Why a return to Neighbours is on Madeleine West’s wish list ahead of her one-woman stage show

The actor, podcaster and activist reveals her Ramsey St dreams now the hit Aussie soap is making a surprise comeback.

Madeleine West is hitting the road with her one woman show, The Very Last List of Vivian Walker. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Madeleine West would love to revive her evil twin storyline on Neighbours now that the beloved soap is back in production after being thrown a lifeline.

“I’m going to have to put that out into the ether and get all the fans to lobby Ten and Amazon to get Dee (Bliss) and Andrea (Somers) back on Ramsay St,” West said.

West was in the thick of creating the Predatory podcast – which she says apart from her six children is her life’s magnum opus – when she was asked to be part of the grand farewell to the beloved soap.

“That tribute to a time in my life that has really defined who I have become and it really required me to really raw and very open, so I was not in a place to go and do TV production,” she said.

“I’d certainly love the opportunity to – if not to bring closure – and at least show the fans what Dee and Andrea have been up to and I’m sure in Andrea’s case it can’t have been anything good.”

Madeleine West as Andrea Somers for Neighbours. Picture: Channel 10

West says she’s up for reviving her iconic Neighbours role. Picture: Justin Lloyd

But that comeback will have to wait as West’s one-woman show, The Very Last List of Vivian Walker, continues its tour around Australia. It’s a live musical and theatrical performance of Megan Albany’s acclaimed novel of the same name,

West morphs into five characters in the production which is a poignant, yet funny, depiction of a dying woman who still has a list of jobs to do – such as cleaning the fridge and tidying the playroom.

While she admits it’s “absolutely terrifying” being largely alone on the stage for two hours, it’s also the ultimate iteration of what an actor craves to do: storytelling. There’s no elaborate sets or costume changes.

West in The Very Last List of Vivian Walker. Picture: Supplied

It’s also meant West’s reflected on what would be on her own last list.

“It would be about doing things that say yes to life,” she said,

“When I take my kids to a birthday party and I’m offered birthday cake, saying yes to that.

“It means saying yes to flinging myself into the ocean regularly.

“It’s yes to laughing loudly and living loudly and loving hard. Just being present.”

The show will also tour Europe and the UK in August. And then the actor, podcaster, activist is looking forward to catching her breath and resettling properly into her Byron Bay home, which was smashed in the devastating floods 12 months ago. Repairs are finally complete and West’s just moved back into her “nest”.

“It’s been a tumultuous couple of months and I feel like I have torn my skin off, but Vivian has been a gift for me and I hope it has been a gift for audiences,” she said. “It’s my way of saying thank you.”

LISTEN TO THE PREDATORY PODCAST

The Very Last List of Vivian Walker, Saturday, Glen St Theatre, Sydney; March 15-16, Star Theatre, Adelaide; March 31, Gasworks Theatre, Melbourne

Originally published as Why a return to Neighbours is on Madeleine West’s wish list ahead of her one-woman stage show