WOS TV: Jane Turner On … Holding the Man
Jane Turner, best known as Kath from Australian cult-hit sitcom Kath and Kim, is currently making her West End debut in the UK premiere of Holding the Man,
Tommy Murphy’s award-winning adaptation of the best-selling memoir of
the same name by the late Australian actor, writer and activist Tim
Conigrave.
The play, which has a limited season at Trafalgar Studios 1 until 3 July
2010, follows the highs and
lows in the relationship between Conigrave, who found being young and
gay exciting but uncharted territory, and John Caleo, his lifelong
lover of 15 years. But the the story is heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure – both men (who Turner knew from school) were diagnosed with HIV in the
mid-1980s and died of Aids-related illnesses, Caleo in 1992 and
Conigrave in October 1994.
premiered in 2006 at the Griffin Theatre in
Sydney, before numerous other sell-out seasons there and other venues
including the Sydney Opera House.
Jane Turner created, wrote, produced and starred in Kath and Kim
with her long-time collaborator Gina Riley. In addition to myriad
awards, the sitcom has earned its place as one of the most syndicated
shows in Australian television history. In Holding the Man,
Turner is the only female in a six-strong company, which also features fellow Australians Guy Edmonds and Matt Zeremes as Conigrave and Caleo.
