Reflecting on an iconic acting career, Virginia Gay says she’s finally found her calling

The veteran actress slaps on the chaps to play beloved Calamity Jane for an exclusive season at her dream venue — but not before she completes her bold sophomore run as Adelaide Cabaret Festival’s artistic director.

Virginia Gay returns as artistic director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2025. Picture: Supplied

I consider myself ... a big old weirdo, so to have gotten a foothold into the mainstream so early in my career is something I am incredibly grateful for. So many opportunities would not have come my way without (starring in the TV shows) All Saints and Winners and Losers. It meant I got to take more risks in my career. I have jigsaw puzzled my way through life – I don’t care if I’m not on screen or on stage for a couple of years, I’m loving being an artistic director.

The thing I love about cabaret is ... that it’s an art form that goes directly from the charismatic performer into the veins of the audience. Along with stand-up, it is the most intimate and personal medium. A generic cabaret that tries to appeal to everybody will never be a successful cabaret.

I always thought being in the spotlight would be ... the be-all-and-end-all for me. But the experience of being artistic director (of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival) has totally transformed me as a person and an artist. It’s been a wonderful ego death for me. I don’t need to be seen as the star, I actually love being the creative powerhouse pushing our incredible team forward.

Virginia Gay returns as artistic director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2025. Picture: Claudio Raschella

I travel the world to ... find the best cabaret acts I think will extend our audience’s idea of what they believe art might be. The remarkable thing about our audience is how hungry and enthusiastic they are. They’re up for anything. Give them the right amount of champagne and they’ll step up on stage. I know, I started as a fan of the festival before I did my first show there. I love the sensation of people taking a chance on shows they’ve never heard of.

Adelaide is such a special place because ... of its people’s tremendous front-footed enthusiasm for art and for seeing things beyond the bounds of their own personal experience. I don’t know how Adelaide has cultivated such a beautiful sense of possibility but it’s a wonderful thing. Whatever it is that they put in the water over there, I wish I could bottle it and send it around the world.

I’ve performed shows at Edinburgh Fringe now four times but ... it always feels like you’re running an artistic marathon. There’s an fantastic sense of community among the performers but we’re hanging onto tiny shreds of hope the entire time. It’s exactly like having a baby – not that I’ve ever had one — but it’s the sensation of thinking you’ll never go through labour again while you’re in it. Then, several months later, you actually remember it as a beautiful moment. I’m not sure any performer actually comes out of The Fringe with a bounce in their step.

My preference between stage and screen is ... whichever one I’m not doing at the time. It’s an awful thing to say. But it’s true. I feel the same when I’m writing. I love the idea of having written, but doing it in the moment is always difficult.

My best work is ... playing the guest role of Rumi (in the second season of) Colin from Accounts. It was an absolute peak in my career because I was a mega-fan of the show before I even stepped onto the set. I loved the feeling of entering my villain era. Rumi absolutely believes she’s the hero of her own story, she’s just in the wrong plotline. The feeling of working with two of your comic heroes and dear friends (show creators Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer) is unparalleled.

“I loved the feeling of entering my villain era,” says Gay, who recently joined the cast of Colin from Accounts in a guest role. Picture: Claudio Raschella

It’s always been my dream to ... perform at the Sydney Opera House. Perhaps that’s true for a lot of performers. I agreed to slap the chaps on for one last ride as Calamity Jane at the Hayes Theatre Company, where I originally performed the show, last year. When I got off the stage I was speaking to (director) Richard Carroll and I said, “God, that was magic, look how the audience loved it. If my knees could take it, I would do that show again.” A week later the Opera House called. I thought, what else could I magic into being… If my knees could take it, I would love to have a house in the Hamptons and intergenerational wealth!

I do worry about ... AI, even if there are times when it’s incredibly helpful. I can always sniff it out – I often see it used it pitch documents or releases. I’m really hoping the next generation will maintain incredible critical thinking skills because the closing of the curiosity gap is so distressing to me. The only thing that assures me going into this futuristic world is the feeling that things created by humans will always feel different. We like our brokenness, our silliness. It’s something the algorithm cannot do.

The Adelaide Cabaret Festival runs from June 5 to 21. Calamity Jane returns from October 14 to November 16 for a limited run at the Sydney Opera House.