The Saturday Quiz

Alexei Toliopoulos is back on the quiz.What more needs to be said?There's a few questions in this episode which are almost tailor made for him.And then there's one about Women's soccer...

Michael Ward is probably one of the most overqualified people I’ve ever had on the show. He's been a question writer for a number of tv quiz shows and even appeared as a contestant on Millionaire Hotseat and Sale of the Century - Twice!His play, The Haunting of Spook Mansion (By Ghosts) is on at Chapel off Chapel from the 12th to the 23rd of NovemberStarring the brilliant comic trio of Peter Houghton (Honour, Shakespeare in Love), Ben Russell (Thank God You’re Here) and Emily Taheny (Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell). Directed by Russell Fletcher.get your tickets here:https://chapeloffchapel.com.au/show/the-haunting-of-spook-mansion-by-ghosts/

Virginia Gay is so good as the titular Calamity Jane currently playing at the Studio at the Sydney Opera House, that you would swear the role was written for her. And on this episode of the Saturday Quiz she's brought along her Wild Bill Hickok - Andrew Cutcliffe. They are a smashing team on stage and an even better team at this quiz.Tickets to Calamity Jane are selling fast, so get yours now:https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/musical-theatre-cabaret/calamity-jane

On this episode of the quiz, John is joined by one of Australia’s preeminent playwrights, Joanna Murray-Smith.Her adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley has just finished its triumphant run in Sydney and is soon to open in The Playhouse of The Arts Centre Melbourne.Get your tickets to The Talented Mr Ripley here:https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/2025/theatre/the-talented-mr-ripley

This is actually the quiz from last week, apologies for the delay. But my guests on this episode, Genevieve Hegney and Catherine Moore have been very busy lately. As well as writing and rehearsing their third play together, Gen and Cath portray about a dozen different characters each to tell the real life story of the absolute trailblazer who became Australia’s first female commercial pilot - Deborah Lawrie. Their play Fly Girl has its world premiere season at the Ensemble theatre in Kirribilli in Sydney, with previews starting on the 17th of October and running until the 22nd of November. Get tickets to Fly Girl here:https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/fly-girl/#calendar

Matilda and Iolanthe are both about to star in the Downstairs Belvoir show "The Edit" Iolanthe plays Influencer Nia, who wants to find her match and win the primetime reality dating hit, Match or Snatch. Matilda plays Jess, a junior producer on the show. She wants to orchestrate Nia’s every move to secure a win for both of them. But who is controlling who? And what will the win cost both women? The Edit punches in on the underbelly of our guiltiest pleasure, reality television. Merging her own personal experience as a teen on reality television and her extensive interviews with reality stars from the hit podcast series “Back from Reality”, writer Gabrielle Scawthorn asks the question can we ever truly give consent, if we don’t know what we are consenting to. Get tickets to The Edit here:https://belvoir.com.au/productions/the-edit/As ever, thanks to Cindy MacDonald for writing the questions.This episode of the podcast was recorded on the lands belonging to the Dharug people. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and acknowledge their traditions of sharing knowledge and stories for millennia on this land.

The Brothers O'Brien are a talented pair. Robbie is performing his one man show about the modern dilemma of having 24/7 access to the entirety of human knowledge and not knowing what to do with that power. And James has provided the music for the show.This episode gets quite philosophical for a little bit. Hope you enjoy.Get tickets to Melancholipediahttps://www.melbournefringe.com.au/whats-on/events/melancholipediaThanks as always to Cindy MacDonald for the fabulous questions.This podcast is made on the lands belonging to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and acknowledge their traditions of sharing knowledge and stories for millennia on this land.

A person of prominence is dead. Immediately, the question raised is “what are you allowed to say about this person?” Specifically, how far are you allowed to go with any “jokes” about them? And what, if any, should the repercusions be if you go too far?No, don’t worry, I haven’t used the week off to rebrand as a right-wing conservative podcaster. I’m not even actually referencing current events. The above is actually the premise of "JKS: a comedy(?)" a new play premiering at the upcoming Melbourne Fringe Festival, written by and starring Tom Ballard.Thanks as always to Cindy MacDonald for writing the questions.I make this podcast on the lands belonging to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation and pay our respect to their elders past and present, while acknowledging their traditions of sharing knowledge and stories for millennia on this land.Get tickets to Jks: a comedy(?) here:https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/whats-on/events/jks-a-comedy

Seven years ago Neridah Waters created the amateur dance revolution known as Common People Dance Eisteddfod - which is happening this opening weekend of the Brisbane Festival - but how much does she and her partner Lucas Stibbard know about Australia's geography, airport busyness and Ancient Greek architecture?Quite a bit, it turns out.Go see the Common People Dance Eisteddfod:https://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/events/common-people-dance-eisteddfodAnd if you're in Brisbane, see me in The Platypus:https://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/events/the-platypus