METERyf Warhurst is about to add something different to his resume. Starting next week, the regular darling of Spicks and Specks will appear in a new Australian stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Warhurst plays the narrator, while former Neighbors star Jason Donovan takes on the role of Frank-N-Furter.
“I’ve never done a real musical before,” says Warhurst. “We sing and dance at Spicks and Specks, but not with real professional dancers. So I have imposter syndrome, but I’m enjoying it immensely. I never thought I would have such a new and daunting experience at almost 50 years old.”
Music has always been a big part of Warhurst’s life, and she finds her most useful object to be the baby grand piano in her living room, because it has the ability to get the party started when guests visit. . Here, the longtime ABC host tells us why she delights in that century-old instrument, as well as the stories behind other important personal belongings.
What I would save from my house in a fire
My dad is a painter, among many other things, and we grew up with his art. I have a couple of his paintings that would absolutely be the first things he would save from a fire.
He makes these incredible landscapes with all the colors of the earth and the countryside. But he also makes a lot of beautiful birds, and I have one that he painted that has two beautiful red cockatoos. I had never been much of a bird lover until the last few years – in lockdown, in Melbourne, I really started birding in my backyard because I was so bored. Dad always said that birds are the witnesses of life… they look at us from above and they look at us while we look at them.
I have another [painting] that is very special too, from my three brothers and me [as] little kids. He gave each of us one a couple of Christmases ago; I would certainly leave it in the trunk of the car if there was a forest fire about to break out. I just moved to a bushfire prone area in Melbourne so I had to think about this!
My most useful item
my piano. It’s been there for many great parties, for my guests to play, not me. And it’s amazing how many people can play the piano really well!
It is the most amazing piano. I bought it about 12 years ago in a store in Melbourne, but it’s from 1868, so it’s incredibly old. Apparently she lived in a rich person’s mansion for a hundred years and no one touched her. That’s why it’s in such good condition, although I have to admit it’s had a bit of wear and tear in my house since then. And no one wanted to buy it in the store because it’s not concert pitch: to play with an orchestra, a piano needs to be concert pitch. Frankly, I’ll never play with an orchestra, so it doesn’t matter.
The item I most regret losing
This one disappeared in a move at some point – I’ve lived in so many houses over the years that things just disappear.
For a while, I went through a phase of collecting retro technology, like old TVs and stereo systems, that kind of thing. It was what I was looking for in op shops before they picked them up too much. I used to love those old televisions that were shaped like balls and all that futuristic stuff from the ’60s and ’70s molded into plastic, because I feel like there was a real optimism about the future and the possibility of technology back then.
And along the way I lost one of those Weltron record players that look like spaceships. It probably didn’t play my records that well, but it was the best conversation starter! I do not know where it is; some lucky ex-housemate has it. I figure it’s worth a fortune and someone has it. And good luck to them.
