Above – John Wood
Photographer – Malcolm ThreadgoldAward-winning Australian actor, scriptwriter, director, presenter and author John Wood, has entertained audiences on the stage and screen for over half a century.
John’s dedication and versatility as an actor and scriptwriter have treated audiences to a varied range of fictional, true-life and historic stories, with diverse lead-characters. John’s prolific work as a leading actor on Australian television includes 511 episodes of Blue Heelers over a 12-year period as Sergeant Tom Croydon. His popularity in this role saw John nominated ten times in total for the Gold Logie award, before winning the prestigious honour in 2006. He has also appeared in 18 films and collectively written 26 episodes for six television series.
John’s stage credits range from the title role in Hamlet, to portraying Robert O’Brien in The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin, and from musical theatre productions such as Cats and Chess, to playing The Wizard in the Arena Spectacular production of The Wizard of Oz.
Passionate about acting from a young age, John was delighted to discover live performance at secondary school and an introduction to Shakespeare. John also candidly discusses the circumstances causing him to twice fail the Victorian Leaving Certificate (Fifth Form) exam.
A National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)1969 graduate, John describes his entry audition at Melbourne’s Russell Street Theatre, and shares the challenges encountered by a young graduate to find professional acting work.
John’s memoir, John Wood: How I Clawed My Way to the Middle was published in 2020 by Penguin Books Australia.
Dr Cheryl Threadgold OAM
Cheryl enjoys writing shows such as the 90-minute production The Jewel by the Sea, presented regularly at historic Black Rock House, and the 50th (2003) and 70th (2023) Beaumaris Theatre Anniversary productions. Her award-winning 2019 PhD thesis researched the history and culture of amateur theatre in Victoria, and her PROV (Public Records Office of Victoria) community history award-winning book In the Name of Theatre (2020) is based on the thesis. Cheryl has been guest speaker at Theatre Heritage Australia's 2018 event at Arts Centre Melbourne, and in 2023, joined Barry Dickins in conversation on stage at The Channel.
Since 2005, Cheryl has been honorary theatre writer/review coordinator for the Melbourne Observer and convenes the Bayside U3A Writers Group, casting local actors and directing radio plays by U3A writers for broadcast on 88.3 Southern FM. She presents talks about Victorian theatre history and loves researching/writing/interviewing for Theatre Heritage Australia’s Onstage magazine and Oral History programme.
Cheryl thanks John Wood very much for sharing his story for the Theatre Heritage Australia Oral History archival records.
Sincere thanks to Raymond and Sharon Simms.