This ABC beachside drama is funny, intriguing and anchored in real Aussie life
When Isabel (Teresa Palmer) blows into Pleasant Court, a neat suburban cul-de-sac in the beachside village of Osprey Bay, she hits like a sirocco, all hot, bothered and unsettling. She's attractive, single, and mysterious, and soon enough tongues are wagging, suspicions aroused, hackles raised.
Everybody needs good neighbours, but the regular inhabitants of this tight-knit court are soon wondering if that's what their short-term renter – there for two weeks to research and write an article on a town that could be the 'new Byron Bay' – really is.
Based on a novel by Sally Hepworth, who has made no secret of her admiration for the work of Liane Moriarty, The Family Next Door feels rather more grounded in the everyday than, say, Big Little Lies or Nine Perfect Strangers.
That makes it more relatable, though it perhaps also costs a little in terms of glamour. Still, it does have a very good-looking and talented cast, appealing real estate and some excellent beaches to make it all very pleasing on the eye.
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Adapted by Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and directed by Emma Freeman (whose extensive credits include The Newsreader, Fake, Love Me, Clickbait and Offspring), the six-parter flits pleasingly from social satire to comedy to domestic thriller. The focus shifts from episode to episode, with each household in the court getting its turn in the spotlight, as Isabel's real agenda is gradually revealed.
Bella Heathcote is the first to shine, as Ange, the tightly coiled real estate agent who lets the rental to Isabel, lives next door, and doesn't hesitate to pop in unannounced. She's a budding developer, originally from Sydney, who schedules sex with her husband Lucas (Bob Morley) and fusses endlessly so everything is just so.
'People here don't like change,' she tells Isabel in an early exchange. 'Selfish NIMBYs who don't like growth.'
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The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
'It fills my cup': there's no place like home for Teresa Palmer
It's not surprising that Teresa Palmer agreed to work on an Australian television series that explores themes of motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity. Palmer, an Australian actor whose credits include Ride Like A Girl, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, Lights Out, The Fall Guy, The Clearing and Mix Tape, loves working on Australian productions. She loves Australian screenwriters and directors. She's pregnant with her fifth child, and she co-hosts a podcast (The Mother Daze) that talks about motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity (among other things). Her latest project, The Family Next Door, is a female-forward story led by Palmer alongside Bella Heathcote (The Moogai, Pieces of Her), Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader), Ming-Zhu Hii (Prosper, La Brea) and Jane Harber (Offspring, In Limbo). It's peak holiday season in the popular seaside town of Osprey Point when a stranger, Isabelle (Palmer) rents a family home in a quiet cul-de-sac. As she charms her way into her neighbours' homes and lives, she finds out that everyone at Pleasant Court has something to hide, and, in her relentless quest for truth, she pulls the rug from under this seemingly harmonious beachside community. Based on bestselling Australian author Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name, The Family Next Door is a mystery that blends drama and humour while exploring family dynamics through the unique lens of award-winning screenwriter Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and Emma Freeman's (The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) character-driven directorial skills. In the real world, Palmer is down-to-earth and kind. Content. A deep thinker who speaks with warmth and laughs easily. She has a firm grasp on who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be in life. Living in Byron Bay and working in Australia suits her just fine, at least for now. "I love this show," she says. "Sometimes it is difficult for me to be objective, to rip myself out of it and see it as an audience member, but this one I was able to watch in a way that none of the usual self-critique was coming in. "I could just enjoy the show, and that, to me, is a sign of Emma Freeman working her magic." The acting, too, is magic; the darkly funny neurotic edge to Heathcote's character, for example. And the way it is filmed captures the essence of a laidback Australian coastal town, transporting the viewer to that hot, bushfire-prone summer of 2019-20. You can hear the cicadas and almost smell the smoke in the air. "You tend to elevate each other when you're in a scene with someone and they're bringing their absolute best work. You can't help but try to dig as deep as possible," Palmer says. "Everyone is working collectively to elevate it, to ground these characters in colours and nuance, and it was really exciting to work with a group of actors who all felt the same way." Some scenes were filmed at Hepworth's favourite local cafe and beach, bringing her book to life in more ways than one. "I loved that, and what it meant for her to be able to shoot it in that way," Palmer says. "Often when you have a book and it's turned into a TV adaptation, the book isn't folded in so much. They just take it and run with it. But Sally was really folded into this process, and her opinions and ideas really mattered, and that was just another beautiful part of bringing this story to life. "You know, I can't help but come back home and work here. The quality of the storytelling is next level, and working with Australian crews, there's such familiarity there. It just fills my cup. "And it's a win-win situation - getting to be in the country that I love, working here, and then seeing a lot of these shows getting picked up for America and the UK. I'm proud to help the Australian film industry because that's where I started." Living permanently in Australia also "works" for her family. "My children are getting older now. We were the travelling circus; we'd live in Wales and shoot something for three years and then move to America and shoot something there, and then go to England and Europe," Palmer says. "But I had a yearning for them to have the experience that I had growing up in Adelaide, of going to school and having regular friends and being part of the basketball team or the AFL team, grounding them, rooting them, in one place. And for us, that place was Australia. "If we can be based in Australia and I can still work relatively locally, that's what works for our family. That's not to say we won't go back to America, but this has been a really important choice that we have made for the family." Talking about her movie roles to date, Palmer says her favourite is the 2021 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome, directed by Australian screenwriter Cate Shortland. "It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career. We would sit together, me, Max [Riemelt] and Cate, and talk about our comfort zones and what we wanted the film to be, and we talked about our own history, our own desires ... we brought everything into it," she says. "All those hours and hours of discussions, we weaved them into the script, and it made for such a good movie." What about Lights Out, the 2016 supernatural horror made on a budget of $US4.9 million that grossed close to $US150 million at the box office? "You have no idea when you're acting in it how they're going to do the special effects, and how the creature is going to look, but it was really well done in this movie," Palmer says. "But also, at the heart of that one was a family drama. We were talking about mental health, and it was scarier, more heightened, because at the core of it was this believable family dynamic." And her most challenging acting experience? Restraint (2008), an Australian movie co-starring Travis Fimmel. "It was one of my earliest movies, and I was so in over my head," she says. "I didn't really know how to act yet, I was young and impressionable, and I felt really lost. I remember going home every night and crying, thinking, 'Don't mess this up Teresa, this is your dream'. And then you go from job to job to job, and you get better and better. My peers were my acting school, I learnt on the job. "Watching it now, I wish I could just reach through and grab the younger me and go, 'Guess what, it's going to get easier and better, and trust your instincts, you're doing great!'. I want to comfort that younger me." Her other most challenging role is also her most rewarding: juggling motherhood and a successful acting career. "I used to think motherhood could stall or end a career. I had this general misconception because it was a narrative fed to me years ago, before I had kids. I was told you get to be one or the other," Palmer says. "But to have these experiences in parallel, and in tandem, has really proven otherwise. I have been able to work and feel creatively and intellectually stimulated from my work, and also get to be a very present, hands-on mother, which was my other great desire. "It turns out I didn't have to choose one over the other." It's not surprising that Teresa Palmer agreed to work on an Australian television series that explores themes of motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity. Palmer, an Australian actor whose credits include Ride Like A Girl, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, Lights Out, The Fall Guy, The Clearing and Mix Tape, loves working on Australian productions. She loves Australian screenwriters and directors. She's pregnant with her fifth child, and she co-hosts a podcast (The Mother Daze) that talks about motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity (among other things). Her latest project, The Family Next Door, is a female-forward story led by Palmer alongside Bella Heathcote (The Moogai, Pieces of Her), Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader), Ming-Zhu Hii (Prosper, La Brea) and Jane Harber (Offspring, In Limbo). It's peak holiday season in the popular seaside town of Osprey Point when a stranger, Isabelle (Palmer) rents a family home in a quiet cul-de-sac. As she charms her way into her neighbours' homes and lives, she finds out that everyone at Pleasant Court has something to hide, and, in her relentless quest for truth, she pulls the rug from under this seemingly harmonious beachside community. Based on bestselling Australian author Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name, The Family Next Door is a mystery that blends drama and humour while exploring family dynamics through the unique lens of award-winning screenwriter Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and Emma Freeman's (The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) character-driven directorial skills. In the real world, Palmer is down-to-earth and kind. Content. A deep thinker who speaks with warmth and laughs easily. She has a firm grasp on who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be in life. Living in Byron Bay and working in Australia suits her just fine, at least for now. "I love this show," she says. "Sometimes it is difficult for me to be objective, to rip myself out of it and see it as an audience member, but this one I was able to watch in a way that none of the usual self-critique was coming in. "I could just enjoy the show, and that, to me, is a sign of Emma Freeman working her magic." The acting, too, is magic; the darkly funny neurotic edge to Heathcote's character, for example. And the way it is filmed captures the essence of a laidback Australian coastal town, transporting the viewer to that hot, bushfire-prone summer of 2019-20. You can hear the cicadas and almost smell the smoke in the air. "You tend to elevate each other when you're in a scene with someone and they're bringing their absolute best work. You can't help but try to dig as deep as possible," Palmer says. "Everyone is working collectively to elevate it, to ground these characters in colours and nuance, and it was really exciting to work with a group of actors who all felt the same way." Some scenes were filmed at Hepworth's favourite local cafe and beach, bringing her book to life in more ways than one. "I loved that, and what it meant for her to be able to shoot it in that way," Palmer says. "Often when you have a book and it's turned into a TV adaptation, the book isn't folded in so much. They just take it and run with it. But Sally was really folded into this process, and her opinions and ideas really mattered, and that was just another beautiful part of bringing this story to life. "You know, I can't help but come back home and work here. The quality of the storytelling is next level, and working with Australian crews, there's such familiarity there. It just fills my cup. "And it's a win-win situation - getting to be in the country that I love, working here, and then seeing a lot of these shows getting picked up for America and the UK. I'm proud to help the Australian film industry because that's where I started." Living permanently in Australia also "works" for her family. "My children are getting older now. We were the travelling circus; we'd live in Wales and shoot something for three years and then move to America and shoot something there, and then go to England and Europe," Palmer says. "But I had a yearning for them to have the experience that I had growing up in Adelaide, of going to school and having regular friends and being part of the basketball team or the AFL team, grounding them, rooting them, in one place. And for us, that place was Australia. "If we can be based in Australia and I can still work relatively locally, that's what works for our family. That's not to say we won't go back to America, but this has been a really important choice that we have made for the family." Talking about her movie roles to date, Palmer says her favourite is the 2021 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome, directed by Australian screenwriter Cate Shortland. "It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career. We would sit together, me, Max [Riemelt] and Cate, and talk about our comfort zones and what we wanted the film to be, and we talked about our own history, our own desires ... we brought everything into it," she says. "All those hours and hours of discussions, we weaved them into the script, and it made for such a good movie." What about Lights Out, the 2016 supernatural horror made on a budget of $US4.9 million that grossed close to $US150 million at the box office? "You have no idea when you're acting in it how they're going to do the special effects, and how the creature is going to look, but it was really well done in this movie," Palmer says. "But also, at the heart of that one was a family drama. We were talking about mental health, and it was scarier, more heightened, because at the core of it was this believable family dynamic." And her most challenging acting experience? Restraint (2008), an Australian movie co-starring Travis Fimmel. "It was one of my earliest movies, and I was so in over my head," she says. "I didn't really know how to act yet, I was young and impressionable, and I felt really lost. I remember going home every night and crying, thinking, 'Don't mess this up Teresa, this is your dream'. And then you go from job to job to job, and you get better and better. My peers were my acting school, I learnt on the job. "Watching it now, I wish I could just reach through and grab the younger me and go, 'Guess what, it's going to get easier and better, and trust your instincts, you're doing great!'. I want to comfort that younger me." Her other most challenging role is also her most rewarding: juggling motherhood and a successful acting career. "I used to think motherhood could stall or end a career. I had this general misconception because it was a narrative fed to me years ago, before I had kids. I was told you get to be one or the other," Palmer says. "But to have these experiences in parallel, and in tandem, has really proven otherwise. I have been able to work and feel creatively and intellectually stimulated from my work, and also get to be a very present, hands-on mother, which was my other great desire. "It turns out I didn't have to choose one over the other." It's not surprising that Teresa Palmer agreed to work on an Australian television series that explores themes of motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity. Palmer, an Australian actor whose credits include Ride Like A Girl, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, Lights Out, The Fall Guy, The Clearing and Mix Tape, loves working on Australian productions. She loves Australian screenwriters and directors. She's pregnant with her fifth child, and she co-hosts a podcast (The Mother Daze) that talks about motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity (among other things). Her latest project, The Family Next Door, is a female-forward story led by Palmer alongside Bella Heathcote (The Moogai, Pieces of Her), Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader), Ming-Zhu Hii (Prosper, La Brea) and Jane Harber (Offspring, In Limbo). It's peak holiday season in the popular seaside town of Osprey Point when a stranger, Isabelle (Palmer) rents a family home in a quiet cul-de-sac. As she charms her way into her neighbours' homes and lives, she finds out that everyone at Pleasant Court has something to hide, and, in her relentless quest for truth, she pulls the rug from under this seemingly harmonious beachside community. Based on bestselling Australian author Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name, The Family Next Door is a mystery that blends drama and humour while exploring family dynamics through the unique lens of award-winning screenwriter Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and Emma Freeman's (The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) character-driven directorial skills. In the real world, Palmer is down-to-earth and kind. Content. A deep thinker who speaks with warmth and laughs easily. She has a firm grasp on who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be in life. Living in Byron Bay and working in Australia suits her just fine, at least for now. "I love this show," she says. "Sometimes it is difficult for me to be objective, to rip myself out of it and see it as an audience member, but this one I was able to watch in a way that none of the usual self-critique was coming in. "I could just enjoy the show, and that, to me, is a sign of Emma Freeman working her magic." The acting, too, is magic; the darkly funny neurotic edge to Heathcote's character, for example. And the way it is filmed captures the essence of a laidback Australian coastal town, transporting the viewer to that hot, bushfire-prone summer of 2019-20. You can hear the cicadas and almost smell the smoke in the air. "You tend to elevate each other when you're in a scene with someone and they're bringing their absolute best work. You can't help but try to dig as deep as possible," Palmer says. "Everyone is working collectively to elevate it, to ground these characters in colours and nuance, and it was really exciting to work with a group of actors who all felt the same way." Some scenes were filmed at Hepworth's favourite local cafe and beach, bringing her book to life in more ways than one. "I loved that, and what it meant for her to be able to shoot it in that way," Palmer says. "Often when you have a book and it's turned into a TV adaptation, the book isn't folded in so much. They just take it and run with it. But Sally was really folded into this process, and her opinions and ideas really mattered, and that was just another beautiful part of bringing this story to life. "You know, I can't help but come back home and work here. The quality of the storytelling is next level, and working with Australian crews, there's such familiarity there. It just fills my cup. "And it's a win-win situation - getting to be in the country that I love, working here, and then seeing a lot of these shows getting picked up for America and the UK. I'm proud to help the Australian film industry because that's where I started." Living permanently in Australia also "works" for her family. "My children are getting older now. We were the travelling circus; we'd live in Wales and shoot something for three years and then move to America and shoot something there, and then go to England and Europe," Palmer says. "But I had a yearning for them to have the experience that I had growing up in Adelaide, of going to school and having regular friends and being part of the basketball team or the AFL team, grounding them, rooting them, in one place. And for us, that place was Australia. "If we can be based in Australia and I can still work relatively locally, that's what works for our family. That's not to say we won't go back to America, but this has been a really important choice that we have made for the family." Talking about her movie roles to date, Palmer says her favourite is the 2021 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome, directed by Australian screenwriter Cate Shortland. "It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career. We would sit together, me, Max [Riemelt] and Cate, and talk about our comfort zones and what we wanted the film to be, and we talked about our own history, our own desires ... we brought everything into it," she says. "All those hours and hours of discussions, we weaved them into the script, and it made for such a good movie." What about Lights Out, the 2016 supernatural horror made on a budget of $US4.9 million that grossed close to $US150 million at the box office? "You have no idea when you're acting in it how they're going to do the special effects, and how the creature is going to look, but it was really well done in this movie," Palmer says. "But also, at the heart of that one was a family drama. We were talking about mental health, and it was scarier, more heightened, because at the core of it was this believable family dynamic." And her most challenging acting experience? Restraint (2008), an Australian movie co-starring Travis Fimmel. "It was one of my earliest movies, and I was so in over my head," she says. "I didn't really know how to act yet, I was young and impressionable, and I felt really lost. I remember going home every night and crying, thinking, 'Don't mess this up Teresa, this is your dream'. And then you go from job to job to job, and you get better and better. My peers were my acting school, I learnt on the job. "Watching it now, I wish I could just reach through and grab the younger me and go, 'Guess what, it's going to get easier and better, and trust your instincts, you're doing great!'. I want to comfort that younger me." Her other most challenging role is also her most rewarding: juggling motherhood and a successful acting career. "I used to think motherhood could stall or end a career. I had this general misconception because it was a narrative fed to me years ago, before I had kids. I was told you get to be one or the other," Palmer says. "But to have these experiences in parallel, and in tandem, has really proven otherwise. I have been able to work and feel creatively and intellectually stimulated from my work, and also get to be a very present, hands-on mother, which was my other great desire. "It turns out I didn't have to choose one over the other." It's not surprising that Teresa Palmer agreed to work on an Australian television series that explores themes of motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity. Palmer, an Australian actor whose credits include Ride Like A Girl, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge, Lights Out, The Fall Guy, The Clearing and Mix Tape, loves working on Australian productions. She loves Australian screenwriters and directors. She's pregnant with her fifth child, and she co-hosts a podcast (The Mother Daze) that talks about motherhood, marriage, friendship and identity (among other things). Her latest project, The Family Next Door, is a female-forward story led by Palmer alongside Bella Heathcote (The Moogai, Pieces of Her), Philippa Northeast (Territory, The Newsreader), Ming-Zhu Hii (Prosper, La Brea) and Jane Harber (Offspring, In Limbo). It's peak holiday season in the popular seaside town of Osprey Point when a stranger, Isabelle (Palmer) rents a family home in a quiet cul-de-sac. As she charms her way into her neighbours' homes and lives, she finds out that everyone at Pleasant Court has something to hide, and, in her relentless quest for truth, she pulls the rug from under this seemingly harmonious beachside community. Based on bestselling Australian author Sally Hepworth's novel of the same name, The Family Next Door is a mystery that blends drama and humour while exploring family dynamics through the unique lens of award-winning screenwriter Sarah Scheller (Strife, The Letdown) and Emma Freeman's (The Newsreader, Interview with the Vampire) character-driven directorial skills. In the real world, Palmer is down-to-earth and kind. Content. A deep thinker who speaks with warmth and laughs easily. She has a firm grasp on who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be in life. Living in Byron Bay and working in Australia suits her just fine, at least for now. "I love this show," she says. "Sometimes it is difficult for me to be objective, to rip myself out of it and see it as an audience member, but this one I was able to watch in a way that none of the usual self-critique was coming in. "I could just enjoy the show, and that, to me, is a sign of Emma Freeman working her magic." The acting, too, is magic; the darkly funny neurotic edge to Heathcote's character, for example. And the way it is filmed captures the essence of a laidback Australian coastal town, transporting the viewer to that hot, bushfire-prone summer of 2019-20. You can hear the cicadas and almost smell the smoke in the air. "You tend to elevate each other when you're in a scene with someone and they're bringing their absolute best work. You can't help but try to dig as deep as possible," Palmer says. "Everyone is working collectively to elevate it, to ground these characters in colours and nuance, and it was really exciting to work with a group of actors who all felt the same way." Some scenes were filmed at Hepworth's favourite local cafe and beach, bringing her book to life in more ways than one. "I loved that, and what it meant for her to be able to shoot it in that way," Palmer says. "Often when you have a book and it's turned into a TV adaptation, the book isn't folded in so much. They just take it and run with it. But Sally was really folded into this process, and her opinions and ideas really mattered, and that was just another beautiful part of bringing this story to life. "You know, I can't help but come back home and work here. The quality of the storytelling is next level, and working with Australian crews, there's such familiarity there. It just fills my cup. "And it's a win-win situation - getting to be in the country that I love, working here, and then seeing a lot of these shows getting picked up for America and the UK. I'm proud to help the Australian film industry because that's where I started." Living permanently in Australia also "works" for her family. "My children are getting older now. We were the travelling circus; we'd live in Wales and shoot something for three years and then move to America and shoot something there, and then go to England and Europe," Palmer says. "But I had a yearning for them to have the experience that I had growing up in Adelaide, of going to school and having regular friends and being part of the basketball team or the AFL team, grounding them, rooting them, in one place. And for us, that place was Australia. "If we can be based in Australia and I can still work relatively locally, that's what works for our family. That's not to say we won't go back to America, but this has been a really important choice that we have made for the family." Talking about her movie roles to date, Palmer says her favourite is the 2021 psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome, directed by Australian screenwriter Cate Shortland. "It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career. We would sit together, me, Max [Riemelt] and Cate, and talk about our comfort zones and what we wanted the film to be, and we talked about our own history, our own desires ... we brought everything into it," she says. "All those hours and hours of discussions, we weaved them into the script, and it made for such a good movie." What about Lights Out, the 2016 supernatural horror made on a budget of $US4.9 million that grossed close to $US150 million at the box office? "You have no idea when you're acting in it how they're going to do the special effects, and how the creature is going to look, but it was really well done in this movie," Palmer says. "But also, at the heart of that one was a family drama. We were talking about mental health, and it was scarier, more heightened, because at the core of it was this believable family dynamic." And her most challenging acting experience? Restraint (2008), an Australian movie co-starring Travis Fimmel. "It was one of my earliest movies, and I was so in over my head," she says. "I didn't really know how to act yet, I was young and impressionable, and I felt really lost. I remember going home every night and crying, thinking, 'Don't mess this up Teresa, this is your dream'. And then you go from job to job to job, and you get better and better. My peers were my acting school, I learnt on the job. "Watching it now, I wish I could just reach through and grab the younger me and go, 'Guess what, it's going to get easier and better, and trust your instincts, you're doing great!'. I want to comfort that younger me." Her other most challenging role is also her most rewarding: juggling motherhood and a successful acting career. "I used to think motherhood could stall or end a career. I had this general misconception because it was a narrative fed to me years ago, before I had kids. I was told you get to be one or the other," Palmer says. "But to have these experiences in parallel, and in tandem, has really proven otherwise. I have been able to work and feel creatively and intellectually stimulated from my work, and also get to be a very present, hands-on mother, which was my other great desire. "It turns out I didn't have to choose one over the other."
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
You mightn't know her yet, but actor Philippa Northeast is a star to watch
A baby brushtail possum has just fallen down the chimney into Philippa Northeast's rented cottage outside Adelaide. The actor takes a towel and wraps it around the joey, then places it beside a hot water bottle in a box, which she carefully leaves outside, having seen the mother looking for the youngster that fell from her back. 'The poor little thing, I think it's OK,' the 30-year-old star of The Newsreader and Territory reports back to Sunday Life after a five-minute break in our interview. Seated again in front of her grey stone fireplace in the South Australian countryside, Northeast's hair is long and brushed back, and her green eyes uncannily match the painted mantle. 'It's moving and it's crying out for its mum,' she reports. 'Which is interesting because Mum is there but she's very wary.' The joey's sudden fall into Northeast's life is apposite, because we're talking about motherhood and the Melbourne-born actor's role in the new ABC series The Family Next Door, a drama based on Sally Hepworth's novel and filmed in Anglesea and Black Rock in Victoria. Northeast plays young mother Essie, who is living at home with her single mother Barbara (Catherine McClements) while she and her partner Ben (Tāne Williams Accra) struggle to save a house deposit. Essie says the unsayable about motherhood and her baby, George: 'I don't enjoy being a constant plaything or a food source or having no time and space to be me. I'm too selfish to be a good mother.' Convincingly portrayed by Northeast as emotionally fractured, Essie's state of mind creates concern for George's welfare among the family in their claustrophobic residential court. Northeast notes that Essie is diagnosed with postpartum depression in Hepworth's novel but not labelled as such in this screen adaptation. She says this is to make the character relatable to 'more women who have had challenges with motherhood that [don't] fall into a category that is diagnosed', such as loss of identity and feelings of isolation. The actor feels society places excessive expectations of perfection on motherhood. 'It's meant to be this thing that's life-changing and life-affirming and puts everything else into perspective,' she says, resting her chin on her hand in contemplation. 'But if you're not sure what your identity is prior to having kids, I think it can throw up some pretty big identity crises.' It's a theme turned over not just by her character but by Northeast herself. 'Globally and domestically, it's a precarious life, and no one knows what's coming next,' she says. 'Probably one of the most compassionate things you can do is ask yourself, 'Why do I want to bring kids into this world? And what will the impact be on me as well as on them?' 'I'm 30 now, and that really weighs heavily on my mind, particularly with the future that we all face. I want to be open enough to question a decision like that, rather than just following a path that's been trod by so many.' So, has Northeast come to a clear conclusion about having kids? 'No, I haven't,' she says. 'Growing up, I felt that was the thing you did and would happen. But now, as I get older, I am more open to questioning whether it's the right thing. I haven't got a clear answer either way, but I want to do the work to know why.' Northeast's partner is also an actor and the couple split their time between inner Sydney and a rural property to the city's south-west. Accompanying them is their small blue heeler, Rani, who is happiest chasing kangaroos on the farm. 'She is our everything, and the hardest thing to be away from when we're working,' says the actor, who declines to name her partner. 'We keep the personal details of our life pretty quiet, because it's just for us.' Northeast is residing in South Australia while she films a Netflix series remake of My Brilliant Career, in which she plays another character who is questioning women's traditional place in society, Sybylla Melvyn (a role made famous by Judy Davis in the 1979 film). Sybylla and Essie face the same dilemma, says Northeast: 'What is the cost and the compromise of marrying and having children in comparison to having your own mind and agency and identity?' Landing the role of Sybylla, Northeast continues, 'meant everything – she's such a beloved character, and so iconic. We're being true to the character people love in terms of her sheer determination, her humour, her naivety and her awe for the world. And her mind, of course.' Northeast found the novel fascinating, given that Miles Franklin began writing this 'blueprint of her life' while still a teenager, and was just 21 when My Brilliant Career was published in 1901. 'Miles Franklin did end up living the way Sybylla Melvyn was determined to live … she paved a road for women at a time that road just didn't exist.' In Northeast's career so far, there is one role in particular that put her on track for these challenging new opportunities – playing Kay Walters in The Newsreader. Directed by Emma Freeman, who also directs The Family Next Door, and set in the cutthroat TV newsrooms of the 1980s, The Newsreader' s third and final season aired earlier this year on the ABC. As the Berlin Wall fell in the series' denouement, Kay, the heroin-addicted daughter of a media magnate, united with her ambitious, controlling mother, Evelyn, to bring down conniving newsroom boss Lindsay Cunningham. 'I think Evelyn and Kay might have opened a magazine next,' speculates Northeast. 'Kay would have ended up editor, I feel.' Up-market, like Vogue? 'Probably more of a gossip magazine, to be honest! She would have turned into her mother's right-hand woman.' Born and raised in Richmond, in inner Melbourne, Northeast attended Steiner schools where she recalls playing Peter Pan at age 13. 'Any creative inkling that I have has been fostered from that stream of education,' she says. Her mum, Polly, is an English teacher, and her dad, Mark, is an accountant. She is close with her older siblings, Sam and Bridget, and has two younger sisters from her father's second marriage. Northeast has long been interested in psychology, so she began a Bachelor of Arts majoring in criminology in 2013. But after just one semester at Melbourne University she scored an audition, and then a role, on Home and Away. She subsequently dropped out of university, although during her four years playing Evelyn MacGuire in Summer Bay she completed a degree online with the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. After leaving Home and Away in 2017 and playing Sunny opposite R.J. Mitte in Steven Vidler's 2019 independent film Standing Up for Sunny, she went to the US to slog it out during the notoriously tough pilot-auditioning season. Then COVID hit. More than five years later, she looks back on that period philosophically; it taught her to cultivate a life outside work. 'It was a blessing in a way, because my partner and I moved to the country, we got a dog, we got chickens. We had a blissful experience where we weren't jetting around to auditions. [My career] momentum dropped out, but it gave me enough time to redefine myself as an actor who's more mature and ready to audition for different roles.' Loading Today, actors can live almost anywhere and mostly audition online. 'Facing rejection on the couch with your dog and with your loved ones is much easier than facing rejection in some sterile little half a bedroom you can't afford in LA with no friends and family,' she laughs. Like Sybylla, Northeast is forging a brilliant career on home soil, with a sharp instinct for empathy after the fallow work years. The light is falling now, and the actor must end the interview and turn her thoughts back to the fur baby in the cold gloaming. The Family Next Door airs on ABC and iView from August 10.
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
You mightn't know her yet, but actor Philippa Northeast is a star to watch
A baby brushtail possum has just fallen down the chimney into Philippa Northeast's rented cottage outside Adelaide. The actor takes a towel and wraps it around the joey, then places it beside a hot water bottle in a box, which she carefully leaves outside, having seen the mother looking for the youngster that fell from her back. 'The poor little thing, I think it's OK,' the 30-year-old star of The Newsreader and Territory reports back to Sunday Life after a five-minute break in our interview. Seated again in front of her grey stone fireplace in the South Australian countryside, Northeast's hair is long and brushed back, and her green eyes uncannily match the painted mantle. 'It's moving and it's crying out for its mum,' she reports. 'Which is interesting because Mum is there but she's very wary.' The joey's sudden fall into Northeast's life is apposite, because we're talking about motherhood and the Melbourne-born actor's role in the new ABC series The Family Next Door, a drama based on Sally Hepworth's novel and filmed in Anglesea and Black Rock in Victoria. Northeast plays young mother Essie, who is living at home with her single mother Barbara (Catherine McClements) while she and her partner Ben (Tāne Williams Accra) struggle to save a house deposit. Essie says the unsayable about motherhood and her baby, George: 'I don't enjoy being a constant plaything or a food source or having no time and space to be me. I'm too selfish to be a good mother.' Convincingly portrayed by Northeast as emotionally fractured, Essie's state of mind creates concern for George's welfare among the family in their claustrophobic residential court. Northeast notes that Essie is diagnosed with postpartum depression in Hepworth's novel but not labelled as such in this screen adaptation. She says this is to make the character relatable to 'more women who have had challenges with motherhood that [don't] fall into a category that is diagnosed', such as loss of identity and feelings of isolation. The actor feels society places excessive expectations of perfection on motherhood. 'It's meant to be this thing that's life-changing and life-affirming and puts everything else into perspective,' she says, resting her chin on her hand in contemplation. 'But if you're not sure what your identity is prior to having kids, I think it can throw up some pretty big identity crises.' It's a theme turned over not just by her character but by Northeast herself. 'Globally and domestically, it's a precarious life, and no one knows what's coming next,' she says. 'Probably one of the most compassionate things you can do is ask yourself, 'Why do I want to bring kids into this world? And what will the impact be on me as well as on them?' 'I'm 30 now, and that really weighs heavily on my mind, particularly with the future that we all face. I want to be open enough to question a decision like that, rather than just following a path that's been trod by so many.' So, has Northeast come to a clear conclusion about having kids? 'No, I haven't,' she says. 'Growing up, I felt that was the thing you did and would happen. But now, as I get older, I am more open to questioning whether it's the right thing. I haven't got a clear answer either way, but I want to do the work to know why.' Northeast's partner is also an actor and the couple split their time between inner Sydney and a rural property to the city's south-west. Accompanying them is their small blue heeler, Rani, who is happiest chasing kangaroos on the farm. 'She is our everything, and the hardest thing to be away from when we're working,' says the actor, who declines to name her partner. 'We keep the personal details of our life pretty quiet, because it's just for us.' Northeast is residing in South Australia while she films a Netflix series remake of My Brilliant Career, in which she plays another character who is questioning women's traditional place in society, Sybylla Melvyn (a role made famous by Judy Davis in the 1979 film). Sybylla and Essie face the same dilemma, says Northeast: 'What is the cost and the compromise of marrying and having children in comparison to having your own mind and agency and identity?' Landing the role of Sybylla, Northeast continues, 'meant everything – she's such a beloved character, and so iconic. We're being true to the character people love in terms of her sheer determination, her humour, her naivety and her awe for the world. And her mind, of course.' Northeast found the novel fascinating, given that Miles Franklin began writing this 'blueprint of her life' while still a teenager, and was just 21 when My Brilliant Career was published in 1901. 'Miles Franklin did end up living the way Sybylla Melvyn was determined to live … she paved a road for women at a time that road just didn't exist.' In Northeast's career so far, there is one role in particular that put her on track for these challenging new opportunities – playing Kay Walters in The Newsreader. Directed by Emma Freeman, who also directs The Family Next Door, and set in the cutthroat TV newsrooms of the 1980s, The Newsreader' s third and final season aired earlier this year on the ABC. As the Berlin Wall fell in the series' denouement, Kay, the heroin-addicted daughter of a media magnate, united with her ambitious, controlling mother, Evelyn, to bring down conniving newsroom boss Lindsay Cunningham. 'I think Evelyn and Kay might have opened a magazine next,' speculates Northeast. 'Kay would have ended up editor, I feel.' Up-market, like Vogue? 'Probably more of a gossip magazine, to be honest! She would have turned into her mother's right-hand woman.' Born and raised in Richmond, in inner Melbourne, Northeast attended Steiner schools where she recalls playing Peter Pan at age 13. 'Any creative inkling that I have has been fostered from that stream of education,' she says. Her mum, Polly, is an English teacher, and her dad, Mark, is an accountant. She is close with her older siblings, Sam and Bridget, and has two younger sisters from her father's second marriage. Northeast has long been interested in psychology, so she began a Bachelor of Arts majoring in criminology in 2013. But after just one semester at Melbourne University she scored an audition, and then a role, on Home and Away. She subsequently dropped out of university, although during her four years playing Evelyn MacGuire in Summer Bay she completed a degree online with the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. After leaving Home and Away in 2017 and playing Sunny opposite R.J. Mitte in Steven Vidler's 2019 independent film Standing Up for Sunny, she went to the US to slog it out during the notoriously tough pilot-auditioning season. Then COVID hit. More than five years later, she looks back on that period philosophically; it taught her to cultivate a life outside work. 'It was a blessing in a way, because my partner and I moved to the country, we got a dog, we got chickens. We had a blissful experience where we weren't jetting around to auditions. [My career] momentum dropped out, but it gave me enough time to redefine myself as an actor who's more mature and ready to audition for different roles.' Loading Today, actors can live almost anywhere and mostly audition online. 'Facing rejection on the couch with your dog and with your loved ones is much easier than facing rejection in some sterile little half a bedroom you can't afford in LA with no friends and family,' she laughs. Like Sybylla, Northeast is forging a brilliant career on home soil, with a sharp instinct for empathy after the fallow work years. The light is falling now, and the actor must end the interview and turn her thoughts back to the fur baby in the cold gloaming. The Family Next Door airs on ABC and iView from August 10.
