Shows
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!December 1986December is filled with drama as a party at Marie's gets out of hand, disaster strikes A Midsummer Night's Dream and Penny has to address some rumours at the Pony Club Disco.
Read backstage at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, with fellow soprano Emma during West Australian Opera's, The Pirates of Penzance.
Follow me on Instagram @diary_of_a_diva_podcast, Facebook @diaryofadivapodcast
2025-04-2148 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!November 1986November brings more angst as no-one tells Penny her singing sounds good and she makes an unwise choice for the St. Kate’s Day Balloon Debate. The Rocky Horror Show, contraception, Shakespeare, magic mushrooms and chocolate digestives all get a mention. Recorded in noisy South Fremantle with new friend and pianist extraordinaire Robert Graham. Follow on instagram @diary_of_a_diva_podcast
Cabaret Tickets
2025-02-0140 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!October 1986Penny heads towards her 16th birthday exhausted, ‘sex-starved’ and a bit depressed. St. Helen's school holds a beauty contest, the speculation continues about the ideal way to lose your virginity and Penny has a near death experience in Wales. Follow on instagram @diary_of_a_diva_podcast. Original music by Finn Pearson
2024-12-0154 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!BONUS EPISODE - The Eve of St. AgnesIn this episode I am reading my favourite poem of 1986, John Keats epic, The Eve of St Agnes and the story of how the lovely Madeline 'loses it'. Agnes herself was a 12 year old girl from a wealthy Roman family and, when she refused to marry any of her many suitors (girls can be so picky!) she was killed, oops, I mean martyred. She became the patron saint of virgins and sometime later it became a thing to try to dream of your future husband by following special rituals on on the Eve of St. Agnes, January 20th. I...2024-10-3124 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!September 1986September brings the end of Jesus Christ Superstar, the beginning of the 'big, bad Fifth Form', and the trials of old age! Penny sees her first full frontal naked man (never to be forgotten!) and there are some questionable fund-raising activities at the Village Show. No guests this month, it’s just you and me. How intimate! Follow on Instagram @diary_of_a_diva_podcast
2024-10-1731 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!August 1986Back from camping Penny throws herself back into home activities, rehearsals for Jesus Christ Superstar, riding, and going to the pub. Some unsolicited style advice from London's trendy Kings Road has a lasting effect and listen out for some foreshadowing, references to important characters in Penny’s future love life! My guest is the brainy and glamourous Lilly Stent who brings some valuable Gen-Z insights to proceedings. Follow on Instagram @diary_of_a_diva_podcast.
2024-09-0141 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!August 1986 - the Red DiaryThe French holiday continues and Penny and Hilary are 'on the rampage' once again, no-one is safe! The lake by the campsite appears to be the place to be, but will the girls kiss the right kind of frogs? Neighbour Matt Coomber is this month's guest but only made it to the end of the holiday...more of August to come! Instagram @diary_of_a_diva_podcast, send me a message!
2024-08-0125 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!July 1986 part 2, summer holidayPenny and partner in crime, Hilary, head off on the hovercraft for a camping trip ‘on the Continent’. The girls practice their French, everything from language to kissing and guest, diva extraordinaire Elisa Wilson, provides hilarious insight about her own, quite contrasting holidays growing up in Western Australia. Follow on Instagram @diary_of_a_diva_podcast
2024-07-2044 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!July 1986Brother Chris and Bestie Ruth are guests for the latest flurry of drunken summer escapades, and Lloyd-Webber musicals where it's all hugs, kisses and back stabbing! Do siblings still know how to annoy each other, even in their 50s? And where are Penny’s loyalties when she finally meets, Ruth’s big crush? Recorded in an English spring garden complete with noisy songbirds and panting dogs. Follow on Instagram @diary_of_a_diva_podcast
2024-07-0133 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!June 1986Penny enjoys getting manhandled at the Abingdon School Fete, sets her sights on her Dad's boss's (rich!) son and takes her very first O-level. Things get meta when she find her 1984 diary and finds it 'hilarious'. Cabaret Artist and guest Brendan Hanson (pictured) reveals his early musical tastes, his love of a frosted mullet and an extremely loud laugh!
2024-06-0142 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!May 1986Radioactive strawberries, creepy anonymous letters and a futurist fashion show...but mostly May is about scandal! As previously suspected, 15 proves to be a dangerous age for nice young ladies.
Recorded with fellow cabaret artist, journalist and fashionista Glynis Traill-Nash.
Cabaret Tickets!
2024-05-0147 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!April 1986Disastrous Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, toad rescue, and unsupportive parents all conspire to distract Penny as she obsessively prepares for her all important audition for Jesus Christ Superstar. Read with musician and cabaret collaborator Joe Louis Robinson at home in South Freo. Theme music by Finn Pearson with some added tinkling on the ivories by Joe.
Cabaret tickets!
2024-04-0152 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!March 1986Finally some genuine teenage angst as Penny realises her 'main character energy' is on the wane, she never gets the parts she auditions for and unrequited love rears its ugly head.
Penny and old school pal Marie, revert to their worst teenage selves, have one too many drinks and giggle. You have been warned.
March 1986 is dedicated to the memory of Rebecca Martin.
2024-03-0136 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!February 1986February! The winter weather is too cold to play lax but perfect for tobogganing, gliding and gossiping as school goes a bit 'Meangirls'. We find out how girls learnt to French Kiss in the 80s; (it’s not what you think!) and for the first time some names have been bleeped out to protect the guilty. If you know you know…
Recorded with legendary musician Bourby Webster, on a boiling hot day in ‘Woop Woop’ with occasional noise pollution from husbands making Limoncello on the terrace.
2024-02-0152 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!January 1986Series 3! Penny is joined by her long suffering Mother and her own teenager; 15 years and 3 months at the time of recording, exactly the same as Penny in January 1986. What could possibly go wrong?
Recorded in noisy rural Oxfordshire, complete with passing helicopters, squeaky shoes and bonking fish. Recollections may vary.
2023-11-1844 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!December 1985Christmas Parties are the perfect hunting ground for Penny and her friends, so many boys to G.O.W, but who’s keeping count? That’s right…everyone. Join Penny and musical theatre star Morgan for the season finale, recorded at the Quarry Amphitheatre, with a little surprise at the end, Penny on vocals, Finn on guitar. Enjoy!
2022-12-2356 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!November1985Penny flies to the UK and persuades Tracey, her old rival, to be November’s guest! So many questions in this episode. Will Neil ever call? Does God exist? Who will lose their virginity first? Penny stars in her first ever opera, The Trappisberg Murders, and there is a cameo appearance from Penny’s future husband, Jack. CONTENT WARNING - much giggling.
2022-09-1649 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!October 1985Penny turns 15 and gets her first heady taste of being a groupie as she watches Neil’s band play at the “Harvest Piss Up”. The phone, shared between all the family, won’t stop ringing and is triggering Penny’s PMT making her hate everyone. Worried she is in the friend zone she tries to convince Neil that she is not like other girls…will her plan work? Read with Sass, friend of the pod and easily excited 1980s Catholic school girl.
2022-06-2854 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!September 1985ABC Radio’s Drive Program host, Geoff Hutchison, is Penny’s guest for September; as Embryo Youth Theatre’s performance of Pirates of Penzance continues and show-business tightens its grip on our diva-in-waiting! School recommences, opera rehearsals begin and despite having ‘nothing to prove’ Penny is determined to get off with someone, anyone, as soon as possible. Recorded at home, any attempt to sound professional is ruined by Otto, noisy frogs and pesky crickets.
2022-03-1957 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!August 1985As Penny’s Mediterranean adventure draws to a close the ‘Mystery of the Missing Snog’ is finally solved! August’s guests, musical theatre stars Amber Scates and Ethan Jones, bring a unique insight into The Pirates of Penzance, and we welcome a raft of new characters to the podcast as the Wallingford Corn Exchange becomes the center of the universe. Meanwhile what horrible catastrophe can possibly lead the ever positive Penny to give a day her first 0/10 rating? Recorded in December 2021, the closing night of Cinderella, extremely noisy birds, trains, and the Fremantle Doctor all getting in on the act.2022-01-1847 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!July 1985July 1985 is awash with historic moments; Live Aid takes the world by storm, Boris Becker wins Wimbledon, Madonna poses for playboy and Penny auditions for her first ever opera!
Once school finishes Penny and her family head to France on a hovercraft and the temperature begins to rise...
Armed with “Skinny Bitch” cocktails Penny and Michael Gentle, self-confessed fan and current Teenage Diva, stagger their way through July. Recorded at home on a busy veranda, cameo appearances from all household members.
2021-11-201h 01
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!June 1985June heralds a flurry of summer shopping, swimming and synchronised snogging. Penny, despite still claiming she wants to be a pop star, unleashes her inner Diva and prepares to audition for her first ever opera! Read in Moore River with Olivia (who would NOT have been friends with teenage Penny) and Dani, who might have been.
Music by Finn Pearson, produced by me!
2021-09-0834 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!BONUS EPISODE 1918-19In this unsolicited bonus episode Penny unpacks her Great-Grandmother’s diary with her daughter, Jasmine. During the last great pandemic Louie Pearson took an intrepid voyage from Cape Town, via Sydney to San Francisco on a square rigged sailing ship, accompanied by her husband Eric, the ship’s captain and also by her daughter, 4 year old LuLu. 100 years, 5 generations, 2 pandemics all in 35 minutes! Original music by Finn Pearson, additional sound effects by Otto, the mostly Labrador.
2021-06-3034 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!May 1985Summer term at St Helen’s and St Katherine’s, a month so good we recorded it twice! Fellow Hel Kat and boarder Elizabeth “Poggy” Allison compares her memories of school life with Penny’s - less drinking martini, punting and ice-skating; a lot more eating toast, going to chapel and being chaperoned.
We find out what Radiohead’s Thom Yorke got up to before he was famous and Penny does some accidental oversharing with the Abingdon School boys.
Music as always by the fabulous Finn Pearson, produced and edited by me, Penny.
2021-04-2144 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!April 1985April's guest of the Pod, Jason helps Penny unpack the relative merits of a pair of tight pants and a billowing white shirt; the Mr. Darcy myth, Penny auditions for yet another musical and we find out why Rangers was SO much better than Girl Guides; it wasn’t the uniform.
And in one month Penny, ever the chameleon, channels most of the Spice Girls; lurching from pastel jumpsuits (Baby), to full Goth attire (Scary), intensive Lacrosse training (Sporty), Badminton Horse Trials (posh). Jason remains ginger.
2021-03-0748 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!March 1985March is packed with competitions; music, lacrosse, even walking is about winning. The St Helen's netball team have reached the National Finals but Penny’s ankle is still dodgy after falling down the stairs drunk on New Year's Eve. Will this stand in their way of national domination? Rehearsals have begun for ‘Trial by Jury’; Penny is appalled to find that her costume shows too much decolletage and decides that she pop wants to be a pop singer NOT an opera singer! Recorded in the dressing room at His Majesty’s theatre, Perth, with fellow Cosi Fan Tutte cast members...2020-10-2740 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!February 1985February is all about sharing...sharing private letters, other people’s boyfriends, body parts and we shudder to think how many viruses. Penny, often too unwell to go to school nevertheless indulges in various activities, sledging, trampolining, ice-skating and an unfortunate night at the bowling alley. Singing lessons are going well and Penny lands a role in the Abingdon School musical, but which part? Recorded with fellow diva Fiona Campbell on Rottnest Island after a bit too much rosé.
2020-08-2932 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!January 1985The excesses of New Year’s Eve have left Penny with swollen tonsils, a swollen ankle and a life-long horror of Vermouth. Spiky hair, Bagpuss and Ouija Boards are in; microwave cakes and boys called Ian are out. Penny and this month's guest, baritone Robert Hofmann, discuss their various encounters with European prostitutes. Brand new theme music written by Finn Pearson.
2020-07-2047 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!December 1984December brings a new selection of activities; ranging from carol singing, delivering Christmas Cards around the village and making nativity scenes to laughing at boys, painting her nails black and hanging with the cool kids. The year ends with a school ski trip and the intoxicating combination of vodka, vermouth and vomit, completing Penny's transition from adorable child to revolting teenager. Still mid-pandemic, Penny’s final guest for 1984 is her son Finn, whose opinion of both his Mother and his Grandmother have now been shattered.
2020-06-1247 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!November 1984The cool November weather doesn't stop Penny's hot passion for boys called Dan but it does render Tracy, the Victorian Evening's soloist, unwell and Penny prepares to step in! Will this be her big break? Read in a sweaty room in South Fremantle during Covid-19 lock-down with her own teenage girls who would literally not want to be ANYWHERE else (hum hum!).
2020-04-1540 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!October 1984Studded belts, fingerless gloves, batwing sleeved jumpers are all the rage as Penny turns 14 and is finally winning at boys as well as netball. PGL Danny is out, disco Dan is in and a new life of sex, drugs and rock and roll (well...snogging, beer and Andrew Lloyd-Webber!) unfolds. Production values reach a new low as Penny and guest Tommaso Pollio try to record the podcast at a 'social distance' on a beach in Geraldton; wind, waves, flies and killer seagulls all get in on the act. Made on Friday 13th 2020, the day everything got cancelled.
2020-03-2447 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!September 1984Penny, her brother Chris, and a couple of friends head off parent free on a PGL multi-activity holiday in Wales. Some of the more exciting activities, however, are not advertised in the brochure! Back home Penny receives an unexpected early birthday present in the mail and there is conclusive evidence that the 80s was not a good time to be a goldfish... Read whilst cruising on the Coral Sea with fellow DivaLicious Diva and boarding school escapee Fiona Cooper Smyth.
2020-01-2628 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!August 1984Fellow diary writer and 'podcat' Cathy Cooksey puts an Aussie slant on August 1984, when the LA Olympics were in full swing and being 'on the spectrum' had an entirely different meaning. As another month of endless holidays and irritating activities commences, surfing, folk dancing, donkey racing to name but a few, Cathy (and quite possibly many other listeners!) longs for a day when Penny slumps miserably in front of the telly filled with teenage angst. Will her dream come true? If it does Cathy will be mintoxicated!
2020-01-1256 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!July 1984Summer term at St. Helen's but still no snogging! Penny comes close 'getting off' with someone but fails to seal the deal; blaming the tyranny of too many parents and not enough beer. As a consequence she starts the politically incorrect NSH Club with her friends at Girl Guide Camp. It's worse than you think... Excursions, fetes, parties, plays, concerts are all over and an endless round of holidays, sunburn and strawberries has begun. Read at home in Fremantle with fellow Mother of 4, TV producer and ex-private school wallflower Kate Vyvyan.
2019-11-0441 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!June 1984Things are heating up at the cricket as the "Simon Saga" continues. Frankie says relax but Penny is anything but relaxed when she hears from Tracey (who heard it from Rat who heard it from Woody) that Simon might prefer her to Amanda! Betrayal, deceit, intrigue, Cointreau fuelled midnight feasts, Latin exams, lost knickers, odes to Edward Elgar...June has it all.
Read with operatic tenor and composer Perry Joyce on a boiling hot night in Broome with quite a noisy fridge in the background.
2019-10-0732 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!May 1984Summer term! Tennis, swimming, watching cricket, riding ponies, drinking beers in the pub, all excellent activities enjoyed by 13 year old Penny. The list of lush boys grows ever longer and some even come to Penny's house(!) but unfortunately the only one that seems interested makes her want to puke...
Read with Mandy Orr and Chris Hedges after far too many gin and tonics on Rottnest Island, Western Australia; listen out for the sounds of crashing waves, giant mosquitoes and the clinking of ice.
2019-08-1436 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!April 1984Easter 1984, spring has sprung, the sap is rising and Penny is awash with hormones. No amount of wholesome activities; roller-skating, hiking and bell-ringing can distract her from pursuing every teenage boy that has a pulse. Even at Granny's she's still out 'jogging for boys'. Read with Lucy Burghard on a warm Spring evening, back at the scene of most of the crimes, the garden of her childhood home. The birds are tweeting, the dogs are barking and Marian (Mother!) is pottering, pretending she's not eavesdropping....
2019-07-2638 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!March 1984Read under the critical glare of an actual modern day teenager (Sophie 17) and her mother (Katherine, would rather not say!) the excitement of life in 1984 reaches a peak when Penny skips school, stays home and watches television.
2019-06-2628 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!February 1984Valentine's Day rears its ugly head, the family head off ski-ing and Penny and her friends write to Jimmy Saville so see what he can fix for them. In conversation with broadcasting legend Christian Horgan.
2019-06-2626 min
Diary of a (teenage) Diva!January 1984Opera Diva and comedian Penny Shaw reads her teenage diaries to a variety of horrified guests. Beginning in January 1984 when Penny is 13 and decided, completely, to become a singer.
2019-05-0337 min