The Lure of Anastasia
Georgina Hopson and Joshua Robson almost ‘drowned’ together on stage when they starred in The Phantom of the Opera. Now the actress and actor/producer have been pitted against each other again as heroine and villain in the Australian premiere of the musical Anastasia. David Spicer reports.
It is a cliché for the new star of a musical to say they have always dreamed of the role since they were a child. But Georgina Hopson swears in her case that it is true. As a little girl in Toowoomba, she jumped on her trampoline singing ‘Journey to the Past’ from the animated movie which has partly inspired the Broadway musical.
“I could not have been more obsessed about it. When I got announced in the role, so many people from different parts of my life messaged me (saying) I remember you talking about this.”
Georgina didn’t dare mention her childhood infatuation at the audition. “I went in thinking I don’t know if this is going to be my gig.”
Now that the “incredible ballgowns” from the musical are being fitted to her waistline, Georgina has a new fascination - the history of the Romanovs. The last royal family of Russia was assassinated in 1918 and since being cast in the role, Hopson has devoured every documentary about them.
“They could not find the remains of two of the Romanov children and that really intrigued people. That's what created this kind of hype that Anastasia, the lost princess, could be alive. She had the best sense of humour in the family and was kind of this wild child. All four daughters were so individual and so different, but Anastasia was cheeky and naughty.”
The search for Anastasia became popular folklore with many imposters turning up during the 20th century. The most famous was ‘Anna Anderson’, who woke in a Berlin hospital after attempting suicide claiming that a picture of the Tsar’s mother was her grandmother.
Anderson sounded Russian and maintained until she died in 1984 that she was the lost Princess. DNA testing later proved she was probably a Polish factory worker. Seven years later, the confirmed remains of Anastasia were dug up in a Russian forest after direction from an amateur archaeologist.
The story of Anna inspired the 1950s Ingrid Bergman movie, the 1997 animated film and later, in part, the musical which premiered in 2017. It starred Australia’s own Caroline O’Çonnor as the Countess, a role which is being played here by Rhonda Burchmore.
Critical reception was mixed. One reviewer described it as a perfectly structured Broadway musical fairytale whilst the New York Times noted that it is hard to turn the Russian Revolution into a perky song and dance musical.
Playing the villain for the Australian premiere is Joshua Robson, as the antagonist Gleb, based on the real-life character of Rasputin. The mad monk is blamed in part for the downfall of the Russian royal family.
Robson says whilst he remembers the movie, it wasn’t part of his childhood.
“Anastasia was not something that I was jumping on the trampoline to.”
What he appreciates now is the musical’s journey of self-discovery.
“Anyone can connect with that; it’s not necessarily isolated to little girls growing up. They've rewritten the (Rasputin like) role to be a much more humanistic antagonist.”
Gleb is sent on a mission by Russia to find and murder Anastasia.
“There are some great scenes between us. He’s an Army soldier that's in charge of stamping out the past, and he's aware that Anastasia is out there. However, he ends up having this conflict, struggling between loyalty, duty and love, of knowing that she is potentially one of these people.
“The script doesn't exactly follow the 1997 animated film, but honours it, and includes five or six of the recognisable songs.”
Robson is a big fan of the writer/composers Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, who have also penned the musicals Ragtime, Once on this Island and Seussical.
“They don't lock themselves into a particular style but go with what the story needs. (For instance) the musicals Ragtime and Anastasia are different in their storytelling, but they're able to lock into the genre of those worlds and create such a great musical landscape for those pieces. (Whilst) Ragtime is playful and bubbly, Anastasia is dignified and Princess-like.”
Not only do Hopson and Robson have surnames which rhyme, they have also shared some celebrated moments on stage together.
In 2022 they starred as Christine and The Phantom in Handa’s Opera on Sydney Harbour.
“There's a video that went viral on the internet where we're performing in monsoonal conditions,” laughs Georgina. “There were sheets of rain like somebody was pouring buckets on our heads. We're singing ‘Point of No Return’, and we're sitting opposite of each other on a table.
“Josh is in his big Phantom hat, and we're supposed to be doing this really tense scene. I look over and all the glasses on the table are filling up with water. The glasses are usually empty, so we take a sip of the drink but on this night, they were full of rainwater. We did the same action, and both got choked on this rainwater - ridiculous!
“My fake eyelashes were progressively falling off. We're just looking at each other continually singing ‘Point of No Return’, whilst also, mentally communicating, ‘Oh my God - when are they going to call a show stop?’ We were literally drowning.”
Thankfully the show did stop soon thereafter, and the cast were soggy but otherwise not the worse for wear.
With all that rain, and masks and costumes in the way I made a huge fax pas with Joshua Robson when I bumped into him in the foyer of Sydney’s Hayes Theatre a few months later.
The confusion arose because Joshua Robson is both an accomplished performer and a regular producer on the music theatre scene.
With his producer’s hat on, I asked what he had been doing lately? Phantom he replied. Which role? The Phantom. Oh, I must have missed you under the mask, I blushed.
The same might happen when Anastasia reaches Sydney in the middle of the year after opening in Melbourne and Perth. By night Robson will be on stage at the Sydney Lyric, by day he will be producing The Addams Family.
Although based in Melbourne, Robson has produced eleven musicals at the Hayes Theatre over the years. His 2025 hit, aptly The Producers, sold out before opening night. Recently his production of In The Heights, which originated at the Hayes, toured to other capitals.
Why does the Melbourne performer produce so much in the harbour city?
“There are a lot more people seeking the opportunity of that mid-tier, creative lily pad, as I call it, in Sydney. I have a strong audience there for independent theatre.”
The productions typically have substantial casts and creative teams which somehow share the proceeds of ticket sales from a 111 seat theatre. Robson described putting on The Producers on that tiny stage as “squeezing a rhinoceros into a tuxedo”. It worked a treat.
The ethos of his company is to aim to at least break even and put money into the kitty for the next production.
So what is harder, being a producer or an actor?
“They both have different pressures. I admit I like being handed a rehearsal schedule (rather than writing one).
“As a producer, you're in charge of a lot of people, you're in charge of the success of the production, you're in charge of making sure that people are happy and that they're working well together.
“A lot of time is spent putting out fires or predicting where fires might be started. Whereas as a performer, you're sort of doing that on a smaller scale.
“Also, you're in charge of looking after yourself and making sure that you stay healthy and can go out there and do that job eight times a week to a professional standard. I don’t like missing performances.”
So, should we expect a miniaturised version of Anastasia at the little Hayes Theatre in a few years’ time?
“Don't even joke about it. I'll be playing all the roles. I'll be Georgina in Anastasia jumping on the trampoline.”
Georgina went back to that backyard in Toowoomba for her most important gig ever earlier this year.
It was her wedding to Andy Seymour, whom she met in the production The Phantom of the Opera – probably on a night when it wasn’t raining.
“We just had the most beautiful day. It was relaxed, but at the same time, such a fun party. And we had an amazing dance floor and food.”
What is she most looking forward to post wedding?
“Well, firstly, getting to sing ‘Journey to the Past’. That is probably going to be one of my favourite on-stage moments, because it closes Act One - singing that with an orchestra. I think that's just going to feel so cathartic, and it's just such a beautifully written song. I love it so much.
“Anya, the character, gets to wear some incredible ball gowns that are Tony nominated designs.
“I also love that there's so much real history that I’ll be able to dive into.”
Photographer: Jeff Busby
Regent Theatre, Melbourne until February 20, 2026
Crown Theatre Perth from March 2026
Lyric Theatre, Sydney from April 2026
Festival Theatre, Adelaide from August 2026
Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.