Welcome to a page of various media. Featured heavily are documentaries produced for ABC Radio National, plus a video scattered here and there.
Radio Documentaries –
Just click on the titles below to listen.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go for a drive in your car, or pop into the corner shop for a loaf of bread, naked? For nudists to be naked is to be free and natural but when you want to do it in company – and many nudists seem to be quite sociable – you want to be sure it’s in a supportive environment.
In this program producer Kevin Klehr goes “Swimming with Nudists” and invites listeners to grab a towel and learn about the extraordinary rules nudists must abide by in their quest to feel free. Whether nude bushwalking, playing frisbee or attending an inner-city dinner party, you must never forget the Code of the Nudist.
This program won a Silver Medal at the New York Radio Festival in 2002.
Transient Tales (Video below accompanies this radio documentary)
Tonight, while many of us are tucked snugly in our beds, countless numbers will be seeking refuge under a car, a railway station bench, or a public park. These are the people with no fixed address, learning to live on the streets.
In this program we hear tales from the homeless. Ex-military men explain how they ended up without shelter, while another individual reveals that his family have no idea that he’s dropped out of the rental market.
Jhyimy makes the cliffs of Bondi his home. He shares his stories of surviving without charity. We hear how he feeds himself and his seagull companions, and why a set of golf clubs can be the most important possession in the world.
Everyone deals with the loss of a loved one differently. But how do funeral directors deal with our grief? And what kind of impact does the constant reminder of death have on their lives?
We spend time with people who’ve made death their business to find out how they first got involved with this particular line of work and what the hardest part of the job is.
The Woman Within (Audio Below)
For many wives, the possibility of another woman occupying their husband’s time signals a fear many would not like to experience.
But what if the lipstick on the collar, and the unknown perfume actually belonged to their husband?
This week Street Stories explores the world of the transvestite; everyday heterosexual men who desire to cross dress as women. From a secret clubhouse, we discover their discreet lives, their fashion tips, and the women who love them.
Mitzi Gets Married (Video below accompanies this radio documentary)
After twenty years drag queen Mitzi Macintosh is about to hang up her heels. Her glamorous frocks and outrageous personality have delighted audiences in Sydney’s gay venues.
Her alter ego, Graeme, has married his Welsh partner, Neil. Like most couples they share a house, two dogs and a close circle of friends but they’re about to trade their Sydney lifestyle for a cooler climate. They’re moving to London, leaving Mitzi behind.
Graeme shares both his make-up tips and the secret to putting on a good drag show.
Tears Before Bedtime (Warning – Strong Adult Themes)
For centuries, people have sought sexual expression through bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism. And in every city and town today, you can find (albeit behind closed doors) people turning pain into pleasure, inflicting corporal punishment on a willing victim, or even just being tied up in a room for hours on end.
Some call it recreation, while others regard it as weird and deviant. This feature, clad in black leather, enters the world of Masters and Mistresses, Submissives and Slaves.
This program won a Gold Medal at the New York Radio Festival in 2005.
The Castanet Club (Audio Below)
In 1981, the residents of a share house in Newcastle contemplated the idea of a new cabaret-style venue for the local scene. The result was The Castanet Club; a place where patrons could enjoy dinner, meet with the entertainers, then be treated to a modern vaudeville music and comedy show.
The Castanet Club became a success and soon the team were performing around Australia. They enjoyed a sell-out season at the Adelaide Festival, and were even invited to strut their stuff in Edinburgh. Their fans enjoyed a mix of well-rounded stage characters, legendary lounge tunes, and original material for just over ten years.
With unique concepts like their ‘double-decker bus trip around the world’, teamed with their philosophy that it is okay to be who you are, they made their audiences feel more like participants.
In the nineties, ex-members Steve Abbot, Mikey Robins, Angela Moore and Glen Butcher, enjoyed individual fame on television programs and on radio station Triple J.
In this documentary, The Castanet Club reminisce about their highlights and their lowlights; and share with us the essential ingredients to put on a good show!
The Australian Catholic University is the first local institution to implement the ideas of Earl Shorris, an American who believes in teaching the humanities to the poor. He said that by teaching the disadvantaged literature and art, you would help move them from their journey of poverty.
We join lecturer Michael Griffith and director John Gibson as they introduce their students to the Michael Gow play, Away. This is the final stage of a literature course, and they have to perform a rehearsed reading of the play in order to pass.
Our adult students talk about their lives and share their poetry, as we eavesdrop on their journey to discover the inner thespian.
Several times a year North Melbourne Town Hall is spruced up in coloured lights and disco balls, ready for a night of entertainment. People have marked their social calendars with the words ‘Club Wild Dance Party’, and anticipate an evening of watching performers, grooving to DJs, singing along, and maybe shaking about in their wheelchairs.
For people living with disabilities this is a night away from feeling different, there is no need to explain why someone has a walking cane or may have difficulty seeing. Once the music begins everyone is dancing, without limitations.
Among the live entertainers are members from this community, specially trained for this night of nights. We visit the initial performance workshop, where we meet three colourful characters who take us into their private world, then onto the stage.
Erin has lost her peripheral vision, and with her parents, shares with us the importance of ‘travel training’. Kevin and his wife have bi-polar disorder and talk about life in a one-room bedsit, in a home for people with special needs. Almost-blind Phil tells of dealing with his independence, living alone in his own house.
We revisit the women’s movement of the 1970s with self-confessed feminist Dorothy.
As a teenager, Dorothy becomes pregnant and endures a backyard abortion. Many years later, while married with two children, she decides there must be more to life and begins to volunteer at Elsie Women’s Refuge and then to provide abortion counselling to others.
In today’s program, Dorothy recounts her feelings of awkwardness and excitement within the women’s movement and its effects on her family.
Love On The Menu
A fun short that I entered into Tropfest many years ago. Sadly it didn’t make the final selection. Please excuse the absence of music, but a lesser video quality version with music added lives here.
kevin klehr 