Where There’s A Will

Will Conyers is about to embark on a brand new Cabaret show…his first in 14 years.

Coral Drouyn puts her tongue firmly in her cheek to herald Mr Conyers Second Coming.

If there is anyone in the world of Musical Theatre who doesn’t know who Will Conyers is, I can only ask; “Where Have you been hiding?”. Like Little Jack Horner on Prozac, Will has his fingers in so many pies it’s hard to keep track. And he certainly pulls out plenty of plums. As a performer he has “graced” (though there may be a more appropriate word) our stages in more than 20 musicals; as an actor on TV he’s made his mark in everything from The Flying Doctors to Neighbours…and he’s even been a frill-necked Lizard in the ABC’s Lift-Off; a part which called on all his artistic training – which he then threw out of the window in preference for having a good time.

Then there are his directing forays…and there are so many names to drop that Will has to have an assistant follow him around picking them up again….(Both Lorna Luft and Stephen Schwartz object to being man-handled…for different reasons). Seriously though, the man is unstoppable, even after more than 40 years. He’s lectured at every performing arts institution, including as Artist-in-residence at WAAPA; hosted Broadway at Bedtime on JOY 94.9, been Artistic Director for Downstairs at Alma’s and is still one of the most sought after Vocal Coaches in the entire country (an hour with Will on your vocal case can undo the bad habits of a lifetime without proper direction).

So what does this pixie-like man do in his spare time? I thought you’d never ask! In 2000 Will did not one but two sell out cabaret seasons with Under The Influence. He loved every minute of it but certainly didn’t expect to do it again. Instead he poured his creative juices into “Downstairs at Alma’s” as well as judging various Festivals and even heading the panel for The Green Room Awards for Cabaret and Musical Theatre. But then he found that he DID have spare time; sometimes as much as….ooh…twenty minutes a day; and new ideas started to form. Seriously though, Will started thinking, about a year ago, of doing another cabaret show.

"I really do music theatre, not cabaret. But an idea came to me that I knew the boys at

Kado, Matt and Gavin, would love. Kado is such an intimate and deliciously quirky space, I had to come up with a show to match," Will explained.

Kado Warehouse is tucked away in Cremorne Street, Richmond, and is a welcome addition to the Melbourne Cabaret scene. Matt and Gavin, whose baby it is, are excited, Will is excited, and we should be excited to.

Will’s idea came to him while working with a female vocal student. She was singing “One Of The Girls” from Kander and Ebb’s Woman of the Year. “I hadn’t thought about it before that,” Will says, “but I realised that all the very best show tunes, the real belters, or the exquisite torch songs, are written for women – and largely by men who are either mysogynists, gay or well-known for their own dysfunctional love lives.” (Which just about covers every composer who ever lived!)

So, starting tomorrow (May1st) Will will (no, that’s not a typo) subjugate his male hormones, throw away his sequinned jockstrap and become One Of the Girls. He won’t be alone. The marvellous Martin Croft (Les Mis, Phantom, Cats) will be Will’s special guest and the two have even written some special material for the show together. The Uber-talented Shanon Whitelock will accompany them and hopefully try (but not too hard) to keep them in order. True, blissful, clever cabaret is a rarity these days. Most of what passes could be more correctly called Burlesque. So if you want genuine talent rather than body parts thrust in your face, then Will Conyers is One of The Girls is bound to be a triumph. I’ll be at the opera in person, but with Will in spirit. Like one of Will’s “girls” I love a Cabaraaaayyyyy (hold that last note).