Who is Penni Hamilton‑Smith?
I was born at the Queen Victoria Hospital in South Australia, seven decades ago and immediately set about “training my teenage parents well” – at least until my siblings began arriving in bulk like an over‑enthusiastic production line. By Grade 7 a teacher declared I had a flair for drama, Mum shipped me off to elocution, and I’ve basically been showing off ever since.
I ditched my job at David Jones the moment I landed a role at The Olde Kings Music Hall, collected a handsome waiter (or two), raised my two children, puppeteered Wilbur Worm and worked on Here’s Humphrey for 15 years, and somehow ended up Executive Producer without ever learning to sit still.
Life then flung me to Sydney, Jakarta, Bali, Japan, Darwin, and back to Adelaide, where I reclaimed my great love – acting – and eventually became President of the Adelaide Repertory Theatre for over a decade. Along the way I gathered grandchildren, great‑grandchildren, marriages, adventures, and the title of Justice of the Peace, proving I can be both respectable and ridiculous at the same time.
These days I live quietly in Mt Barker with my last love, Ray, still slightly stunned to find myself a grandmother of eight and great‑grandmother of six and still insisting – as I did in childhood – that “Penni of course did everything.
What would you do differently from what you do now?
Learn how to debate so that I could be articulate when arguing. Be a bit more careful in my choice of husbands. Apply for a scholarship for a good high school. Complete my university degree and become a linguist so I could travel a lot. If I weren’t an actress, I would like to be an academic. Doctor Penelope would sound good. Stick rigidly to my decision to be an actor without being tempted by television because it paid much better.
Who inspires you and why?
Helen Mirren, Dame Judy Dench, Rhonda Burchmore and Nancye Hayes, all wonderful, successful and dedicated performers. Ian Fairweather (the kids TV producer, not the artist) who recently passed away, for his lifetime dedication to children’s television, Peter Goers for being such a generous actor and director and for a lifetime of support to the theatre and my mum who continues to bounce around like a 50-year-old at 94!
What would you do to make a difference in the world ?
Introduce a universal wage, make music and drama mandatory in schools, take all “A” stream students from universities and offer them the same wages as doctors and lawyers, set up a United Nations with teeth to remove all despot leaders who turn on their own people, ban all weapons, raise enough money to rebuild the ARTS theatre in Adelaide and ensure that we always play to full houses. Encourage governments, the media and private enterprise to spend as much on the arts as they do on sport.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Queensland because my youngest sister lives there. We love to catch up in Noosa and boat on the river, swim in the pool and enjoy the view at the Surf club.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to and why?
Adelaide Hills Wineries because they are in beautiful locations, the wine is excellent and they are a lot closer than the Barossa Valley. The Mount Barker Summit so that they can see the entire town laid out below them. As many theatre shows as they could fit in because taking your friends to the theatre is one of life’s great joys – and one of the few social outings where you can sit in the dark together without anyone judging your snack choices.
What are you currently reading?
Miss Muriel Matters by Robert Wainwright. It was given to me by director Jude Hines after we both appeared for the National Trust during History week as Pioneer Women. It’s about the Australian actress who became one of London’s most famous suffragettes after chaining herself to a brass grille and dropping leaflets over London from an airship emblazoned “Votes For Women”.
The Cherry Orchard a play written by Anton Chekhov, his final play which blends comedy and tragedy and explores nostalgia, change and survival in a changing world and The Sunshine Boys. The play’s protagonists are Al Lewis and Willie Clark who were once a successful vaudevillian comedy duo known as the Sunshine Boys. I play the nurse. See it at the Adelaide Repertory Theatre this September.
What are you currently listening to?
Songs from The Drowsy Chaperone – a hit musical comedy that acts as a playful parody of 1920s jazz-age musical theatre. I was booked to play Mrs Tottendale opposite Peter Goers as Underling, the butler. I’ve been practising for months. We would have been hysterical together but alas, just as rehearsals were about to begin, the show was cancelled. Oh well, that’s show business.
Happiness is?
Curling up on the couch with a glass of wine (I’m a chardonnay girl … or ‘Kardinay’ as Kath and Kim would say) and cuddling up to my beloved husband while we watch the latest on Netflix.
What does the future hold for you?
Well, at 77, I’m finally ready for my breakout moment. Some actors peak early – I prefer to keep audiences waiting. Decades of suspense. Hitchcock would be proud! I’ve decided to follow the Jacki Weaver model: stay fabulous, keep working, and wait patiently for Hollywood to realise I’ve been here the whole time.
Penni can be seen in Adelaide Rep’s production of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys – which will be presented at The Arts Theatre Adelaide from 10 – 19 September 2026. For more information, visit: www.adelaiderep.com for details.
Image: Penni Hamilton‑Smith (supplied)