopinion.com.au. GUEST: David Morton, Creative Director and Nicholas Paine, Executive Producer of Dead Puppet Society HOST: Belinda Seeney For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy
15 Jan 2020
Tom Oliver: My honest opinion about… what it’s really like to make it in showbusiness
“I think I’ve been engrossed in an industry that I absolutely adore for so long now that I’m a little bit tired and little bit over it and it’s not the attitude I want to have.”It’s not a stretch to say 2019 was both exhausting and exhilarating for Brisbane performer Tom Oliver.The globetrotting singer, actor and creator had spent only three of the past 52 weeks in his hometown; his career taking him from a luxury cruise liner in the Caribbean to dancing in a bedazzled lobster costume at La Boite’s Roundhouse Theatre.“I was literally at the traffic lights yesterday going, “am I about to just quit the industry?” I think that’s what 2020 is for me, really trying to nut out where I sit in this space.”In this podcast, Tom discusses the – metaphorical and physical – crossroads moment that has him questioning the future of his career; dissects what it’s really like to get everything you’ve ever wished for; and nominates who he believes has the chops to lead Brisbane’s creative and artistic community forward.He also reveals what it’s really like living on a floating city, whether showbusiness is as glamourous as it’s made out to be and spills the beans on the New Year’s Eve he spent partying with Australian rock royalty on Sydney Harbour.“The idea of travelling the world, seeing shows, and then bringing them back to Brisbane is a pretty exciting thought.” For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy
13 Dec 2019
Jo Thomas: My honest opinion about… who should take responsibility for funding arts and culture
“A lot of us have spent years and years and years creating works, seeing work, hanging out with friends, falling in love there, having our heart broken there… so that space holds a lot of memory, a lot of ghosts.” It was a huge 2019 for Metro Arts: selling the Heritage-listed building it’s called home for decades, establishing a multi-million dollar arts fund, negotiating new digs and through it all, programming and commissioning a packed slate of contemporary work.Leading the multi-arts organisation through these unchartered waters was Jo Thomas; meeting emotional opposition to the sale with calm and reason, throwing herself into the unfamiliar world of investment and finance and still programming award-winning theatre.“I’ve had the craziest year understanding investment of money, meeting every property developer in Brisbane, going and meeting philanthropists and people who run foundations and advocating constantly.”In this podcast, Jo reflects on Metro Arts’ impending 40th birthday; the creative solutions arts organisations must find to thrive in the face of dwindling government funding; and how artists must be afforded space and opportunity to push the envelope, to experiment and to deliver important work without the imposition of commercial conditions.With a background in cabaret and circus, Jo reveals the surprising similarities between her performance past and her future as custodian of Metro Art’s once-in-a-generation evolution.“You’ve got to keep your focus on everything and make sure not one little plate can drop, not one little area loses your focus.”For more honest opinions, follow us on Instagram @imho_aus, like us on Facebook @IMHOAUS, and sign up to become a Citizen Reviewer at inmyhonestopinion.com.au.GUEST: Jo Thomas, Creative Director and CEO of Metro ArtsHOST: Belinda Seeney For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy
8 Nov 2019
Joel Edmondson: My honest opinion about… whether creative or commercial success is more important in the arts industry
“To be a successful artist these days you have to really understand the business of what we do.”“Accidentally.” This is Joel Edmondson’s honest answer to how he found his calling as an expert in change management, flipping arts organisations and the music industry as a whole.Coming from a background in film and moving from education and research management projects to running gigs in a DIY venue under a sex shop, Joel has melded these experiences to “luck” his way into a successful arts career.“Bad art makes for good water cooler fodder. People love to talk about what they didn’t like about something, which is I guess a form of entertainment.” The driving force behind QMusic and BIGSOUND, Joel was appointed Queensland Music Festival’s (QMF) Executive Director in November 2018.In this podcast, Joel looks back on his career trajectory, giving thoughtful insight into the uneasy alliance between creative and commercial interests within the arts sector, the hurdles facing the industry and what it takes to make a good leader. “We’re not just competing with other live experiences, we’re competing with screens, we’re competing with the amount of hours people have to work, distractions on emails, social media, time with family…”For more honest opinions, follow us on Instagram @imho_aus, like us on Facebook @IMHOAUS, and sign up to become a Citizen Reviewer at inmyhonestopinion.com.au.GUEST: Joel Edmondson, Executive Director of Queensland Music FestivalHOST: Adam Brunes For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy
19 Sept 2019
Naomi Price: My honest opinion about… programming work people actually want to see
“I have seen so much shit over the years that it is so hard to actually nut down what I think is the most cringeworthy!”A prolific performer and producer across stage and screen, Naomi Price knows what she’s talking about.Long before she dazzled audiences – and superstar Ricky Martin – on The Voice Australia, Price had cemented her well-earned reputation as a tenacious and talented entertainer.She’s delivered a moving Mary Magdalene and taken a wrecking ball to Miley Cyrus; performed in the premiere season of Ladies in Black and toured Australia in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.But, as she discusses frankly and fearlessly with IMHO, she’s ready to make an even bigger splash in Queensland’s arts and entertainment industry.“My provocation to women is, why are we continuing to realise men’s vision?” In this podcast, Price draws on her formidable experience to map out her aspirations for the state’s creative and performance sector.She is unflinchingly honest about her own artistic leadership ambitions, her blueprint for engaging Queensland audiences, her plans to flip “pedestrian theatre” on its head and why she will never take part in Sober October again.“I’d rather be ignited with something – with an opinion, with a thought, with passion, with conviction – than walk away from another piece of diluted rubbish.”For more honest opinions, follow us on Instagram @imho_aus, like us on Facebook @IMHOAUS, and sign up to become a Citizen Reviewer at inmyhonestopinion.com.au.GUEST: Naomi Price, performer and co-director of The Little Red CompanyHOST: Belinda Seeney For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy
5 Sept 2019
David Berthold: My honest opinion about… what’s missing from Brisbane’s cultural sector
“It’s always been my philosophy that one of the worst things an organisation can do when faced with those kinds of challenges is to retreat...” By David Berthold’s own admission, he burst onto La Boite Theatre Company’s stage with a “ridiculously large” season filled with “some very high ambition”. His signature boldness and inclination to go big is an attitude he has applied to Brisbane Festival, the nation’s largest major international arts festival. On the eve of opening his fifth and final Brisbane Festival, the outgoing – but sometimes shy – Artistic Director takes IMHO on a trip down memory lane as he ruminates on his 11-year residency in the city. “People were expecting a diminished level of work. The opposite happened.” In this podcast, Berthold reveals the challenges he faced steering a theatre company in dire financial straits and how Hamlet proved the unlikeliest of saviours. The arts and cultural leader is frank in his assessment of Queensland’s arts sector and predicts the trends and issues that will shape and decide the fate of the industry. “That has to change, otherwise our arts and cultural scene risks not delivering what it needs to do in a city that’s rapidly transforming.” For more honest opinions, follow us on Instagram @imho_aus, like us on Facebook @IMHOAUS, and sign up to become a Citizen Reviewer at inmyhonestopinion.com.au. GUEST: David Berthold, Brisbane Festival Artistic DirectorHOST: Adam Brunes For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy
3 Sept 2019
Welcome to IMHO
In My Honest Opinion…Each fortnight, IMHO invites those in the know to tell us what they really think about arts, entertainment and live performance in Queensland and beyond.Don’t you wish you had the inside word on which shows were five-star standouts and which were fizzing flops?IMHO is that sassy best friend who pulls no punches to give you the lowdown on what’s worth seeing and what’s a total snooze-fest.No topic is off limits, no answer is censored, no bridge is left unburned.These are their unflinching, unfiltered answers and their honest opinions. For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy
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