Fans of Dolly Alderton flocked to the Arts Centre’s Hamer Hall on Thursday night excited to see the British author, but many left feeling frustrated with the event’s host, podcaster and motivational speaker Hugh van Cuylenburg.
Fans say Alderton, who is touring Australia to discuss her career and her latest book, Good Material, wasn’t made the focus of the show, but that van Cuylenburg dominated the discussion with personal anecdotes and extended tangents.
British author Dolly Alderton (pictured in London in 2022) is touring Australia at present. Credit: NYT
Attendees who spoke to The Age and those posting criticism on social media say people called out “let her speak” and shared collective groans as the interview by van Cuylenburg continued.
Kate Sansone, an Alderton fan who had travelled from Adelaide to attend the show, said she felt van Cuylenburg spoke for 75 per cent of the event.
“Everything she [Alderton] said was, like, amazing, and I feel like she handled it so well, but it was just kind of tainted the experience,” Sansone said.
“In that first half, people were kind of starting to echo, being like: ‘Ask her a question, ask her a question’, but not really loud.
“[During the] intermission, everyone was talking about it. And then we came back, and then they sat down. And then [ van Cuylenburg] was like, ‘All right, I’m gonna tell you a story’ and the entire room just groaned.”
Another attendee, who spoke anonymously to The Age to freely express their opinion, said: “I’ve never really experienced anything like that in a theatre.
“I think that was the first time he really noticed that he’d lost the audience.”
Hugh van Cuylenburg.Credit: Tina Smigelski
The attendee also said van Cuylenburg, who is known for encouraging healthy masculinity and vulnerability, was well-meaning but ultimately unsuited to the format of the show and its largely female audience. Van Cuylenburg founded the Resilience Project in 2011 and rose to prominence speaking openly about his personal experiences.
“I think he’s definitely well-intentioned, I don’t think he went out there to take over on purpose.
“I think it’s, you know, indicative sometimes of, yes, you can try to do things right, and you can try to show vulnerability, and you can try to come at things a different way, but patriarchal standards are so ingrained that sometimes you just don’t notice when those things come out.”
Van Cuylenburg is the only man to host an event during Alderton’s tour. Alderton’s next leg of her sold-out show will be in Brisbane on November 17, after which she heads to New Zealand.
Alderton’s first book, the memoir Everything I Know About Love, has been adapted into a TV show. She also hosts a popular podcast and is a columnist for The Sunday Times.
Promoters of An Evening with Dolly Alderton were contacted but declined to comment. Representatives for van Cuylenburg have been contacted for comment.