Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Australian stage actress known for musicals, pantomime, and principal boy roles such as Aladdin.
On the island
Eight records
This is my first choice, Roy. It makes me feel good and happy and I can sing along to it.
Memories of a smoky nightclub in Melbourne and the first time I heard it.
From The Boys from Syracuse which was my big break at Drury Lane.
I'll See You AgainFavourite
For Noël, who was so kind to me and made that time in Australia so special.
From Fiddler on the Roof, which I saw and loved – it's so full of life.
Because that's my philosophy – whatever will be, will be.
From the film – it's just lovely and romantic.
Leonard Bernstein / Stephen Sondheim
From West Side Story. It's so beautiful and it gives me hope.
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:49How did it start, in fact?
My mother and I were staying with a friend and she also had some other guests, one man, an impresario, heard me singing under the shower, literally, and he said, Who's that? and she said, Oh, you'll meet Margaret and that's how I got into show business.
Presenter asks
1:21Did you know anybody here [in England]?
I had one girlfriend, yes, and we lived in a pseudo tudor cottage in Kensington with five other females. That was sheer hell, but we survived. And then Chesney Allen was the only other person. I had a letter of introduction to Ches. And he was an agent at the time, so he said, Yes, I know about you from our mutual friend. You must sing for me. I sang for him and he said, Okay, I'll be your agent and now we'll send you to Blackpool.
Presenter asks
6:08Do you find you identify with Vivian Cooper?
Oh, she's a bit different to me, I like her. … No, she's calm. She has that nice British restraint which I feel I don't have, actually.
Presenter asks
The keepsakes
The luxury
What would you like to do next when eventually you decide to leave The Newcomers?
I've given up planning, you know, really, about a career, and I don't have the same kind of ambition that I obviously had years ago. Perhaps I should just stay off the television screen for some six months. I think that would be the the clever thing to do. And I think I would like to sing again for a while, so perhaps back into cabaret.
“I met him [Noël Coward] and I went back to Australia. … And Noel came out and for the final week of rehearsals and that was the most exciting thing I think of my career so far.”
“I thought, Oh, at last they've found me, at last, you know, after thirteen solid years of plugging.”
“It doesn't seem like that at all [three years and four months in The Newcomers].”
“She has that nice British restraint which I feel I don't have, actually.”