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Jack Yabsley

@jackotron

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Regional dad vibes on Dharawal Country
Gold Diggers - @abctv
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👈FOLLOW FOR MORE THEATRE NEWS Please like , comment and share this post if you loving this content 🎉 🌟WORLD PREMIERE🌟 🎭 WHISPERING JACK: THE JOHN FARNHAM MUSICAL Sydney @whisperingjackmusical @jackotron @michaelpaynter @benhall23 @bonnieandersonmusic @harrytargett @sydneytheatreco @mitchellbutel @michaelcasselgroup @gaynorwheatley @m_cassel @carmiedean @goodhumanspr John Farnham. King of Pop. Australian hero. The voice of a generation. Sydney Theatre Company, Michael Cassel and Gaynor Wheatley present the world premiere season of Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical, playing Roslyn Packer Theatre Sydney from 15 November 2026. In an outer Melbourne suburban garage in 1986, Farnham, with a new band and manager Glenn Wheatley, began work on an album and a song called You’re the Voice that would transform his career and their lives. This is the story of an overnight sensation, 20 years in the making.  Starring vocal powerhouse Michael Paynter as the legend himself with Harry Targett being the alternate performer for the role of John Farnham . Joining them will be Bonnie Anderson (Gaynor Wheatley) and Ben Hall (Glenn Wheatley) and Laura Murphy performing the role of John’s wife, Jill Farnham plus a talented team of ensemble members.
 Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical is a celebration, not just of hits like Pressure Down, Age of Reason, Two Strong Hearts and That’s Freedom, but also of friendship, family and a great Australian artist’s desire to shine a light on the world around us. 📍15 Nov 2026 - 3 Jan 2027 Roslyn Packer Theatre Sydney Get excited Australia and get your tickets ! Videos courtesy of @sydneytheatreco and edited and put together by Theatre Australia. More theatre news at theatre-australia.com #theatreaustralia #whisperingjackthejohnfarnhammusical #supportlocaltheatre #johnfarnham #whisperingjack
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👈FOLLOW FOR MORE THEATRE NEWS Please like , comment and share this post if you loving this content 🎉 🌟CAST ANNOUCEMENT🌟 🎭 WHISPERING JACK: THE JOHN FARNHAM MUSICAL Full Cast Announcement @whisperingjackmusical @jackotron @michaelpaynter @benhall23 @bonnieandersonmusic @harrytargett @sydneytheatreco @mitchellbutel @michaelcasselgroup @gaynorwheatley @goodhumanspr Sydney Theatre Company, Michael Cassel and Gaynor Wheatley today revealed the full cast for Sydney Theatre Company’s world premiere season of Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical, playing Roslyn Packer Theatre from 15 November. Joining Michael Paynter (John Farnham), Bonnie Anderson (Gaynor Wheatley) and Ben Hall (Glenn Wheatley) will be musical theatre dynamo Laura Murphy performing the role of John’s wife, Jill Farnham. 
Throughout the season, Harry Targett will be alternate performer for the role of John Farnham.  
Charting John’s career from gigging in RSL clubs in the late 1970s and touring with the Little River Band in the early 1980s to the recording and release of Whispering Jack in 1986 will be: Oliver Lacey as Ross Fraser, Ariyan Sharma as David Hirschfelder, Elenoa Rokobaro as Venetta Fields, Tom Sharah as Darryl Sambell, Stephen Anderson as Graeham Goble and Trent Owers will play both Beeb Birtles and Brett Garsed.  Madeleine Jones will play Cherie Romaro, the 2Day FM radio executive whose instruction to play Farnham’s comeback single You’re the Voice “on the hour, every hour” helped propel Whispering Jack to become the highest-selling album of all time by an Australian artist in the local charts.  Completing the cast will be Calista Nelmes, Chaya Ocampo, Anusha Thomas and onstage swings Shewit Belay, Clay Roberts and Andrew Waldin.  📍 15 Nov 2026 - 3 Jan 2027 Roslyn Packer Theatre Sydney Get excited Australia and get your tickets ! More theatre news at theatre-australia.com #theatreaustralia #whisperingjackthejohnfarnhammusical #supportlocaltheatre #johnfarnham #whisperingjack
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First review in from the Financial Review, The F Ward launches July 17.... https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/four-new-shows-to-stream-20260707-p60dcb
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Michael Paynter was hanging from the monkey bars at a park, while playing with his three young daughters, when he received a life-changing phone call: in the upcoming musical Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical, he had landed the lead role. This happy news hit him with the force of a lightning bolt that flashed back to his childhood: like generations of Australians, he had grown up singing along to Farnham’s mighty pop songbook. “The guy’s my hero; always has been, always will be,” said Paynter, 40, of Farnham. “He’s the greatest singer this country has ever produced, in my opinion. In terms of how I sing, and what I sing, he’s probably taught me – whether unconsciously or not – everything I know about my craft. “If I want to think about how I should sing a song,” he said, “My first thought is WWJD: What Would John Do?” The musical – which shares its title with Farnham’s mega-selling 12th album, Whispering Jack, which this year marks its 40th anniversary – will play in Sydney from November 15. Presented by Sydney Theatre Company, Michael Cassel Group and TalentWorks, the musical will be directed by Mitchell Butel and feature a book written by Jack Yabsley centred on bringing Farnham’s “life, mischief and musical genius to the stage”. The Australian understands its narrative will spill beyond the creation of Whispering Jack – a make-or-break effort from the British-born former child star, whose career had stalled in the mid 1980s – to incorporate some of what came next for Farnham, including the album’s outstanding success and that of its follow-up LP, 1988’s Age of Reason. Paynter may not be a household name just yet, but by working in and around the music industry for more than 20 years – as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, backing vocalist and musical director – he has built a reputation as a committed artist for all seasons. Read more (~4min read): link in bio, 📸 by David Caird. #michaelpaynter #johnfarnham #whisperingjack #whisperingjackthejohnfarnhammusical #2026storiesaus
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IN: banjoes, out of tune pianos, Sydney OUT: male pattern baldness, fathers, MEL terminal 4
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Happy Holidays from Wooden Horse. Our stories define us and connect us, and we are grateful to the creative teams and partners on and off screen that we work with every day to bring these stories to life. We wind up our 6th year with 10 projects reaching audiences locally and overseas. Hurtling to the hiatus with THE CHAPLAIN in its final week of pre-production for a January 2026 shoot, MOTHER AND SON Season 2 garnering AACTA award nominations and cameras rolling on STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE Season 3. Alongside multiple award nods and wins, we also embarked on developing our first kids’ show and continue to build an ambitious development slate. Huge thanks to all our collaborators and our brilliant, passionate team @judetroyirish @richardfinlayson @alexandracameron_ @vanillaitsvanilla @lt.velvet @jackzim @will__lane and exec producer @mattokine. May 2026 bring kindness, connection and many more #storieswelove
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🎉Happy Launch!! 🎉    Sydney Theatre Company’s night of nights was a glittering affair and a buzzy tribute to Artistic Director Mitchell Butel’s incredible 2026 Season. 📷 @davidhooleyphotography
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A John Farnham Musical is coming & I’m already obsessing over casting, the plot & if/how I can somehow insert myself into this production 😭 Need people to spiral & speculate with 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 #johnfarnham #whisperingjack #stc #thatsshowbizbaby
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Southern Highlands shenanigans! #StoriesWeLove with @emmawatkinsofficial @oliverbrian_music @jackotron @mrlawrenceleung @tim_spencer @judetroyirish @richardfinlayson
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Bad Ancestors wins Online Series Production of the Year at the 23rd @screen_producer Awards! This show was produced by an all WOC/AAPI team led by Samoan producer Jess Magro, Papua New Guinean creator/writer Wendy Mocke, Samoan director Vanilla Tupu and Filipino producer Rizcel Gagawanan. We are so proud of this series and this win - which wouldn’t have been possible without the outstanding team of creatives who brought their talents and alofa to the screen - and it shows!! Big love and thanks to SPA for this profound recognition, to the industry for backing us and to everyone who has watched and shared the show with community. Cheers to Pasifika, queer and BIPOC excellence!! 🌺💫💜
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I wanted to share with you all the awesome writers that I’m nominated alongside this year for an @australianwritersguild cause what the world needs more of is community and sharing the successes of our community. I’ll be honest, last year was my quietest writing year in Australia in a long time - as my film opened, travelled etc and that was really hard but this nomination from my peers is just lovely. Our industry has been through a lot and continues to battle to survive so I wanted to take a moment to commend those recognised and those that one day will be recognised and say ‘well f**king done’ ✅ #australianfilm #audreypleasedontdie #indiefilm #awgies #screenwritersofinstagram #screenwriters
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Last nights premiere for Juliet! Every pop hit ever written was in this… blew my mind! Also got to catch up with my ex… cohosts! @sallynanamis & @jackotron 💜💜💜#saturdaydisney @julietmusicalau @sydneylyrictheatre #julietmusicalau
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