The material on this page is courtesy of Linda McLaughlin (a long time resident, actor, script writer and director), and locals Jenny Ross and Wayne Kelly.
The Rhodo Revue is unashamedly Blackheath-centric. A main event of the month-long Rhododendron Festival celebrations in November, it always has an underlying theme of “being pleased about who we are and where we live”, with original scripts and song lyrics, comedy and lots of local current affairs. It attracts audiences from all over the mountains, Sydney and even further afield. As one fan from Canberra remarked: “I love this kind of thing and yours are the best.”
The 30th Rhodo Revue, the first revue in 1982, was instigated by locals Jenny Ross and Wayne Kelly (and a few of their friends who have since moved away) and was centred around a reluctant Rhododendron Queen. Despite the title, it was actually the 29th Rhododendron Festival! The poster for the revue was painted by Kate Lohse:
The Revue was held in the Blackheath Masonic Lodge, this being the programme:
The local newspaper carried these items:
Arlene Andrews, Antoinette Krakowitzer, Carol Elliot, Linda McLaughlin, Jenny Ross, Lesley Wright
in rehearsal
Everything Old is New Again, the 25th anniversary Rhodo Revue in 2007, was about how the 1982 Revue came about.
The Rhodo Revue was held annually until 1990 and revived in 2006. Below are posters or program cover pages from 2006 to 2019. If you click on a poster it opens without the caption at the bottom.
photo Trish Davies
Blackheath Rhododendron Festival 