LOOK, you mightn’t think you know Michelle Lim Davidson, but you do. The Novocastrian is a regular on Play School and, yes, that’s her in Utopia. She’s in town this week with the Play School stage show, Once Upon a Time.
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For those of us who assume you place a child in front of entertainment and you’re free for a while, apparently there’s more to it. Play School fans can be brutal, says the Charlestown-raised, former Hunter School of the Performing Arts student. And it’s not just the kids.
‘‘Kids will let you know if they’re bored. You need a lot of energy to keep the show going,’’ she says.
‘‘And Play School has been on since the beginning of Australian TV, so a lot of adults feel connected to it.’’
Hundreds of actors would crawl through the Arched Window backwards for a gig with Big Ted, and Davidson says the key is to be yourself. And not patronising. Isn’t that right, sweetie?
Meanwhile, the aimless urgency pulsing through the corridors of Utopia’s fictional Nation Building Authority can be too real for some.
‘‘I’ve had lot of feedback from people who work in the public sector and they’re convinced that we hid a camera in their meetings,’’ says Davidson, who plays receptionist Amy, or Director of First Impressions, in the ABC comedy.
‘‘Someone was convinced my character was based on a girl from their work,’’ she says.
The whipcrack dialogue of writers Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch and Santo Cilauro is honed to the word and episodes are filmed in two days, but cast and crew are ‘‘really happy coming to work’’.
The show has been picked up by Netflix.
Davidson will star with Aaron Pedersen, Jacki Weaver and David Wenham in the upcoming thriller, Goldstone.
But first she has shows on Friday and Saturday at Newcastle Panthers. Tickets from kidspromotions.com.au.
Coffee, tea or exit?
AN odd one from reader Brian, who lives in Portland, USA, is a San Francisco 49ers fan, and just flew across the country to watch his team lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ah well.
Apart from the Hayne Plane being stuck on the tarmac for the ’9ers, Brian noticed a new thing in domestic flight. He’s not sure what to think about it.
‘‘Is American Airlines the only one that asks if anyone wants to exit the plane before they lock up and take off?’’ he asks.
‘‘That’s a part of their speech now.’’
What passenger behaviour has prompted this, the airline equivalent of ‘‘you kids, we’re not pulling over once we hit the M1’’? The mind boggles. But we’d like to know, dear reader, your worst experiences with fellow passengers – topics@theherald.com.au.
IT never rains, it pours; we’re talking echidnas here.
Hot on the spiky heels of Michaela Davis-Meehan’s sighting at Dudley beach (Topics, September 22) comes this from Eleanor Lennard, of Mount View.
‘‘There have been three echidnas sighted at Mount View in the last two weeks,’’ reports Eleanor.
‘‘I have lived there for over 50 years and have only seen one before. That was around 1980.’’
Monotreme madness, it is.
Email Tim on topics@theherald.com.au or tweet @TimConnell or phone 4979 5944
