“It was the icing on the cake. I got to work with
John and got stabbed by Jackie,” laughs Wyllie.
“That’s always fun. A stiletto through the
forearm! You can’t beat that from anyone.”
As well as the familiar faces on display
and star turns by David Wenham and Sophie
Lowe, a healthy dose of fresh blood has been
injected into the show’s complex narrative as
Empire can see from this evening’s proceedings.
Huddled between the dinner jackets and
sequins are a group of youngsters who do not
look like they belong — probably because of the
dyed hair, beanies and Doc Martens. One of
the young thespians is central to events tonight.
A Steadicam camera follows Cindy, played by
newcomer Markella Kavenagh, as she weaves
through the crowd of party-goers while a DJ
silently punches the air to an imaginary beat.
She spies Brumpton and is soon in a heated
conversation with him. “We’re telling the
story for both generations now. It may be 20
years later but the anger is still there. Anger
does not just fade, it morphs itself to the
relevant issues of today’s society. That’s why we
are telling this story from all sides.”
The young actor with the weight of
Romper Stomper’s history bearing down on his
shoulders, however, is Toby Wallace, who
grabbed attention for his role as Corey in
Nicholas Verso’s Boys In the Trees. He plays
young right-wing activist Kane who has some
big boots to fi ll, as Wright explains. “I think,
when you say this character may be the son of
Russell Crowe’s character, which is our conceit,
people then have the expectation that you’re
going to look for the next Russell Crowe.
However, I think this is a mistake for two
reasons. Firstly, because there isn’t one, and
secondly because it’s a bad idea dramatically
because the son needs to be different from the
father because the son is not the father. And
that’s the whole point of our story. Toby is very
different to Russell. Russell was a bull, Toby is a
panther. They are both very different animals,
but they will both kill you if you treat them the
wrong way,” he laughs.
As the rain and temperatures begin to fall
and the extras huddle under blankets to keep