Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Thursday 25 September
6:15 PM - 7:45 PM
A great speech captures the power and passion of its ideas; it’s an attempt to influence thought, or to commemorate a moment in time. On the publication of her updated anthology, Well May We Say, Sally Warhaft responds to some of Australia’s most significant speeches, on the themes of defence, women, immigration and indigenous affairs, in conversation with Stuart Macintyre and host Gideon Haigh.
Actors Bert LaBonté and Zahra Newman will bring these speeches to life, infusing them with new passion and meaning. Featured orations will reflect how these critical issues have evolved and changed with the times.
You’ll hear from feminist firebrands and political giants throughout Australian history, from Julia Gillard to Alfred Deakin, John Howard to Paul Keating.
Be carried away by the power of live speech … and reflect on the national contest of ideas, then and now.
Featuring
Stuart Macintyre
Stuart Macintyre has been chair of the Heritage Council of Victoria since 2015, and is regarded as one of Australia's most influential historians.
He's the former Dean of Arts at the University of Melbourne, and is Emeritus Laureate Professor of the University of Melbourne and a Professorial Fellow of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies.
Stuart was president of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia from 2007 to 2009. With Alison Ashford, he edited the Cambridge History of Australia (2013). His most recent book is Australia's Boldest Experiment: War and Reconstruction in the 1940s, published in 2015.
The Heritage Council of Victoria is an independent statutory body which identifies and protects places and objects of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria.
Zahra Newman
A 2008 graduate from the VCA, Zahra was most recently seen onstage in The Government Inspector (Malthouse/Belvoir). Prior to that she appeared in the Australian premiere of The Mountaintop (MTC), The Cherry Orchard (MTC) and Menagerie (Daniel Schlusser Ensemble) as part of the inaugural MTC Neon Festival.
During 2012 she originated the role of Seegar in the world premiere of An Officer and A Gentleman: The Musical (GFO), and received the Best Actress Green Room Award for her critically acclaimed national tour of Random (MTC/Syd Opera House/Brisbane Powerhouse).
At the VCA, she was awarded the Richard Pratt Bursary for an Outstanding Actor and while studying at the University of Southern Queensland, she was also awarded the Alan Edwards Scholarship for excellence in her first year.
Zahra has also been involved in various developments and workshops for theatre and can be heard on ABC Radio National’s Poetica program. Film and TV credits include the feature film Bound By Blue and Channel 10’s Rush.
Bert LaBonté
Bert is an Australian actor, recently Green Room-nominated for his body of work in theatre. He is known for a variety of shows across the country, including Lungs, I Am a Miracle, Birdland, Timeshare, The Good Person of Szechwan, Let’s Get It On, When I Fall in Love – The Nat King Cole Story and The Mountaintop (Green Room Award nominee), and as an original cast member of Rupert (MTC and Washington US tour).
His other theatre credits include Theramene in Bell Shakespeare’s Phedre Elling, Clybourne Park, Next to Normal, A Behanding in Spokane, Richard III, The Hypocrite, Don Juan in Soho, Madwoman of Chaillo, Tom Foolery, and A Female of the Species, for MTC … plus The Grenade – STC 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (nomination for Helpmann Award) for MTC/STC, and Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Essential Theatre.
His musical theatre appearances include productions of An Officer and a Gentleman (Helpmann Award Winner), Chess, Kismet, Grey Gardens, Pippin, Full Monty, Jesus Christ Superstar, Showboat and Guys and Dolls.
Bert's film credits include Animal Kingdom, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Rats and Cats, Evil Never Dies, Salem’s Lot, The Cook and The Pugilist at RestHis television credits include Winners and Losers, Upper Middle Bogan, SeaPatrol IV, Wilfred II, Lowdown, Neighbours, Good Guys Bad Guys, Blue Heelers, Simone De Beauvoir’s Babies, Backberner, Flipper, City Homicide and Bogan Pride.
Sally Warhaft
Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year ...
Gideon Haigh
Gideon Haigh has been a journalist 32 years, published 32 books and edited seven others. His latest is book is Stroke of Genius: Victor Trumper and the Shot That Changed Cricket published in 2016 by Penguin Random House.