#nicolette minster

[newsatsix1986]

Helen Norville - A Woman Who Can Laugh! Even at herself! 😉

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Who else cannot stop smiling watching Helen watch a comedian parody her on the telly? Her cackles were so joyous and infectious, and demonstrates the good humoured nature, when she’s in the mental health headspace to support it.

Helen’s impressionist is played by Nicolette Minster, and didn’t Nicolette give it her all! She nailed Helen’s on-camera brashness and exaggerated Helen’s volatility to the extreme, which thankfully Helen was flattered and delighted by!

The late 1980s and early 1990s was an incredible period of time for women on Australian comedy television, lovingly parodying other women in the media. Over at The Big Gig on the ABC, Jean Kittson brought to life her character of Veronica Glenhuntly; very clearly inspired by the ABC newsreader Mary Delahunty. Some of Nicolette’s body language whilst playing Helen also reminds me of Jean’s very wild and loose flight attendant character too. I met Jean in 2018 at my local library!

Turn over to Fast Forward on Seven, and a certain actress was doing her lions share of female media personality parodies; Ms Marg Downey, our very own Evelyn Walters! Marg was a small screen star during this time, and a household name. Her hilariously deadpanned performances as the SBS Lady demonstrated just what an extraordinary talent she is. As each season went along, the SBS Lady’s movements became more stiff, to the point where Marg wouldn’t even blink.

Throughout her time on Fast Forward and The D Generation, she also parodied journalist Jana Wendt. The drawl of her voice, the hand up to her cheek and the tilt of her head made her look and sound frightfully like Ms Wendt. In a 60 Minutes piece from 1989, Mike Munro showed Wendt Marg’s impersonation, and Ms Wendt was that impressed that she gave Marg a rating of a “good solid eight and a half” out of ten! Looks like our Marg was a talent to be reckoned with even in the real 1980s!

Have you seen Marg’s impression of Jana Wendt? If you haven’t, treat yourself to a viewing session on YouTube and see for yourself how incredible Marg has always been!

(Images sourced from Google or screenshot from YouTube videos)

Some Clips Of Interest:

[nofatclips]

Rebooted, a short film written and directed by Michael Shanks

[newsatsix1986]

Dale, Jean, Ross and others in The Newsreader’s S03E06 ❤️🌟📺

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Ever since the clapperboard image was shared on Screen Australia’s Instagram account back in September 2024, I had been eager to see the entirety of this scene, which would end up being one of the opening scenes of our series finale.

Now, having seen it multiple times, it is a scene as jubilant as it is saddening. It was a thrill seeing another appearance by Andy Matthews, playing Comedy Sketch Dale, and hearing Nicolette Minster’s voice in the background too, as Comedy Sketch Helen. The News At Six team were having a wicked time cackling away as the comedian took the mickey out of their star newsreader, and this was yet another nod to Australia’s love of sketch comedy programmes in 1989, such as Fast Forward, The Big Gig and The Comedy Company.

As much as parodies such as Dale’s are fondly remembered retrospectively, this scene also shows the other perspective; the impact that constant jibs and jabs can potentially have on those at the centre of the jokes. Although it wouldn’t be entirely true to suggest that being parodied on television was the sole cause of Dale’s deteriorating mental health, it certainly played a role; especially when it was later suggested that he appear alongside his comedic impressionist to improve his public image. People rated Comedy Dale more than Real Dale.

Unlike Helen, who had the self-belief to be able to brush off her parody as just silliness and not a true reflection of who she was, Dale did not have the self-belief to be ‘in’ on the joke. As someone who was already struggling with feeling as though who he was was never enough to be accepted by society, to see a comedian tear into his attempts of putting his best version of himself out there must have stung dreadfully. To see his coworkers laughing and not realising how much he was falling apart, it must have been agonising.

Having a laugh and playfully jabbing at others can be a lot of fun, but efforts must be made to check if they’re truly in on the joke too. You never know what people are going through, and that’s why we should always strive to be as mindful and respectful of our fellow humans as possible.

[lifekitt]

An article I wrote for Aphra Magazine on Nicolette Minster's performance as part of the 2014 Festival of Voices.