Australia comes out of its time warp

I don’t often go for musicals -“ something about breaking into song for no real reason irks me -“ but I ventured off to Star City for an evening performance of Rocky Horror anyway.

While we didn’t get overly dressed up, we were among the audience members who didn’t blend into the beige crowd.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this production. I had a feeling that iOTA would be fabulous and I expected the rest of the cast to follow his lead.

I was not disappointed. For me the best moment in the show was the final two songs. I even had a hint of a tear.

And then there was Paul Capsis. What a sensational performer he is, at home on the stage and completely in his element entertaining a huge crowd!

This high-energy, rocking production had us up and dancing in that small space between the back of the chair in front of us and our own seat.

I am still amazed that a show like this -“ that has been staged and restaged thousands of times -“ still manages to attract huge and diverse crowds. It is a testament to the strength of the story, the music, the colour and movement that are the hallmarks of the show.

Whenever I am feeling a bit depressed about society’s closed-mindedness and inability to embrace something slightly left of centre, I am going to re-picture in my mind that magnificent scene when the audience rose to its feet and did the Time Warp en masse.

And just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better, I got home to hear the news that Australia is to have its first ever female Governor-General, Quentin Bryce.

Talk about coming out of a time warp. It has taken us 107 years but at least we have finally moved with the times. Sure she may be the last Governor-General, but aren’t we lucky to finally have a female going into that role?

As you can tell, I love a good role model. I remembered how excited I was when the election results came in and how many women were represented in parliament -“ and now this.

It is exciting times in Australia at the moment, things that while growing up I never thought would happen have, and this gives me the hope that the possibilities are endless.