Melbourne-born, Suzanne Jones embarked on a career in main stage live entertainment after completing degrees in economics and music. She got her start in the entertainment industry as a sound engineer at Arts Centre Melbourne, which soon led to the role of Head of Sound for System Sound, touring large-scale music theatre productions around Australia and Asia.

After a hiatus of several years to explore other industries and interests – including a successful stint as a stockbroker – Suzanne’s love of live entertainment ultimately drew her back, joining the team at the Gordon Frost Organisation. During her time with GFO Suzanne produced dozens of Australian tours in various capacities, which provided the blueprint for her own dynamic and rewarding career pathway.

A dynamic commercial executive in the world of theatre and live events, Suzanne has drawn on her close connections with some of the world’s foremost creators of live entertainment and a global network of trusted promotional partners to deliver the world’s most loved and most prestigious productions to audiences in Australia and across the globe.

Her unerring commitment to bring the most iconic music theatre productions and live events to Australia has helped showcase the exceptional talent pool that exists in this country, across performance, design, technical and commercial roles, while delivering a positive social and economic impact.

Forming her own company, JONES, in 2017 was the culmination of this experience. It is under this banner that Suzanne co-produced the Australian tours of the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Wizard of Oz, Chicago The Musical, Pippin, 9 to 5 The Musical, Madagascar, 2:22 A Ghost Story.

Recent productions have included the brand new interactive magic show Metaverse of Magic, the current tour of Chicago The Musical and the Australian premiere of Peter and the Starcatcher.

Inspired by the idea that theatre has the capacity to transport the audience, Suzanne is committed to producing shows which offer audiences an opportunity to transcend everyday life to spend a few hours experiencing exciting new possibilities that shift their thinking.

Suzanne is also motivated to contribute to her community and to act as a mentor for young, disadvantaged LGBTQI+ people by helping them to access opportunities that might otherwise seem out of reach.

In 2025 JONES Theatrical Group is looking forward to presenting Hadestown with our wonderful partners at Opera Australia as well as the return of the smash hit musical The Book of Mormon.

Suzanne lives in Sydney with her wife, Leone, and their dog, Boots.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

www.stagespodcast.com.au

Australian audiences over the past two decades have been thrilled by the periodic performances directed by dynamic UK theatre visionary, Emma Rice. Productions of Tristan & Yseult, The Red Shoes and Brief Encounter have enthralled attendees at Sydney and Melbourne Festivals.

She returns to our shores in January 2025 with her company Wise Children and an acclaimed production of Wuthering Heights, playing an exclusive and limited Sydney season prior to a South East Asian tour. Anyone who has ever seen an Emma Rice production knows that we are to be treated by another glorious experience of consummate story-telling.

Emma Rice is the proud Artistic Director of her company, Wise Children, and an internationally respected theatre-maker and director.

For Wise Children, Emma has adapted and directed the productions The Buddha of Suburbia, Blue Beard, The Little Matchgirl and Happier Tales, Wuthering Heights, Bagdad Cafe, Romantics Anonymous, Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers and Angela Carter’s Wise Children.

As Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe: Romantics Anonymous, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Little Matchgirl (and Other Happier Tales).

As joint Artistic Director of Kneehigh: The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Tristan & Yseult, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, The Wild Bride, The Red Shoes, The Wooden Frock, The Bacchae, Cymbeline (in association with RSC), A Matter of Life and Death (in association with National Theatre), Rapunzel (in association with Battersea Arts Centre); Brief Encounter (in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers Productions); Don John (in association with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic); Wah! Wah! Girls (in association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East for World Stages); Steptoe and Son and the West End production of Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Emma received the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre award at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards and in 2022 was named one of Sky Arts’ ‘50 most influential British artists of the last 50 years’.

The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).

www.stagespodcast.com.au

Stuart Maunder is Artistic Director of Victorian Opera. Beginning his career in stage management at the then Australian Opera, Maunder has a long history in opera, as a director and arts administrator.

He served in senior management roles at Opera Australia from 1999 to 2008 before being appointed General Director of New Zealand Opera in 2014. He was appointed Artistic Director of State Opera South Australia in 2018. In his time at State Opera, Maunder proved himself a passionate advocate for finding a distinctive Australian voice, championing Australian repertoire, developing the next generation of Australian artists while still pursuing a balanced repertoire designed to reach the widest possible audience.

His work as a director is highly revered and has ensured Stuart Maunder has remained a consistent presence on Australian stages for over three decades.

A frequent collaborator with Victorian Opera, Maunder has directed several popular productions including four musicals by Stephen Sondheim (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, A Little Night Music), Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen and a co-production of Richard Meale’s Voss with State Opera South Australia. Maunder’s production of Sweeney Todd was co-produced with New Zealand Opera and toured New Zealand and Australia following its debut in 2015.
Victorian Opera recently announced their exciting season for 2025. Stuart Maunder joins STAGES to elaborate on this exciting season and to share great insight into a celebrated career.
The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au