MELBOURNE, Australia—"Don't sit home and wonder. Pick up the phone. Make a booking. Go and see the show, the Chinese Spectacular !"
That was Tom Oliver, whose alter ego is the much loved Lou Carpenter from Australia's longest-running soap opera, Neighbours.
Mr Oliver had just seen the final night of the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular show in Melbourne at the Art Centre's State Theatre.
Nominated for the Australian Film and Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor three times, the sixty-nine year-old UK-born actor has appeared in a multitude of TV shows. His character Lou, now in his seventeenth year, is Neighbour's longest-serving actor. Mr Oliver, who has become a mainstay in global TV with 120 million viewers from 57 countries tuning in each day to the lives of residents in Ramsay Street, found it difficult to select a favourite part.
"There's so many to choose from. From the fan dance, the girls with the long sleeves, but right back at the beginning, too, the one with the waves, it was just beautiful [Nymphs of the Sea]. I love that co-ordination and precision, that wonderful precision of this ensemble."
He felt "uplifted" and was left wanting to go to China, particularly the countryside. "I'm not a city man; I live out in the hills here," said Mr Oliver, who immigrated to Australia in 1963 and now lives in outer Melbourne.
"So coming down to the city to see this is a big trip for me.
"I'd love to get out and see the Chinese countryside. I'm a bit too old to do it on a bicycle though – I should have done that 30 years ago."
Although Mr Oliver has travelled extensively, it was the first time he had seen Chinese dance in a theatre.
"I spent a lot of time in Asia, and while I can't get there because of work, this keeps my appetite going."
"I'm also a singer as well – bass baritone - and I'm very, very impressed with the opera singers tonight and the soprano."
"Being in the theatre I love coming to see these shows from overseas. This one has been spectacular! I spent a lot of time in Asia, not so much in China, but Hong Kong....and I just love to see this type of culture. This has been magnificent!"
The Chinese Spectacular continues its tour in Sydney, beginning Wednesday April 2.
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit:
www.DivinePerformingArts.org.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete coverage please visit:
http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
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