A charismatic, egocentric strongman politician with contempt for the population he leads, rides roughshod over the conventions of democracy to drive through decisions he makes, having little regard for opinions other than his own. Sound familiar? If it does, then I am slightly surprised, since this play has not been performed in Australia for thirty years! The Bell Shakespeare production of Coriolanus has just opened at the Neilson Nutshell in Sydney, tranferring to Melbourne's Arts Centre in la...
Jun 27, 2025•38 min•Season 6Ep. 18
My eldest sister Louise is one of the most avid listeners to this podcast. So when I told her it was likely I wasn't going to be able to put out an episode for the second week in a row, her disappointment was such that I could convince her to step in to make it happen. On this episode she is joined by her husband Martin and they both do very well at the quiz. Hope you enjoy the listen. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...
Jun 20, 2025•40 min•Season 6Ep. 17
As an actor who also produces and hosts a quiz-based podcast, it's safe to assume that a piece of theatre about a pivotal historical figure who happens to hold the very quiz-friendly distinction of being the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields - is going to be right up my alley. So when my friend Rebecca Massey told me that she and Gabrielle Scawthorn were about to appear in the Australian...
Jun 06, 2025•37 min•Season 6Ep. 16
Zöe Coombs Marr is no stranger to this podcast - possibly making the most appearances on the quiz. Her show "Wrap It Up with Zöe Coombs Marr" kicks off next week as part of Melbourne’s Rising Festival. It is described as a live, late night taping of your favourite variety tv show. A place where there’s only ever five minutes of taping to go, and a lot to get through. If you’ve ever seen any of Zöe's shows before, you know that that means it will be a fever dream, teetering on the edge of collaps...
May 30, 2025•35 min•Season 6Ep. 15
It's not often you get two Laurences in one show. But that's what the Australian production of The Lord of the Rings Musical has. And so does this episode of the quiz! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 23, 2025•45 min•Season 6Ep. 14
If you like this podcast - and I'm assuming you do, because why else would you be here - then there is a very strong chance that you will love the ABC tv program "Claire Hooper's House of Games" This is not a paid endorsement of the show, I just think it's a delightful thing to watch every weeknight at 6.30 - or at any time on ABC iView! The eponymous host Claire Hooper is a guest on this episode of the Quiz. And one of the guests on her show joins her as a guest on this show. Anthony “Lehmo” Le...
May 16, 2025•44 min•Season 6Ep. 13
Nicole da Silva and Gareth Davies are both currently performing in a double bill of plays by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. “The Lover” and “The Dumb Waiter” are on at the Ensemble theatre in Kirribilli in Sydney right now, playing Tuesday to Sunday until the 7th of June. Gareth has been a guest on the quiz several times before, but this is Nicole's first time. Will Gareth's experience trump Nicole's beginners luck? You'll have to listen to find out. Get tickets to the Pinter double bill here...
May 09, 2025•42 min•Season 6Ep. 11
Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta are a married couple who write novels together! Their first novel “The View Was Exhausting” is a rom-com about an A-List Hollywood actress and a millionaire’s son using their fabricated romance to control the narrative, and was named by Vogue magazine as a “perfect summer read”. Their new book is an entirely different beast - “Feast While You Can” is a dark and sensual queer love story set in a remote town that blurs the line between love and terror. They have ...
May 02, 2025•45 min•Season 6Ep. 11
Both Toby Schmitz and Luke Arnold are actors who have recently turned their storytelling talents into actual stories in actual books! Toby's debut novel "The Empress Murders" is described as both a razor-sharp, mind-bendingly clever whodunnit and an excoriating look at the excesses of the British Empire, just as the sun is beginning to set on it. And Luke is releasing "Whisper in the Wind" his fourth book in his Fetch Phillips series of Fantasy-Noir detective novels set in a fantasy world where ...
Apr 25, 2025•48 min•Season 6Ep. 10
Rosie and Nicola Dempsey are otherwise known as the comedy music double act Flo and Joan. The two previous times they’ve been on this show, Nicola’s pieces of trivia were both about Andrew Lloyd Webber - and there was even a question related to Lloyd Webber in last year’s episode - at the time, the depth of their knowledge about the man was somewhat surprising. But now we understand why, since they were writing their show One Man Musical which is about Andrew Lloyd Webber. They've just been perf...
Apr 18, 2025•44 min•Season 6Ep. 9
It’s become something of an Easter tradition to have Julia Zemiro and Brian Nankervis on the show the week before Good Friday to promote the very special Rockwiz event The Really Really Good Friday Spectacular at the magnificent Hamer Hall. Quiz aficionados themselves, they get surprisingly stuck on a few of the questions this time around. But it's always a joy when Brian and Julia are on the show. Get your tickets to Rockwiz's Really Really Good Friday Spectacular here: https://www.artscentreme...
Apr 11, 2025•44 min•Season 6Ep. 8
George Fouracres and Pierre Novellie met while studying Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge, so it's a fair expectation that they might do well at quizzes. They're both annoyingly multi-talented clever people, performing work ranging from stand-up to musicals, Pierre has a very successful podcast of his own - BudPod with Phil Wang, he's the author of the book Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things? A Comedian's Guide to Autism. And George meanwhile has played Hamlet for the Globe Theatre! But righ...
Apr 04, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 7
David Correos has been on this podcast before with Demi Lardner, but this time I needed a slightly less chaotic partner for him. Harry Jun is another very funny comedian, but they come up against a very tricky set of questions (as always, written by the unparalleled Cindy MacDonald) and it takes all my powers of clue-giving to get them to the correct answers. They both have shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival which you should see. Get your tickets here: https://www.comedyfestiva...
Mar 28, 2025•53 min•Season 6Ep. 6
This episode was recorded live at the Margarita Bar inside Gluttony at the Adelaide Fringe! Not in front of a live studio audience or anything, but perhaps it should've been? For their third time on the quiz, comedians Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh got a free margarita and the chance to talk about all their upcoming shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. They each have a solo show, plus they'll be doing their comedy wine tasting show and hosting the Late Nite PowerPoint Comed...
Mar 21, 2025•45 min•Season 6Ep. 5
It's quite apt that this episode has come hot on the heels of the last episode. If Chris Ryan and Luke Heggie are veterans of standup showing all the signs of world-weariness in their comedy, the guests on this episode are the polar opposites. Alex Lowes and Kushi Venkatesh are fresh faced babes at the very start of their careers in comedy. Although they've both already achieved a great deal. With Kushi virtually selling out her debut hour at the Adelaide Fringe, and Alex creating a brand new ja...
Mar 14, 2025•45 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Old hands at appearing on this podcast - Chris Ryan and Luke Heggie - come on around this time every year. They are both touring brand new hours of standup right now and are experts at extracting laughs from their audiences. Check their websites to see when they're in a city near you and go see them. You won't regret it. https://chrisryancomedy.com/ https://www.lukeheggie.com/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...
Mar 14, 2025•37 min•Season 6Ep. 3
I'm sorry I don't have a new episode for you! While I try to find a moment to record the new one, please enjoy this re-release of one of my favourite episodes from 2022. And if you are in Adelaide, come and see The Platypus at the Adelaide Fringe. It's a fantastic play and I'm very proud of it. Get your tickets to The Platypus here: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/the-platypus-by-francis-greenslade-af2025 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. S...
Mar 07, 2025•36 min•Season 6Ep. 3
For the next few months, Alexei Toliopoulos and Zachary Ruane will be touring their show Refused Classification to comedy festivals all around the country. The part comedy, part documentary, part verbatim theatre piece tells the true story of beloved film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton taking on the Australian government when the film Ken Park was sensationally banned in the early 2000s. Thank you to all my listeners who have taken the audience survey - Alexei was one of the guests...
Feb 28, 2025•50 min•Season 6Ep. 2
This first episode of the sixth season of The Saturday Quiz takes a wild, meandering journey through some mostly music-related territory. Which is appropriate given that the guests are two giants of Australian musical theatre - Eddie Perfect and Elise McCann. Get your tickets to see them both in the Australian premiere production of Beetlejuice here: https://beetlejuicethemusical.com.au/ If you have a minute, please take this audience survey for The Saturday Quiz https://podcastsurvey.typeform.c...
Feb 21, 2025•45 min•Season 6Ep. 1
The Saturday Quiz will be back for its sixth season in 2025 very, very soon. In the meantime, please complete this survey so I can bring you the guests and content that you like best: http://bit.ly/thesaturdayquiz-survey It's all anonymous and no personalised data is collected. Follow the show on Instagram @thesaturdayquiz And John has pretty much dumped X (formally Twitter), so follow him on Bluesky instead. It's much nicer there: @johnnyjohnleary.bsky.social Support this show http://supporter....
Feb 14, 2025•6 min
If you have a few minutes, please complete this survey so The Saturday Quiz can return for another season with the guests and content that you like best: http://bit.ly/thesaturdayquiz-survey As always on the season finale of this podcast, the whole thing becomes a competition. The four original contestants are back once more to answer the 40 questions. Who will win? Will John be able to hear which player says the answers? Will he remember to keep score? Listen now to find out. Special thanks to ...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 5Ep. 47
Kate and Damon have both been on this podcast before - but never together. Much in the same way that they are both appearing in two massive films released this month. One of those films is a Christmas movie based on a much loved song - and the other is a biopic based on the life of a much loved singer! Better Man - in cinemas Boxing Day How to Make Gravy - on Binge, right now. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...
Dec 13, 2024•34 min•Season 5Ep. 46
Gillian Cosgriff is an absolute delight. Funny, self-deprecating and fabulously talented. It's been far too long since she's been on this podcast. So, before this season comes to an end, it's time to get her back on the show to answer the ten questions from the quiz in The Saturday Paper. Find Gillian's tour dates here: https://comedy.com.au/tour/gillian-cosgriff/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 06, 2024•37 min•Season 5Ep. 45
Pamela Rabe and Bert LaBonté are both giants of Australian theatre. And it's lucky they are, because right now they are both appearing in the enormous epic that is August: Osage County. This brand new production at Belvoir Street Theatre, directed by Eamon Flack, has been getting rave reviews and playing to full houses - so much so, that they've extended until the 22nd of December! Get your tickets now: https://belvoir.com.au/productions/august-osage-county/ Support this show http://supporter.ac...
Nov 29, 2024•28 min•Season 5Ep. 44
Very occasionally, there is a new piece of theatre created which gets everything just right, that it becomes an instant classic. My Brilliant Career is one of those shows. The new musical based on the novel by Miles Franklin, with a book by Sheridan Harbridge and Dean Bryant, music by Mathew Frank and Dean Bryant and directed by Anne-Louise Sarks is quite simply brilliant. In the central role of Sybylla Melvyn, Kala Gare is phenomenal. After you've listened to this episode, I urge everyone to go...
Nov 22, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 43
Lucy Ansell and Caroline Lee are both currently starring in the Red Stitch production of José Rivera’s play “ Your Name Means Dream ” which explores the notion of what it means to be human in a world increasingly encroached upon by AI. No AI was used in discovering the answers to these questions though. Get your tickets to " Your Name Means Dream " here: https://www.redstitch.net Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...
Nov 15, 2024•34 min•Season 5Ep. 42
Stop what you're doing and get in the car and drive to Mitchelton Estate Winery for this weekend's Comedy in the Vines - a mini festival of great comedians and fantastic wines in Nagambie, Victoria, a little over an hour away from Melbourne. While you're there, make sure you check out Ethan and Sweeney's show In Pour Taste - a comedy wine tasting. It's hilarious! Ethan and Sweeney might get the award on this podcast for "most improved" since their first appearance on the show - but this episode ...
Nov 08, 2024•48 min•Season 5Ep. 41
Iain Grandage thinks he's a hedgehog, but wishes he was a fox. But he is arguably a T-person. Or perhaps a hammerhead shark. What does that mean? You'll have to listen to find out. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 01, 2024•40 min•Season 5Ep. 40
This is the 200th episode of The Saturday Quiz, and what better way to mark the occasion than by having two of the funniest comedians to have ever answered the quiz, do it all over again? Zoë and Alexei have never been on the show together, but their rapport is brilliant. And somehow, they wind up with mostly correct answers. As always, play along at home by getting your copy of The Saturday Paper. I don't always get a chance to record a sign off for every episode, so let me please send a specia...
Oct 25, 2024•36 min•Season 5Ep. 39
The last time Geraldine Hickey and Vidya Rajan were on this podcast together, they performed remarkably well, pretty much getting ten out of ten. Will they be able to do the same with this, somewhat more difficult quiz? Listen to find out! Also listen if you want to hear all the bonus facts about pigeons that the ABC cut out of Geraldine’s appearance on Question Everything. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-saturday-quiz . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...
Oct 18, 2024•40 min•Season 5Ep. 38
