Has it stunned you how the love for this film just continues and I'm sure you're seeing that with sales for tickets now.

It really does, Abby, because I think what happened was Channel 9 repeated it on a Saturday night 29 years in a row.

And what happens is young people are normally trapped at home on a Saturday night before they turn 18.

And so we didn't think it was going to be so popular with people growing up.

In fact, the young boy who's playing Dale Kerrigan, Ed Oxenbolt, I don't think was born when we put the film out.

Wow.

So that's how long it's lasted.

So when does the theatre show start and what's been the biggest reaction you've had? And can you just give us an insight into how you've tricked it up from the original movie and how it'll have a bit of a modern feel to it?

How long has this been just for

you? Funny, Mick, you know Santa very well, so you won't be surprised by this.

On the third day of filming the castle, Santa came up to me and said, I've just had a thought.

I reckon this would make a great stage play.

And I said, Santa, I've had a second thought.

How about we finish the film, please? LAUGHTER As you know, Santo, well, he was both inappropriate and absolutely correct.

So we sat down and we did a draft, I reckon, five years after the film and then the next five years.

Any thoughts to have the premiere in Bonny

I've got to make an apology.

I didn't know it was a comedy.

He was listening to every take.

But when you dismantle a film, film sets are kind of, they're so, it's like you only get one, look at one piece of Lego and you don't look at the whole thing until you sit in the cinema.

You must have been, when you write a movie, you must, you sit there, you write a line, you think, oh, that's something.

Because they age in time.

So Hutchie, often people go, you never know with films.

people that were

been, when you write a movie,

you sit there, you write a line, you think, oh, that's something.

Because they age in time.

So Hutchie, often people go, you never know with films.

And I think that's mostly true.

But when Santa came up with the vibe, we were trying to write it, and I said to him, that's the best legal concept, like the funniest legal concept I've ever heard in my life, especially in regards to the Constitution.

And Santa being Santa, having just thought up the greatest idea in history, went, maybe it's, and I said, do not speak.

Always wanted to know who inspired the

He's part of our family dinner conversation.

So one of the things that we used to...

Santo's father was an Italian suburban lawyer and my dad used to, when mum would put the food down, would drop his cutlery and look at us, the four boys, and go, why would you go to a restaurant when this keeps coming up? And the answer is obvious because restaurants don't serve burnt chops and peas, dad.

That's not fair.

My mum was a great cook.

But it was funny, every time I repeated that and every time people laugh at that, but I go, well, it was normal to me to have a super positive dad.

Yeah.

yeah, maybe.

He's part of our family dinner conversation.

So one of the things that we used to...

Santo's father was an Italian suburban lawyer.

My dad used to, when Mum would put the food down, would drop his cutlery and look at us, the four boys, and go, why would you go to a restaurant when this keeps coming up? And the answer is obvious because restaurants don't serve burnt chops and peas, Dad.

Yeah.

That's not fair.

My mum was a great cook.

Isn't that sweet, though? He stood out the front

And one of the legends behind it, Rob Sitch, joined us.

On the third day of filming The Castle, Santa came up to me and said, "I reckon this would make a great stage play."

[laughs]

And I said, "Santa, I've had a second thought.

How about we finish the film first?"

Mm.

And one, uh, y- week I picked it up and I went, "Red telephone box, $640." And Jane said to me, "What would you want with a red telephone box?" I said, "I don't know, but they don't come up that often." [laughs]

You're the only one.

It's been, it's been a project of great fortune for us, 'cause we didn't expect the lines to become repeated.

I, we've got Channel Nine to thank for it, that they do one thing.

They, they lock in two things every year, Carols by Candlelight and a Saturday night repeat of The Castle.

listen to you, Sancho?

We'd do it and then we'd put it aside for a little while.

Then a few years later we'd pull it out and write all the...

What happens is, you know, there's 30 years of modernity that have been added to the Kerrigan's life.

Like, they've got Wi-Fi now.

Yes.

Tracy's got a hex debt.

That was a pre-IKEA dinner set price.

30

years, yeah.

And then a few things gave it a tailwind.

We were invited to Roger Ebert's film festival in America and he put it in a theatre of 1,400 people.

And I just went, oh, wow.

Every joke changes when you put it in front of 1,400 people.

And so it's going to be at Her Majesty's next year, sort of March, April.

Precisely.