The Thousands

I’m typing this from a booth at Oxford 130 – the precise location where I first met Russ Pirie. It was immediately evident that Russ believes ‘all the worlds a stage’. He’d bus the tables sottoing show tunes. He’d flamboyantly mock a little two-step to avoid a customer. He’d call me ‘darling’. It was obvious he was destined for the theatre. Russ applied to the VCA and boyfriend got the fuck in!

Now after four years in Melbourne, Russ is back. He’s landed a sweet role in Deckchair Theatre’s Grace (based on the Robert Drewe novel). It’s about a Sydney film critic (Kirsty Hillhouse) who flees to the Kimberley after being hunted by a deranged stalker (yes, ‘gay’ Russ). Even though he’s stealing the show every night, during the day you’ll spot him waiting tables with his old Oxford 130 boss at tigertiger cafe, whistling dixie.