Marta Dusseldorp in ‘Wentworth’ (Photo credit: Sarah Enticknap).
In a world away from A Place to Call Home, Marta Dusseldorp has donned the prison track suit with a guest role in Foxtel’s Wentworth, which resumes shooting this week.
Her character Sheila Bausch, a senior figure in the True Path cult, is on remand, charged with the murder of nine people at the cult’s retreat.
Described as highly intelligent, charismatic and manipulative, Sheila worked as the personal secretary for True Path’s founder Dr Mendel (Brian Vriends).
The Fremantle production re-starts after shutting down on March 23, just before a planned hiatus. The show has the advantage of being shot in its own large building in Melbourne, which has the flexibility of moving scenes set in a small cell to a bigger cell.
Executive producer Jo Porter, who is Fremantle’s director of scripted, said: “We have carefully adjusted our production processes to ensure the health and well-being of our team and at the same time ensured we are able to maintain the integrity of our storytelling.”
There are no changes to the storylines from the team of writers led by script producer Marcia Gardner, working with John Ridley, Kim Wilson, Max Conroy and Pete McTighe.
The directors are Kevin Carlin, who directed the first episode way back in 2013 and, fittingly, will direct the concluding episode 100, Beck Cole, Fiona Banks, Corrie Chen, Roger Hodgman and Mat King.
Kate Box with director Kevin Carlin (Photo credit: Sarah Enticknap).
The guest cast also includes Peter O’Brien, Kevin Harrington and Tom Wren. Supported by Film Victoria, series 8 premieres on Fox Showcase at 8.30 pm on Tuesday July 28. Now filming with Pino Amenta as series producer, part B of season 8 will debut in 2021.
The returning cast comprises Leah Purcell, Pamela Rabe, Kate Atkinson, Katrina Milosevic, Robbie Magasiva, Kate Jenkinson, Bernard Curry, Rarriwuy Hick and Susie Porter.
Among the new additions are Kate Box, Jane Hall, Zoe Terakes and Vivienne Awosoga.
Dusseldorp’s character has a lot of scenes with Marie Winter, played by Susie Porter. “I did Paradise Road, my first film with Susie, when I was 19,” Marta says.
“We’ve been together on Janet King as well. We really love working with each other. We’ve got quite similar styles. Zoe Terakes and Kate Box are the other two that I play with; equally, they are such beautiful performers.”
Marta says of her character: “She helps people believe what she wants them to believe. She’s a really good manipulator. She knows how to to be devoted and she knows how to try and incite devotion.
“She’s brain and heart. She’s even more dangerous, I think. She gets consumed by the captivity of this place and the people there.”