Latest news with #CircleMirrorTransformation
The Age
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Nicole Car's Rusalka glows with moonlit grace and tragic depth
Andrew Moran and Sian Sharp inject rustic simplicity and humour, Sharp singing with incisive brightness. A different level of comic subversion comes from Ashlyn Tymms as the witch Jezibaba. With shopping trolley and glittering accessories, she pollutes both the human and natural world to feed acquisitive consumption, and Tymms sings her mocking incantations with penetrating brittleness. Renee Mulder's costumes range from pallid fish-like grey for the water dwellers to meretricious colour for Jezibaba. Her Wood Sprites, brightly sung by Fiona Jopson, Jennifer Bonner and Helen Sherman, lumber comically with branches for arms and bad hair. Conductor Johannes Fritzsch mines the symphonic richness of the orchestral textures expressively though he, and the Opera Australia Chorus articulated crisply the distinctly Czech snaps in the rhythm. At the end, Giles has Rusalka ambiguously turn towards Jezibaba, undermining Dvorak's redemptive message with a hint that malignancy is constantly shape-shifting. Annie Baker can make a play out of minimal words and minuscule gestures. The effect borders on shock because we're so used to huge emotions with titanic consequences. You have to readjust, put your antennae on higher alert. Baker wrote two of this century's best plays: The Aliens and, above all, The Flick, about the death throes of a cinema. If Circle Mirror Transformation isn't in that league, it's because her sheer daring doesn't always succeed. On the page, the play sometimes presents the merest sketches of the characters, and at other times, she exercises infinite precision about what happens and, most particularly, what doesn't happen. If the spaces between notes define a rhythm, the spaces between words or events can define the feel as well as the pace of a play. Just as Beckett famously used a metronome when directing a Happy Days production, so one can imagine Baker writing Circle Mirror Transformation with a stopwatch by her side. The setting is a weekly adult acting class in a Vermont community centre, run by Marty, admirably played by Rebecca Gibney after a 20-year hiatus from the stage. Marty doesn't use texts, but rather games and improvisations. Her four students are James, her husband (Cameron Daddo), Schultz, a recently divorced carpenter (Nicholas Brown), Theresa, an ex-actor (Jessie Lawrence), and high school student and wannabe actor Lauren (Ahunim Abebe). We come to know them by the way they engage – or don't – with Marty's games, and by how they interact before, during and after these sessions. Baker manages to squeeze fulfilled and unfulfilled romances into her scenario, but they are merely cross-hatched; we do the colouring-in. Poor Lauren was hoping to do some 'real' acting before auditioning for a West Side Story production, and she speaks for us when she doesn't 'get' some of the perverse and even irritating games. It's in the repetition of these that Baker dares us to stay on board, the experience being akin to one of those elaborate jokes where you pray the pay-off is worth the wait. For me, she stretched our patience. In this Sydney Theatre Company production directed by Dean Bryant, the casting and acting are largely on point, with Gibney and Daddo bringing an easy charisma to bear that suits their likeable characters. Schultz and Lauren suck us in, too, with Abebe's portrayal of the latter replete with her toes pinching each other as she initially feels excruciating discomfort in participating (just as Gibney beautifully 'conducts' her exercises with tiny hand gestures). Theresa is the least interesting character, and Lawrence does well to keep us engaged.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I don't give a rat's arse': Rebecca Gibney's year of living dangerously
This is Rebecca Gibney's year of living dangerously. She is stepping on stage for the Sydney Theatre Company ('Me on stage, in general, terrifies me') and she's been waltzing her away through the TV show Dancing with the Stars ('It's really hard, and you hurt'). But, most importantly, she recently turned 60 and discovered something profound. 'I don't give a rat's arse about things that aren't important any more,' she says. 'I don't obsess over criticism. I don't obsess over much really because I've worked out that the most important things are your family, your friends, the people that love you, and finding your passion, finding what gives you joy. 'I was such a people pleaser for so long, so much imposter syndrome, but I've now gotten to an age where I think, 'How do I feel about that?' I was so hard on myself for such a long time. I was so vindictive towards myself. I had such self loathing in my late 20s and early 30s, just for choices that I'd made that hurt people. 'I really was in a bit of a bad state about myself. The great thing about being older is you actually start caring about yourself more and your self-worth and your self-care. Because if I can't look after myself, I can't look after anyone else.' Gibney – New Zealand born and bred, an All Blacks supporter, but Australian TV royalty – is at STC in the throes of rehearsal for Circle Mirror Transformation, her return to the stage after 20 years and only her third time treading the boards. Gibney is utterly delightful in person, chatty ('My mum says I can talk the leg off a tin pot') and sparky with ridiculously bright blue eyes (I normally wouldn't mention it, but when you spend a lifetime watching someone on screen, it's funny the things you don't notice). She is wearing a traditional Maori greenstone necklace and her Kiwi accent pops in and out of the conversation. She throws her head back when she laughs. 'I turned 60 last year, and for some reason, it dawned on me,' she says. 'And I think there's a lot of women when they get older, or people in general, when they get older, it's that realisation that, OK, I've got 20, 30, 40 years left, and knowing how quickly the last 20 went, I don't want to waste time being scared of things, or frightened of things or not doing things because I'm scared. And I know that if I don't keep changing and growing and challenging myself, I could just curl up in a ball. And I don't want that. I want to be around a lot longer.' She's tackling an American accent for Circle Mirror Transformation, which is set in a small-town community centre in Vermont, and written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker. Gibney plays Marty, a hippie dippy drama teacher – 'she teaches pottery classes and she teaches jewellery classes, and she's probably got tattoos' – who is tackling an adult drama class for the first time. 'She's really giving it 150 per cent,' Gibney says. 'But layered underneath that, though, is a troubled marriage, which comes out over the course of the play. You start to realise that she may not be as happy and shiny as she appears.' Her husband is played by 'possibly the nicest man on the planet', Cameron Daddo, who Gibney worked with on the TV travel show Luxury Escapes. 'When we're travelling, I always have the, 'What's next? What's next? When do we have to be here? [mindset]',' she says. 'I'm like, 'We have to be here at this time. We've got to do this.' I'm always thinking ahead, whereas Cameron's like, 'But wow, look at that table, isn't it great, man?'' Gibney never formally studied acting. She fell into it after an early modelling career – a fantastic snap on her Instagram page shows her wearing a sash that reads 'Ms Resilient Flooring' in the 1980s – and built a career that reads as the greatest hits of Australian TV: The Flying Doctors, All Together Now, Halifax f.p., Stingers, Packed to the Rafters and Halifax: Retribution. Last year, she was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame, with her son Zac Bell doing the honours. But it was this long history on the small screen that gave Gibney her biggest doubt: could she crack it on the stage? Especially a stage that has regularly featured some of the titans of Australian acting: Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Heather Mitchell, Pamela Rabe. 'There is that imposter syndrome thing that sort of has come flooding back a little bit,' Gibney says. 'Certainly, last week, in the first week of rehearsals, I was like, 'Oh, geez, what have I done? I'm not going to be good at this.' You know the little voice on the shoulder that just goes, 'You're out of your depth. You don't know what you're doing.' Loading 'But to have such an incredible, supportive cast around me and the director [Dean Bryant] who just went, 'Yes, you can.' And I think something clicked in me yesterday. My son said to me once, 'Mum, fear and excitement are the same feeling. You've just got to flip it.' And so I got home last night and I went, 'I'm going to turn this into excitement.' 'So I actually went, 'Today I'm going to smash it. I'm going to know my lines. I'm going to project [my voice], I'm going to really do incredibly well', and I'm just going to have to keep telling myself that until opening night.' Gibney's 40-year TV career has given her an eagle-eyed view of a local industry that has undergone tremendous upheaval in the past couple of decades. Those cosy weekly family sitcoms, such as All Together Now and Packed to the Rafters, are gone, while police and crime dramas are more likely to be a limited series instead of a prime-time staple that runs for years. 'I think people want that [local dramas] now,' Gibney says. 'If you look at the demographics and the people that are watching regular [free-to-air] television, they're actually much older. And the younger generation, it's the streaming services and stuff. But people love a good drama. 'Look at The Survivors [on Netflix]. That's, like, No.2 globally at the moment or something, and made in Tasmania by the beautiful Tony Ayres and Cherie Nowlan and Andy Walker … It's just so fantastic that shows like that are being made [by Netflix], but it's like, 'OK, wait a second, that's Australian, you know? Why are we not investing more in our own product? Why are we waiting for someone else to make it?' 'And shows like Packed to the Rafters, there is a home for that. We don't have another show like that at the moment. I think there's a comfort to that, seeing a show about a family that's just like any other regular Australian family. That's why people loved it so much. It was a show that they could all watch with the whole family.' Loading As for what Gibney has planned next, she can't say – well, she tells me, it's just that I can't tell you – but there is one thing she is certain of. 'I want to start being more raw and more real and not caring so much,' she says. 'I'm happy to play dress-ups, but the reality is, [today] I'm in a jean jacket and my hair's a bit all over the shop, and I don't have my wefts [hair extensions] in, and I don't really care. 'I would love to bring that to the screen as well, because I think women, particularly, want to see themselves reflected on screen, ageing normally, with crow's feet … I'm not opposed to [cosmetic procedures]. Go get your facelift, have your Botox – I've had Botox before, I've had all that stuff. I tried filler once, and it just looked really bad, so I went, 'I'm never doing that again' – but I just want to look like I'm ageing. 'I look like a 60-year-old that's looking after herself. I have no qualms about saying I'm 60. It's fine. It's great. Actually, it's better than being 55. Sixty is awesome, and I think 70 is going to be even better.'
Sydney Morning Herald
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rebecca Gibney to return to stage for the first time in 20 years during her year of living dangerously
, register or subscribe to save articles for later. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. This is Rebecca Gibney's year of living dangerously. She is stepping on stage for the Sydney Theatre Company ('Me on stage, in general, terrifies me') and she's been waltzing her away through the TV show Dancing with the Stars ('It's really hard, and you hurt'). But, most importantly, she recently turned 60 and discovered something profound. 'I don't give a rat's arse about things that aren't important any more,' she says. 'I don't obsess over criticism. I don't obsess over much really because I've worked out that the most important things are your family, your friends, the people that love you, and finding your passion, finding what gives you joy. 'I was such a people pleaser for so long, so much imposter syndrome, but I've now gotten to an age where I think, 'How do I feel about that?' I was so hard on myself for such a long time. I was so vindictive towards myself. I had such self loathing in my late 20s and early 30s, just for choices that I'd made that hurt people. Rebecca Gibney during rehearsals for Circle Mirror Transformation with Jessie Lawrence (left) and Nicholas Brown. Credit: Daniel Boud 'I really was in a bit of a bad state about myself. The great thing about being older is you actually start caring about yourself more and your self-worth and your self-care. Because if I can't look after myself, I can't look after anyone else.' Gibney – New Zealand born and bred, an All Blacks supporter, but Australian TV royalty – is at STC in the throes of rehearsal for Circle Mirror Transformation , her return to the stage after 20 years and only her third time treading the boards. Gibney is utterly delightful in person, chatty ('My mum says I can talk the leg off a tin pot') and sparky with ridiculously bright blue eyes (I normally wouldn't mention it, but when you spend a lifetime watching someone on screen, it's funny the things you don't notice). She is wearing a traditional Maori greenstone necklace and her Kiwi accent pops in and out of the conversation. She throws her head back when she laughs. 'I turned 60 last year, and for some reason, it dawned on me,' she says. 'And I think there's a lot of women when they get older, or people in general, when they get older, it's that realisation that, OK, I've got 20, 30, 40 years left, and knowing how quickly the last 20 went, I don't want to waste time being scared of things, or frightened of things or not doing things because I'm scared. And I know that if I don't keep changing and growing and challenging myself, I could just curl up in a ball. And I don't want that. I want to be around a lot longer.' Rebecca Gibney and dance partner Ian Waite on Dancing With the Stars. She's tackling an American accent for Circle Mirror Transformation , which is set in a small-town community centre in Vermont, and written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker. Gibney plays Marty, a hippie dippy drama teacher – 'she teaches pottery classes and she teaches jewellery classes, and she's probably got tattoos' – who is tackling an adult drama class for the first time. 'She's really giving it 150 per cent,' Gibney says. 'But layered underneath that, though, is a troubled marriage, which comes out over the course of the play. You start to realise that she may not be as happy and shiny as she appears.' Her husband is played by 'possibly the nicest man on the planet', Cameron Daddo, who Gibney worked with on the TV travel show Luxury Escapes . 'When we're travelling, I always have the, 'What's next? What's next? When do we have to be here? [mindset]',' she says. 'I'm like, 'We have to be here at this time. We've got to do this.' I'm always thinking ahead, whereas Cameron's like, 'But wow, look at that table, isn't it great, man?'' Rebecca Gibney poses with the Hall of Fame Award at last year's 64th Logie Awards. Credit: Getty Images Gibney never formally studied acting. She fell into it after an early modelling career – a fantastic snap on her Instagram page shows her wearing a sash that reads 'Ms Resilient Flooring' in the 1980s – and built a career that reads as the greatest hits of Australian TV: The Flying Doctors , All Together Now , Halifax f.p. , Stingers , Packed to the Rafters and Halifax: Retribution . Last year, she was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame, with her son Zac Bell doing the honours. But it was this long history on the small screen that gave Gibney her biggest doubt: could she crack it on the stage? Especially a stage that has regularly featured some of the titans of Australian acting: Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Heather Mitchell, Pamela Rabe. Rebecca Gibney watches Cameron Daddo during rehearsals for Circle Mirror Transformation. 'There is that imposter syndrome thing that sort of has come flooding back a little bit,' Gibney says. 'Certainly, last week, in the first week of rehearsals, I was like, 'Oh, geez, what have I done? I'm not going to be good at this.' You know the little voice on the shoulder that just goes, 'You're out of your depth. You don't know what you're doing.' Loading 'But to have such an incredible, supportive cast around me and the director [Dean Bryant] who just went, 'Yes, you can.' And I think something clicked in me yesterday. My son said to me once, 'Mum, fear and excitement are the same feeling. You've just got to flip it.' And so I got home last night and I went, 'I'm going to turn this into excitement.' 'So I actually went, 'Today I'm going to smash it. I'm going to know my lines. I'm going to project [my voice], I'm going to really do incredibly well', and I'm just going to have to keep telling myself that until opening night.' Gibney's 40-year TV career has given her an eagle-eyed view of a local industry that has undergone tremendous upheaval in the past couple of decades. Those cosy weekly family sitcoms, such as All Together Now and Packed to the Rafters , are gone, while police and crime dramas are more likely to be a limited series instead of a prime-time staple that runs for years. 'I think people want that [local dramas] now,' Gibney says. 'If you look at the demographics and the people that are watching regular [free-to-air] television, they're actually much older. And the younger generation, it's the streaming services and stuff. But people love a good drama. 'Look at The Survivors [on Netflix]. That's, like, No.2 globally at the moment or something, and made in Tasmania by the beautiful Tony Ayres and Cherie Nowlan and Andy Walker … It's just so fantastic that shows like that are being made [by Netflix], but it's like, 'OK, wait a second, that's Australian, you know? Why are we not investing more in our own product? Why are we waiting for someone else to make it?' Gibney and Cameron Daddo on Packed to the Rafters. The friends are to star in Circle Mirror Transformation. 'And shows like Packed to the Rafters , there is a home for that. We don't have another show like that at the moment. I think there's a comfort to that, seeing a show about a family that's just like any other regular Australian family. That's why people loved it so much. It was a show that they could all watch with the whole family.' Loading As for what Gibney has planned next, she can't say – well, she tells me, it's just that I can't tell you – but there is one thing she is certain of. 'I want to start being more raw and more real and not caring so much,' she says. 'I'm happy to play dress-ups, but the reality is, [today] I'm in a jean jacket and my hair's a bit all over the shop, and I don't have my wefts [hair extensions] in, and I don't really care.
The Age
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘I don't give a rat's arse': Rebecca Gibney's year of living dangerously
This is Rebecca Gibney's year of living dangerously. She is stepping on stage for the Sydney Theatre Company ('Me on stage, in general, terrifies me') and she's been waltzing her away through the TV show Dancing with the Stars ('It's really hard, and you hurt'). But, most importantly, she recently turned 60 and discovered something profound. 'I don't give a rat's arse about things that aren't important any more,' she says. 'I don't obsess over criticism. I don't obsess over much really because I've worked out that the most important things are your family, your friends, the people that love you, and finding your passion, finding what gives you joy. 'I was such a people pleaser for so long, so much imposter syndrome, but I've now gotten to an age where I think, 'How do I feel about that?' I was so hard on myself for such a long time. I was so vindictive towards myself. I had such self loathing in my late 20s and early 30s, just for choices that I'd made that hurt people. 'I really was in a bit of a bad state about myself. The great thing about being older is you actually start caring about yourself more and your self-worth and your self-care. Because if I can't look after myself, I can't look after anyone else.' Gibney – New Zealand born and bred, an All Blacks supporter, but Australian TV royalty – is at STC in the throes of rehearsal for Circle Mirror Transformation, her return to the stage after 20 years and only her third time treading the boards. Gibney is utterly delightful in person, chatty ('My mum says I can talk the leg off a tin pot') and sparky with ridiculously bright blue eyes (I normally wouldn't mention it, but when you spend a lifetime watching someone on screen, it's funny the things you don't notice). She is wearing a traditional Maori greenstone necklace and her Kiwi accent pops in and out of the conversation. She throws her head back when she laughs. 'I turned 60 last year, and for some reason, it dawned on me,' she says. 'And I think there's a lot of women when they get older, or people in general, when they get older, it's that realisation that, OK, I've got 20, 30, 40 years left, and knowing how quickly the last 20 went, I don't want to waste time being scared of things, or frightened of things or not doing things because I'm scared. And I know that if I don't keep changing and growing and challenging myself, I could just curl up in a ball. And I don't want that. I want to be around a lot longer.' She's tackling an American accent for Circle Mirror Transformation, which is set in a small-town community centre in Vermont, and written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker. Gibney plays Marty, a hippie dippy drama teacher – 'she teaches pottery classes and she teaches jewellery classes, and she's probably got tattoos' – who is tackling an adult drama class for the first time. 'She's really giving it 150 per cent,' Gibney says. 'But layered underneath that, though, is a troubled marriage, which comes out over the course of the play. You start to realise that she may not be as happy and shiny as she appears.' Her husband is played by 'possibly the nicest man on the planet', Cameron Daddo, who Gibney worked with on the TV travel show Luxury Escapes. 'When we're travelling, I always have the, 'What's next? What's next? When do we have to be here? [mindset]',' she says. 'I'm like, 'We have to be here at this time. We've got to do this.' I'm always thinking ahead, whereas Cameron's like, 'But wow, look at that table, isn't it great, man?'' Gibney never formally studied acting. She fell into it after an early modelling career – a fantastic snap on her Instagram page shows her wearing a sash that reads 'Ms Resilient Flooring' in the 1980s – and built a career that reads as the greatest hits of Australian TV: The Flying Doctors, All Together Now, Halifax f.p., Stingers, Packed to the Rafters and Halifax: Retribution. Last year, she was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame, with her son Zac Bell doing the honours. But it was this long history on the small screen that gave Gibney her biggest doubt: could she crack it on the stage? Especially a stage that has regularly featured some of the titans of Australian acting: Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Heather Mitchell, Pamela Rabe. 'There is that imposter syndrome thing that sort of has come flooding back a little bit,' Gibney says. 'Certainly, last week, in the first week of rehearsals, I was like, 'Oh, geez, what have I done? I'm not going to be good at this.' You know the little voice on the shoulder that just goes, 'You're out of your depth. You don't know what you're doing.' Loading 'But to have such an incredible, supportive cast around me and the director [Dean Bryant] who just went, 'Yes, you can.' And I think something clicked in me yesterday. My son said to me once, 'Mum, fear and excitement are the same feeling. You've just got to flip it.' And so I got home last night and I went, 'I'm going to turn this into excitement.' 'So I actually went, 'Today I'm going to smash it. I'm going to know my lines. I'm going to project [my voice], I'm going to really do incredibly well', and I'm just going to have to keep telling myself that until opening night.' Gibney's 40-year TV career has given her an eagle-eyed view of a local industry that has undergone tremendous upheaval in the past couple of decades. Those cosy weekly family sitcoms, such as All Together Now and Packed to the Rafters, are gone, while police and crime dramas are more likely to be a limited series instead of a prime-time staple that runs for years. 'I think people want that [local dramas] now,' Gibney says. 'If you look at the demographics and the people that are watching regular [free-to-air] television, they're actually much older. And the younger generation, it's the streaming services and stuff. But people love a good drama. 'Look at The Survivors [on Netflix]. That's, like, No.2 globally at the moment or something, and made in Tasmania by the beautiful Tony Ayres and Cherie Nowlan and Andy Walker … It's just so fantastic that shows like that are being made [by Netflix], but it's like, 'OK, wait a second, that's Australian, you know? Why are we not investing more in our own product? Why are we waiting for someone else to make it?' 'And shows like Packed to the Rafters, there is a home for that. We don't have another show like that at the moment. I think there's a comfort to that, seeing a show about a family that's just like any other regular Australian family. That's why people loved it so much. It was a show that they could all watch with the whole family.' Loading As for what Gibney has planned next, she can't say – well, she tells me, it's just that I can't tell you – but there is one thing she is certain of. 'I want to start being more raw and more real and not caring so much,' she says. 'I'm happy to play dress-ups, but the reality is, [today] I'm in a jean jacket and my hair's a bit all over the shop, and I don't have my wefts [hair extensions] in, and I don't really care. 'I would love to bring that to the screen as well, because I think women, particularly, want to see themselves reflected on screen, ageing normally, with crow's feet … I'm not opposed to [cosmetic procedures]. Go get your facelift, have your Botox – I've had Botox before, I've had all that stuff. I tried filler once, and it just looked really bad, so I went, 'I'm never doing that again' – but I just want to look like I'm ageing. 'I look like a 60-year-old that's looking after herself. I have no qualms about saying I'm 60. It's fine. It's great. Actually, it's better than being 55. Sixty is awesome, and I think 70 is going to be even better.'
Perth Now
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Aussie TV star takes on Dancing with The Stars
Big birthdays can often prompt people to take on new challenges. And so perhaps it was serendipitous that when New Zealand and Australian actress Rebecca Gibney turned 60 last year she was also asked a question that previously she had outright rejected: 'Will you take part in Dancing With The Stars?' 'I did think: I'm 60. I can either continue down the path of more wine, more hot chips, less exercise or I can take this moment and use it as a chance to reset. Reset my body, reset my brain and bounce into my 60s with a bit of vim and vigour,' Gibney says with a laugh. Despite her enthusiasm, Gibney, best known for her role as Julie Rafter on Packed To The Rafters, admits walking into the rehearsal studio on that first day — having recently recovered from a bout of COVID-19 and carrying a little extra weight following a UK holiday — was a little intimidating. She says before the show, her dancing experience was limited to 'a few jazz ballet classes as a kid'. 'My (dance) partner was the reigning champion so the first thing I said to him was 'lower your expectations. mate!',' she says. 'He just said to me 'we're going to go very slowly'. 'It was much more of a physical and mental challenge than I was expecting. 'I did sort of beat myself up a bit wishing that I'd gotten a bit fitter prior, because I was probably about 20-30 years older than most of the others,' The others in Gibney's 2025 cohort of the popular competition show include Olympians Harry Garside and Susie O'Neill, Comedians Felicity Ward and Shaun Micallef, and a collection of familiar faces from across Australian news, sport and entertainment including Osher Gunsberg, Trent Cotchin, Michael Usher, Karina Carvalho, Brittany Hockley, Mia Fevola, and Kyle Shilling. 'Most of them I was meeting for the first time and that's the best thing that's come out of this whole experience, the relationships that I have formed,' Gibney says. Rebecca Gibney. Credit: Nicholas Wilson 'It becomes such a tight-knit family. and because you are going through something random and weird that no one else would quite understand, it really bonds you quite quickly. 'And we were all from such different walks of life. There was the beautiful Susie O'Neill, who has won a gajillion gold medals in the swimming pool, but as soon as she got on the dance floor she was like the rest of us, completely out of her comfort zone. 'And Michael Usher who has been a news reader for 27 years and completely in control, but the minute he got out on the dance floor, he turned to jelly. So it was amazing to have the same experience and be able to share it with these people.' Dancing With The Stars isn't the only new challenge Gibney has set herself this year. Next month she is starring in the Sydney Theatre Company production Circle Mirror Transformation, the first time she has done any theatre work in 23 years. 'My first thought is to go 'it's terrifying', but my son keeps going: 'Mum, nerves and fear and excitement are the same emotion, so flip it',' she says. There seems to be a lot of advice being traded in the Gibney family. Her son, Zac Bell, made headlines last year when he gave a speech about his mum at the Logies when she was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Bell has recently finished up at drama school in New Zealand and is set to move to Sydney to follow in his mother's footsteps in the acting world. 'My biggest advice to him, because he has been auditioning a lot, and hasn't got as many roles as he obviously would like — he's had a couple of small ones, but he's had a few knock backs — and I've just said: 'Darling, you've always got to remember that what is for you will not pass by. That if it is meant for you, it will come',' Gibney says. For Gibney, what was meant for her in 2025 was Dancing With The Stars, and no doubt many people will be cheering the unlikely contender on. Dancing With The Stars is on Sunday, June 15, at 7pm on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
