Latest news with #NoelTovey
ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Poetry that pulses with power and purpose
Gamilaroi poet Luke Patterson debuts an explosive new poetry collection titled: A Savage pages burst with tenderness and defiance. Patterson views his poetry as an anti-venom for colonial Australia, where pot plants whisper of stolen land and love poems bloom as fierce as wattle. Awaye also honours the life and legacy of the trail blazing Uncle Noel Tovey, who passed away this week, aged 90. Uncle Noel has had a profound impact on Blak dance and theatre. A champion of Indigenous arts and gay rights. Uncle Noel became Australia's first Indigenous professional ballet dancer. His journey took him from the streets of Melbourne to London stages. He was a mentor to young artists and an advocate who turned his survival story into power and strength. The conversation is from the Awaye archives from 2003. The discussion references childhood sexual assault, racist language, and suicide. Plus for Word Up, Neenah Gray shares more of the Darumbal language.
Daily Mail
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Trailblazing Indigenous actor and dancer who was awarded an Order of Australia dies aged 90
A trailblazing Indigenous actor and dancer who was awarded an Order of Australia in 2015 has died in Melbourne. The arts world is mourning the loss of Noel Tovey AM, a multi-award-winning dancer, actor, director, choreographer, mentor and storyteller. Noel, who passed away earlier this month aged 90, was a true pioneer - the first Aboriginal Australian male ballet dancer and a globally celebrated figure in the performing arts. Born in Melbourne on Christmas Day 1934, Noel's early years were marked by hardship - but his hard work and commitment saw him rise against the odds to worldwide recognition. Noel earned multiple awards and global acclaim over a career spanning more than seven decades. This included recognition as a dancer, actor, director, choreographer, mentor, writer and storyteller. He rose to fame in the late '50s as a stage actor and dancer, and appeared in Australia and London in many renowned productions, including William Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part II. The talented dancer also appeared in the groundbreaking 1959 Channel Seven TV series Beauty and the Beast opposite late actor Paul Karo, and featured in the popular 1963 TV movie The Hot Potato Boys with actor Peter Aanensen. His achievements broke new ground for Indigenous Australians in ballet and the wider performing arts, opening doors for future generations. In 2015, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts. Noel's work included collaborations with internationally renowned figures such as Vanessa Redgrave, Boy George, and Damian Hirst and extended across Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition to his artistic accomplishments, he was a passionate advocate for First Nations rights and LGBTQ+ communities. He played a key role in significant cultural moments, including the Indigenous welcome ceremony at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. At the time, he staged the incredible achievement of directing a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in Sydney featuring an all-Aboriginal cast. Heartbroken fans took to social media to share their memories of Noel. 'A testament to human dignity and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. Rest in peace, dear Noel,' one person wrote. 'What a life! Vale,' a second added. 'Rest in power, Uncle Noel - travel safe to the Dreamtime,' a third person chipped in. Despite health challenges in recent years, Noel remained committed to mentoring emerging Indigenous artists. He later helped foster new talent through initiatives such as a scholarship established in his name. In his later years, he was frequently seen giving political speeches at rallies across Australia.
BBC News
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Wicked: Behind the scenes at Sky Studios Elstree
Film and high-end TV production spend in the UK was £5.6bn last year - and the biggest film was Wicked, made at Sky Studios Elstree in managing director of the studios, Noel Tovey, says it has been "a bit of a rollercoaster" with back-to-back films made here since it opened in February 2023 - the latest facility in the rapid studio expansion around says the film industry has had challenges, among them Hollywood industrial action and budget cuts to streaming services, but there's been a "slow recovery through 2024".In terms of how the industry is benefiting the local area, Sky says payroll postcodes on recent productions demonstrate that about a quarter of the production crews live within a 10-mile radius of Sky Studios Elstree. Underneath the gleaming silver arch and around the freshly landscaped courtyard, inside Sky Studios Elstree there is industrious production bell signalling the start and end of takes rings out repeatedly. Crew members drift out of the sound stages, wearing overalls or hi-vis tabards. There has been constant film production here since the studios opened in February 2023, with the cameras rolling on Wicked before the building was even noise of the mini-forklift trucks and golf buggies moving busily around the site is completely silenced as the doors shut on the 25,000sq ft (2,320sq m) Sound Stage scene in Wicked for the song Dancing Through Life, with its spinning library and flying books, was filmed here. "Every costume and every film set, all the props, all the special effects rigs, everything was made here in the studio," Tovey tells BBC London."To see the finished result on the big screen, and for it to win awards, has been the icing on the cake."Wicked, which had the biggest opening for a musical adaptation of a stage show, won two Academy Awards at this year's Oscars, including for Best Production Design, accepted by Londoner, Nathan Crowley - plaudits that emphasise the quality of the crews working in film around London."A mile down the road is Elstree Studios; it's celebrating its 100th year this year and that just shows there are generations of crew that have grown up in this area," Tovey says. Tax breaks make the Home Counties an attractive place to make film and high-end TV but there are other elements that have to come together, Tovey says."Being in the right place is crucial - for the crew base, for the supply chain, for easy access to central London and transport links - but also to have the room to build a facility of this scale." Despite the optimistic message coming from Sky Studios Elstree, it has been a a punishing few years for the post-Covid spending spree in high-end TV stalled - shows made in the UK saw a £598m spend last year, 22% down on 2023, as streaming platforms cut back their budgets, while UK box office takings are still 22% below their 2019 US industrial action had some impact in the UK. Production on Wicked was halted 10 days before filming was complete. For freelancers that make up the majority of the workforce, there is significant job insecurity. But that doesn't stop young people in Borehamwood wanting to get into the Byrne is on a 12-month paid traineeship at Sky Studios Elstree. "I think for so many people it feels like something really cool that you'd love to do but you have no clue how you'd actually get there yourself," she Future Talent Programme is in its third year and of the 32 trainees taken on so far, a large proportion live locally - and 70% have gone on to work in the Mistry is an alumna. "I was lucky enough to be a runner on set [on Wicked] so I got to see Cynthia [Erivo] singing Defying Gravity whilst being harnessed in this contraption that was flipping her upside down and doing a loop-the-loop in the air on the broomstick," she Studios Elstree is hoping that the sequel, Wicked: For Good, which is due to be released in November, will contribute to the continuing recovery of the UK film industry.
