Brooke Satchwell’s new ‘diva-esque saucy’ role

Everything has gone wrong in Brooke Satchwell’s latest production. But is what makes it so right.

The 36-year-old is now starring in a stage production called The Play That Goes Wrong. She is almost unrecognisable in this role, wearing a short black wig and red flapper dress, but she still looks stunning, and is every much the “diva-esque saucy monster” she describes her character as. Brooke plays Sandra Wilkinson, who plays Florence Colleymoore, in the comedy about the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society presenting The Murder at Haversham Manor.

Read and watch more: Get your laughs with The Play That Goes Wrong.

From playing Anne Wilkinson in Neighbours to Packed to the Rafters, Wonderland and even PlaySchool, nothing has prepared Brooke Satchwell for this role.  Talking ahead of the Brisbane leg of the performances, Brooke said not only was it a funny play it was very tightly choreographed, and it has her doing things she never thought she could do. And she admits that sometimes she gets goosebumps at the reaction from the audience. The reaction is, for the most part, laughter. “It is a very rare thing to have an audience laughing for 2.5 hours straight,” Brooke said, but that is exactly what happens during this show.

The show has been described as Fawlty Towers meets Noises Off. Brooke said she hadn’t seen the play before getting the part, but loved watching Fawlty Towers when she was younger. “At any given point someone is laughing at whatever is going on on stage.”

Brooke first came to the attention of Australian viewers through her first ever role, in Neighbours. Since then she has had a mix of roles, including Water Rats and White Collar Blue on television, and on stage with The Graduate. She has also received a number of accolades along the way, winning a Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent and a People’s Choice Award for Most Popular Teen Idol. 

Not everything Brooke has worked on has been in front of the camera. She has worked as a camera operator on documentaries, produced short films and continues to develop her own projects. She also devotes her time to causes she is passionate about, and has been an ambassador for the RSPCA, World Vision and the Make A Wish Foundation.  

Which show to you remember Brooke from?