How Belinda Jenkin turns Christmas chaos into comedy gold

Talking with Belinda Jenkin on Showtime was a reminder of how much passion and imagination sit behind great musical theatre. Belinda is an actor, singer, writer and composer who has spent more than a decade creating, performing and teaching across Australia and New York. Her path began in primary school when she choreographed routines for her friends, and grew through community theatre, visual arts studies, contemporary music training and ultimately NIDA and CAP21 in New York.

 

Belinda spoke about the feeling of flow she experiences on stage, a sense of pure presence where everything else disappears. That connection anchors her work, especially in parody musicals. She has performed in Top Gun, Gilligan’s Island, Fifty Shades, Friends and Thrones, and explained how parody relies on balancing sincerity with playful exaggeration. Audience interaction is crucial, and each performance shifts based on the energy in the room.

 

In Love Actually the musical parody she plays nine characters, using specific physical and vocal markers to switch roles quickly and cleanly. She loves the humour of the show, which celebrates everything people adore and debate about the original film. Whether audiences love the movie or have never seen it, the parody offers nostalgia, surprise and plenty of laughs.

 

🎭 Love Actually? The Musical Parody 🗓️ 5 Dec to 23 Dec 📍 Athenaeum Theatre One 🎟️ loveactuallymusicalparody.com/melbourne

 

Love Actually the musical parody is a fast paced, laugh out loud send up of the beloved Christmas movie. It reimagines nine chaotic stories of love, heartbreak and festive madness through clever comedy, original songs and cheeky twists on the film’s most iconic moments. The show follows the Prime Minister falling for his secretary, the best friend confessing his love with cue cards, the husband in trouble with Emma Thompson, and a collection of wonderfully odd characters who stumble through the holiday season with questionable judgment and even more questionable grand gestures.

 

The parody heightens everything people adore and roll their eyes at from the movie, leaning into nostalgia while adding new jokes, surprises and pop culture nods. It celebrates the messy, sentimental and ridiculous spirit of Christmas, offering a night of festive fun for those who love the film, love to hate it, or have never seen it at all.

 

BELINDA JENKIN is an accomplished actor, singer, writer and composer with a career that spans musical theatre, parody, cabaret and screen. A graduate of NIDA’s Diploma of Musical Theatre and CAP21 in New York, she has become a versatile and well loved performer known for her sharp comedic timing and expressive storytelling. Her stage credits include Friends the Musical Parody, Thrones, Top Gun the Musical, Gilligan’s Island the Musical, Fifty Shades the Musical Parody, Motor Mouth Loves Suck Face, Anyone Can Whistle, Chronic at La Mama and The Musical of Musicals. On screen she has appeared in Summer Heights High, the Space Jam Experience, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and educational sketches for NTC.

 

As a writer she has created original cabarets and co written musicals such as Until Tomorrow and The Gathering with William Hannagan. Belinda also teaches acting and musical theatre, sharing more than a decade of professional experience with emerging performers.