🎭 Love Actually? The Musical Parody
🗓️ 5 Dec to 23 Dec
📍 Athenaeum Theatre One
🎟️ loveactuallymusicalparody.com/melbourne

There are some conversations that stay with you long after you wrap the microphones and pack up the studio. My chat with Belinda Jenkin was one of them. Belinda is one of those rare performers who seems to shine from every angle. Actor. Singer. Writer. Composer. Teacher. A creative who has built a career fuelled by curiosity, passion, and an unshakeable love for live performance. With her return to the Athenaeum Theatre this December for Love Actually the musical parody, she gave us an inside look into what it means to live and breathe theatre.

Belinda’s journey began long before NIDA, CAP21 in New York, or touring parody musicals across Australia. It started in primary school when she gathered her friends in the playground and choreographed full performances during lunchtime. She laughs about it now, remembering the thrill of teaching routines and directing her classmates, but even then she was driven by something that felt bigger than simple play. It was the beginning of that creative spark that would follow her into adulthood.

Her first formal taste of musical theatre arrived when she auditioned for a community theatre production of Olivia Twist. She was young and incredibly nervous, but once she got through the door she found herself surrounded by kids who were just as passionate and energetic as she was. It was her first time feeling like she had found her people. That experience would anchor her love of musical theatre for years to come, shaping the artist she would eventually become.

Belinda did not take a straight road from high school into a conservatory. Instead she explored visual arts, contemporary music, voice, and dance. She created cabarets. She began writing with composer William Hannagan. She developed original musicals that were eventually supported by TheatreWorks and later taken to New York for workshops. She and her collaborators landed at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, which later helped bring their show to Melbourne under the title The Gathering at Fortyfivedownstairs with support from the City of Melbourne. This multidisciplinary path gave her the flexibility and range that now defines her work. She can slip between acting, writing, and composing with ease because the foundation she built was always broad and adventurous.

In our conversation she spoke openly about the feeling she gets on stage. She described it as a moment of pure flow, a kind of energetic silence where everything else falls away. There is no stress. No to do list. No distraction. Only presence. Belinda said that when she is in that state she feels connected not only to her fellow performers but also to every person in the audience. It is a sense of happiness that cannot be replicated anywhere else, and it is one of the driving forces behind her ongoing love for live performance.

That love is especially strong in the world of parody musicals. Belinda has built an impressive list of credits in this genre. She has been in Top Gun, Gilligan’s Island, Fifty Shades, The Musical of Musicals, Friends, and most recently Thrones. Each show required her to balance sincerity with exaggeration, which is one of the secrets of good parody. In our chat she explained that the key is not to impersonate a character exactly. Instead the actor leans into the essence of the character, heightens their quirks, and plays with the audience’s existing knowledge of them. This is where the comedy blooms. Parody works when the audience feels like they are in on the joke and when the performers commit wholeheartedly to the world being created.

Belinda also shared how much parody depends on audience interaction. She treats these shows almost like clowning. The performer constantly gauges the room, shifts timing, adjusts delivery, and plays with momentum based on how the audience responds. Every night is different. Every crowd has its own rhythm. When the cast trusts one another, the show becomes a playground of surprise and discovery. That sense of trust is especially important in a show like Love Actually the musical parody where actors juggle multiple roles and switch characters within seconds.

Managing the rapid transitions of Love Actually requires technique and discipline that audiences rarely see. Belinda explained how she uses specific physical or vocal signatures to mark the beginning and end of each character. Sometimes it is a posture. Sometimes it is a breath pattern. Sometimes it is a vocal lift. These little rituals help her reset quickly so she can step cleanly from one character into the next without blending them together. She performs nine roles in the show, each with its own energy, accent, and emotional palette, which makes the preparation both challenging and deeply satisfying.

We also spoke about the humour of Love Actually the musical parody and why it resonates so strongly with audiences. The show takes everything people adore, roll their eyes at, debate, and quote every Christmas about the original film and turns it into something fresh, clever, and joyfully silly. It has alternative endings, original songs, heightened characters, and a cheeky attitude that celebrates all the reasons this movie has become such a cultural ritual. Belinda said that what makes it fun is that the show welcomes everyone. Whether you love the film, love to hate the film, or have never seen it at all, there is something in this production that will make you laugh. It is smart without being pretentious and playful while still honouring what audiences recognise.

Love Actually the musical parody also includes some mature comedy and unexpected surprises, which keeps things exciting for adult audiences looking for a Christmas night out that is not just tinsel and sentiment. At the same time it delivers that warm nostalgic glow that makes people revisit the original movie every December. That balance of comfort and chaos is what gives the show its charm.

Belinda’s passion for teaching was another highlight of our conversation. She has been training students of all ages for more than a decade. She loves helping young performers find their voice, develop confidence, and explore musical theatre as both an art form and a joy. Given her diverse background, she brings a perspective that is generous, practical, and grounded in real experience.

Sitting down with Belinda Jenkin was a reminder of why this art form continues to thrive. It is powered by people who love to tell stories, who stay curious, and who show up again and again because something magical happens when the lights come up and the first note hits the air. Love Actually the musical parody is lucky to have her. Melbourne is lucky to have her. And audiences this December at the Athenaeum are in for something very special