Illawarra entertainer Tia Wilson will soon be snipping her curly locks to transform into the former NSW premier in the comical Gladys: A Musical Affair. Photo: Karen Lateo.
Tia Wilson needs a haircut. And her wardrobe of colourful, power-shouldered blazers is due for a dry clean. Only then will the musical comedy star be ready for her next big gig: reprising the starring role of Premier Gladys Berejiklian in Gladys: A Musical Affair.
The witty political satire returns to Wollongong after a hit debut season at the 2024 Sydney Fringe Festival and regional venues. The 14 March show at the IPAC in Wollongong kicks off a four-month statewide tour.
Talented Tia, a stalwart of the local entertainment scene, said she’d been preparing for this spotlight-stealing part since the age of six, when she first decided she wanted to be a performer.
“I sang Leaving on a Jet Plane in front of my father’s friends,” Tia smiled at the memory.
“I’d forgotten the words, but I persevered. You hear that first round of applause and it never stops, that longing for it.
“I was very self-conscious as a young girl,” she admitted. “With drama, I found I could be a character and hide behind that. I felt this incredible release and the acknowledgement that I’d found something I was able to do.”
Tia is a Macquarie University drama graduate but, as she explained: “The pragmatist in me realised that I probably might not be the Hollywood star that everyone wants to be when they’re pursuing drama. I realised that I’d have to actually earn a living.
“So, I also managed to get a teaching degree out of it. I knew from my mother’s experience – I was the first kid on the block whose parents divorced – how important it was for women to have an income and to be allowed a choice in what you do.”
What followed is a career that redefines the term “colourful”.
A stint in Japan, which began with backpacker Tia teaching English, changed when she found an accordion in a Tokyo hard rubbish pile.
She created an accordion-playing clown character and was flown across the country to play at festivals. It’s now Tia’s signature musical instrument, as the audience of Gladys will discover.
Returning to Sydney, Tia was swept into the festival scene. She won awards for Nana Obscuras, an absurdist musical duo parodying 60s Greek pop star Nana Mouskouri, with friend Betty France (now of Thin White Ukes fame).
Later, there was Tia Juana and Her Depths of Despair, Tia Juana and her Multicoloured Moods of Love … all musical, all comical, often feminist and always boosting her reputation.
A move to Wollongong in 1997 saw Tia juggle her entertainer urges with teaching – a role that’s anchored her life.
“Teaching is a kind of performance. It’s like five shows a day in high school. You’ve got your audience there and you’re selling an idea.
“I do think one of my strengths in teaching is my ability to engage students. I really do enjoy it when you see that light turning on with young people.”
Between shaping young talents at several Illawarra high schools, and raising two now-adult daughters, Tia has also taught in many community organisations.
She’s worked with migrant women’s groups, prisoners on probation and parole, the TAFE drug court program, and TAFE Outreach. Add singing coaching to that impressive resume, plus musical director at the Nan Tien Temple choir and, currently, the Kiama Illawarra Pride Choir.
“I do believe in the magic of singing and sharing it,” she said.
“The enthusiasm and warmth that comes from the Pride Choir is wonderful. It’s all about the pleasure and health of singing: it’s an immediate cut-through for one’s mental health, one’s physical health.”
Tia is also a regular at the annual Illawarra Folk Festival. From a band called Cheeky Tzatziki, she blossomed into a solo act, performing original comedy material.
“I realised the folk community was such a beautiful, rich, creative place,” she said. It led to emceeing at Port Kembla’s The Vault, cabaret shows, and then, one fateful day 12 years ago, the chance to perform with a bloke named Nick Rheinberger.”
It took seven years for Tia and Nick’s professional and romantic planets to align. This year’s Illawarra Folk Festival marked their fifth anniversary as Rheinberger and Wilson, the duo and the couple.
Weathering a new relationship through COVID, they came up with a topical skit: Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s 11 am media conference, with Tia as Gladys and Nick playing Health Minister Brad Hazzard.
“It came from our frustration with the politics of the time, the misinformation going around,” Tia recalled.
The videos, shot in their bedroom, went viral on social media and the seed of Gladys: A Musical Affair took root.
While ABC Illawarra presenter Nick wrote the music and lyrics, the script is a collaboration, and Tia is the show’s director.
Illawarra musician mates Mel Wishart and Rob Laurie flesh out the ensemble of zany characters. Tia has the lead, with Nick reprising Brad Hazzard and bringing to life the Premier’s beau, Daryl Maguire. The tour takes them to larger theatres, including two nights in Maguire’s hometown, Wagga Wagga.
“I find Gladys a very powerful woman and what happened to her is very complicated and fascinating,” Tia explained.
“That fall from a great height: ‘The Woman Who Saved Australia’, to ‘Oh, he done me wrong’ – it’s a kind of a cautionary tale.
“People have mentioned that there’s a similarity in our looks before, an uncanny resemblance … in a certain way,” Tia laughed.
“I feel meeting Gladys is my destiny. But I haven’t yet worked out what I’d say to her!”
Catch Gladys: A Musical Affair at the IMB Theatre, IPAC, on Friday 14 March. Tickets are available via the Merrigong Theatre Company.
Loading ...
