Louise Bennet interviewed on 2CC Breakfast radio

23 August 2024

In case you missed it, have a listen to this great interview with Louise Bennet who plays Barbara Fordham in August: Osage County. Louise had a great chat with Steven Cenatiempo on 2CC Breakfast radio program on the morning of Friday 23 August about the upcoming Free-Rain Theatre production of this Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

Steven – “I saw the movie back in 2013… a great film. One of those kind of strange stories… it’s an interesting story… it’s about a fairly dysfunctional family, isn’t it?”

Louise – (whispering) “I don’t like the movie… [but I saw the play on Broadway and] I’ve never seen a play that I was more absolutely captivated and scintillated by. It’s just the greatest play I’ve ever seen.”

“As the play unfolds, all of the family’s secrets, and resentments, and heartaches and betrayals all start bubbling to the surface, and it culminates in an explosion of truth.”
“It’s quite a ride – it’s poignant, it’s violent at times, … there’s some fantastic twists, the play really has everything.”

“We’re at ACT Hub which is Canberra’s first venue dedicated solely to producing independent theatre. It’s an amazing space. A lot of people haven’t been yet because [the collective is] relatively new. It’s a heritage-listed building …and it’s a beautiful space. They’ve been running it since Covid times, and it’s just started to grow immensely. The stuff they’re putting on there is incredible. So I would encourage your audience … [to] check out the Causeway Hall – ACT Hub – with the Australian Capital Theatre collective there. It is quite an amazing space.”

Steven – “Well now that you’ve thrown the gauntlet down, that you didn’t like the movie, I’m going to come along and see the play, to see what’s different.”

Louise – “…I would encourage people NOT to watch the movie, because … they have a couple of reveals in the movie that are nowhere near as exciting as in the play. The play is really… it rips along. It is a really wonderful play. I highly recommend it. Five stars!”