Kirsten Krauth

Just Surrender: Creative Conversations

A Music Interviews , Music and TV & Film podcast

#10 in Music Interviews · 🇳🇿 #143 in Music · 🇳🇿

About the show

Welcome to JUST SURRENDER, a rough and ready podcast where I speak with my favourite creative people who shape the world through art. Get set for in-depth and raw discussions about music, film, literature, performance – and all the connections between. I've done hundreds of interviews as an arts journalist and podcaster - this is a selection of my favourites. I'll also be chatting to artists whose work I love ... Guests include: EPISODE 1: Extraordinary musician WARREN ELLIS on family trauma and musical catharsis in the documentary Ellis Park.EPISODE 2: Musicians turned actors TIM ROGERS and TIM HEATH from Ravens Theatre Company on playing with your friends and stage fright in Waiting for Godot.EPISODE 3: Heavenly musician MARLON WILLIAMS and film director URSULA GRACE WILLIAMS on boundaries and representation in the documentary Marlon Williams: Two Worlds – Ngā Ao E Rua. ABOUT YOUR HOST, KIRSTEN KRAUTH: Kirsten is an author, podcaster, poet, editor and arts journalist based in a small town, Castlemaine, in Australia. Her two novels, just_a_girl and the bestselling Almost a Mirror, were critically acclaimed and she has also edited two collections of short stories that responded to songs: Into Your Arms: Nick Cave's Songs Reimagined and Spinning Around: The Kylie Playlist. Her book Almost a Mirror was developed into a popular podcast and touring show. She writes regularly on the arts for many publications including The Guardian and Saturday Paper, and her first book of poetry, Sweet Avalanche, will be published in 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Newest episodes

Musician Marlon Williams + film director Ursula Grace Williams

Nov 5, 2026 19 min

“I struggle with the idea of authenticity, you know, this idea that you’re putting your true self into art … it’s never as straightforward as that." In this episode, I speak to heavenly musician MARLON WILLIAMS and film director URSULA GRACE WILLIAMS about their beautiful documentary, Marlon Williams: Two Worlds – Ngā Ao E Rua, which follows the making of an album, Te Whare Tiwekaweka. Here, Marlon and Ursula discuss authenticity in art and documentary, Marlon’s ambivalence about revealing his private self, Ursula’s verité approach to documentary filmmaking and how she gradually gained Marlon's trust. They explore Marlon's 'two worlds' and the ways he inhabits them and how making mistakes can be a blessing. TIME STAMP 00:00 Welcome and Setup 00:42 Maori Songwriting Shift 01:56 Captured on Film 03:11 Making the Documentary 04:56 Voyeur Camera Language 06:17 Trust and Boundaries 07:28 Living Between Worlds 09:48 Authenticity in Art 12:35 Performance and Persona 14:51 Mistakes on Stage 16:06 Filming Family Dynamics 19:14 Closing Credits INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT https://kirstenkrauth.com.au/musician-actor-marlon-williams-and-director-ursula-grace-william/ WATCH THE FILM https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/marlon-williams-two-worlds Excerpts of this interview featured in a profile I wrote for ScreenHub: https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/interviews/marlon-williams-interview-two-worlds-nga-ao-e-rua-2682546/ The music featured in the podcast is by Richard Andrew. Check out my other podcast - Almost a Mirror! Say hello at Instagram and Facebook: @kirstenkrauth. If you're an artist who would like to be considered for this podcast, DM me on Insta or FB. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Musicians turned actors Tim Rogers + Tim Heath

Oct 22, 2026 1 hr 22 min

"I still think Waiting For Godot is Samuel Beckett's look into the future. And it's about musicians waiting for their ship to come in ... So much time is spent waiting, hurrying up and waiting. Your goal is camaraderie and creating art, but also this twinkle of, 'Oh, maybe things will be easier tomorrow night, and we'll get a bottle of whiskey tomorrow. We'll get a nice sandwich.' Or, God forbid, a romantic entanglement ..." – Tim Rogers My guests today are musicians turned actors TIM ROGERS and TIM HEATH. Tim Rogers is the flamboyant frontman of You Am I who has a knack for writing beautiful songs. He has also performed in plays and movies including the latest Mad Max. He's recently moved to the countryside near Castlemaine. Tim Heath is also from this small town. From playing in the band The Basics with Gotye to running the very successful Theatre Royal, he has now taken the dramatic step of setting up the new Ravens Theatre Company, realising a life's dream. Both Tims were in a recent production of Waiting for Godot and over coffee and crunchy croissants we talked of the links between music and acting, stage fright and the wordy beauty of Samuel Beckett. The music featured in the podcast is by Richard Andrew. Check out my other podcast - Almost a Mirror! Say hello at Instagram and Facebook: @kirstenkrauth. If you're an artist who would like to be considered for this podcast, DM me on Insta or FB. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Musician Warren Ellis

Oct 7, 2026 45 min

“I was very conflicted because I felt like I had this camera on me at this incredibly vulnerable time in my life and my family’s, my parents’, life and I didn’t feel like giving away a whole lot because it was private.” Musician Warren Ellis is internationally renowned for his work as Nick Cave's main collaborator and with the wonderful band, Dirty Three, as a violinist and flautist. A new documentary, Ellis Park, explores his childhood in Ballarat and his support of an animal sanctuary in Sumatra that rescues and cares for animals with the hope of releasing them back into the wild. We caught up in a very busy hotel lobby in South Yarra, and here he talks about family trauma and musical catharsis. Extracts from this interview were used for a profile for The Saturday Paper. The music featured in the podcast is by Richard Andrew. Check out my other podcast - Almost a Mirror! Say hello at Instagram and Facebook: @kirstenkrauth. If you're an artist who would like to be considered for this podcast, DM me on Insta or FB. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.