Roy, Mungo and Hamish Trumble By Geraldine Archibald
IMAGINE a cabaret act with a chorus of very large tap-dancing boys on the stage of one of Fitzroy’s coolest pubs, and you can begin to imagine the colourful life of one of Wonthaggi Theatrical Group’s latest recruits to the stage, Hamish Trumble.
Hamish Trumble is the father of Roy, 15, and Mungo, 17. They live in Inverloch and are all in rehearsal mode for WTG’s upcoming production, Jesus Christ Superstar.
IMAGINE a cabaret act with a chorus of very large tap-dancing boys on the stage of one of Fitzroy’s coolest pubs, and you can begin to imagine the colourful life of one of Wonthaggi Theatrical Group’s latest recruits to the stage, Hamish Trumble.
Hamish Trumble is the father of Roy, 15, and Mungo, 17. They live in Inverloch and are all in rehearsal mode for WTG’s upcoming production, Jesus Christ Superstar.
They’re all really tall, especially Mungo, who’s 1.95 metres, and share a passion for garage sales and vintage stuff.
The boys have been a part of the theatre group for a few years now. Roy’s passion was fuelled when he made his stage debut as one of Fagin’s orphans in Oliver! in 2010. He joined the cast of 13 last year and loved it.
“We had so much fun and I’m loving reconnecting with some of the same cast in Jesus Christ,” he says.
Mungo’s theatre world opened up when he found himself involved backstage with Oliver!. “Roy was in the ensemble but I wanted to learn the backstage technical stuff,” he says.
After Oliver, he helped to build the sets for 13 and the new performance studio at the Wonthaggi State Coal Mine. He recently won the Gwen Derrick award, “The Gwenny”, a youth development award that pays for local kids to study or travel to hone their skills and pursue their dreams in theatre and stage production.
He’s hoping to study stage and set design and construction at the Victoria College of The Arts next year.
Hamish assumed that, with a few years of theatre behind them, the boys would audition for JC, but they weren’t too keen to begin with.
“We loved Oliver and 13,” Roy says. “We made heaps of friends and had a ball, but we knew the hard work involved.”
Hamish was keen to get the boys back, on or off stage. He thought their involvement with the theatre group had played a big part in building their confidence.
“Theatre crosses the boundaries of age and culture. You just don’t get this sort of opportunity every day. So I said, ‘If it makes a difference I’ll put my hat in the ring and audition, too’.
“The boys had recently watched me perform one of my old comedy cabaret numbers where I sawed my dog, Macro, in half, and they were excited to get me on to the stage with them. So they agreed to audition for JC.”
Hamish’s audition was successful and although he can’t quite cut it with the tenors, “like I used to as a teenager”, he is enjoying the life of a baritone in this very hip rock musical.
“The show is really cool,” Roy says, “and the costumes are awesome.”
Jesus Christ Superstar is directed by Wayne Moloney, who was nominated for a series of awards for his outstanding performance as Fagin in Oliver!
Oliver! director Karen Milkins-Hendry says directing is a natural progression for him as a very skilled and hard-working actor, greatly respected by the other cast members.
Wayne says Jesus Christ Superstar is a contemporary version of the 1970s hit production, with a “contemporary interpretation” of the roles, characters, sets and music.
“It’s not much different today from how it was in Christ’s time. The people are looking for a Messiah, they’re fighting for nationhood and they’re looking for peace.”
Hamish said the junior Trumbles needed some filling in on the story of Jesus Christ when they landed their roles.
“I came from a religious family and we’ve kind of sheltered the boys from religion. We’ve had to fill in some of the gaps.”
Jesus Christ Superstar will show at Wonthaggi's Art Centre from the end of May.
The boys have been a part of the theatre group for a few years now. Roy’s passion was fuelled when he made his stage debut as one of Fagin’s orphans in Oliver! in 2010. He joined the cast of 13 last year and loved it.
“We had so much fun and I’m loving reconnecting with some of the same cast in Jesus Christ,” he says.
Mungo’s theatre world opened up when he found himself involved backstage with Oliver!. “Roy was in the ensemble but I wanted to learn the backstage technical stuff,” he says.
After Oliver, he helped to build the sets for 13 and the new performance studio at the Wonthaggi State Coal Mine. He recently won the Gwen Derrick award, “The Gwenny”, a youth development award that pays for local kids to study or travel to hone their skills and pursue their dreams in theatre and stage production.
He’s hoping to study stage and set design and construction at the Victoria College of The Arts next year.
Hamish assumed that, with a few years of theatre behind them, the boys would audition for JC, but they weren’t too keen to begin with.
“We loved Oliver and 13,” Roy says. “We made heaps of friends and had a ball, but we knew the hard work involved.”
Hamish was keen to get the boys back, on or off stage. He thought their involvement with the theatre group had played a big part in building their confidence.
“Theatre crosses the boundaries of age and culture. You just don’t get this sort of opportunity every day. So I said, ‘If it makes a difference I’ll put my hat in the ring and audition, too’.
“The boys had recently watched me perform one of my old comedy cabaret numbers where I sawed my dog, Macro, in half, and they were excited to get me on to the stage with them. So they agreed to audition for JC.”
Hamish’s audition was successful and although he can’t quite cut it with the tenors, “like I used to as a teenager”, he is enjoying the life of a baritone in this very hip rock musical.
“The show is really cool,” Roy says, “and the costumes are awesome.”
Jesus Christ Superstar is directed by Wayne Moloney, who was nominated for a series of awards for his outstanding performance as Fagin in Oliver!
Oliver! director Karen Milkins-Hendry says directing is a natural progression for him as a very skilled and hard-working actor, greatly respected by the other cast members.
Wayne says Jesus Christ Superstar is a contemporary version of the 1970s hit production, with a “contemporary interpretation” of the roles, characters, sets and music.
“It’s not much different today from how it was in Christ’s time. The people are looking for a Messiah, they’re fighting for nationhood and they’re looking for peace.”
Hamish said the junior Trumbles needed some filling in on the story of Jesus Christ when they landed their roles.
“I came from a religious family and we’ve kind of sheltered the boys from religion. We’ve had to fill in some of the gaps.”
Jesus Christ Superstar will show at Wonthaggi's Art Centre from the end of May.