The independently produced Australian comedy, created by acclaimed performers and longtime friends Simon Burke AO and Helen Dallimore, is holding its own alongside major international productions.
Created, written by and starring Simon Burke AO and Helen Dallimore, FIVE MINUTE CALL is an independently produced Australian comedy that takes audiences behind the curtain of a hit musical, where two veteran performers navigate bruised egos, backstage politics and the absurdities of showbusiness. Inspired by decades of friendship and theatrical experience, the series brings together an extraordinary ensemble of local stage and screen talent and is now holding its own alongside major international productions on Stan.
Conceived as a television series but released on Stan as a single programme, FIVE MINUTE CALL is measured against the platform’s movie releases rather than episodic series. In that category, it has ranked among Stan’s Top 5 movie releases of 2026 during its first 10 days, entered the Top 10 comedy movies on launch day, and spent 20 days in the Top 10 Australian movies.
The result is an encouraging endorsement of independently produced Australian comedy, demonstrating the appetite for original local stories and the talent bringing them to life.
Simon Burke AO said, “FIVE MINUTE CALL was born of our thousands of nights working in the theatre, collecting countless outrageous anecdotes that we’ve been dying to unleash on an audience for years. Helen and I both love workplace comedies so we set out to create our own – where the ‘office’ is the dressing room, backstage of a big musical. To see a show we created ourselves from scratch rank among Stan’s Top 5 movie releases of 2026, in its first ten days no less, is beyond anything we could have hoped for. It’s incredibly exciting to find an audience that is responding so generously to its honesty, its outrageousness and its big heart.”
Helen Dallimore said, “We are so thrilled that audiences are embracing FIVE MINUTE CALL! To have remained in Stan’s Top 10 Australian movie releases for the last few weeks is an incredible result for our little independently produced comedy. There’s something wonderfully satisfying about using our decades of friendship, of hanging out in each other’s dressing rooms and making each other laugh like drains, to create this love letter to each other, to the industry we love, and to the beautiful broken lunatics who keep showing up, hitting their light and pretending it’s all under control.”
A love letter to the theatre from two people who should know better, FIVE MINUTE CALL follows two much-loved (if well-worn) musical theatre stars dealing with professional jealousy and the relentless demands of performing eight shows a week amongst other things.
Burke and Dallimore play Simon Drew and Helen Barrymore, heightened versions of themselves and the stars of a hugely successful Australian musical, who meet in Helen’s dressing room each night at the five minute call (five minutes before curtain-up).
What unfolds is a wickedly funny series of encounters, confessions, catastrophes and celebrity cameos as the pair dissect their careers, their colleagues, their insecurities and anyone or anything else in their way.
With Helen’s voice failing and her ambitious young understudy waiting in the wings, Simon is desperately auditioning for a Hollywood television pilot that might offer one final shot at international stardom. Meanwhile, a revolving door of eccentric colleagues, demanding creatives and unexpected visitors ensures no two performances are quite the same.
The series features an exceptional all-Australian ensemble, including Genevieve Lemon, Catherine Vān-Davies, Chaska Halliday and Joel Granger, alongside special guest appearances from Georgie Parker, Trevor Ashley, Jonathan Biggins, Peter Carroll and celebrated choreographer John ‘Cha-Cha’ O’Connell.
Burke’s extraordinary career began with an AFI Best Actor Award at just 13 for The Devil’s Playground, followed by acclaimed performances in Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, La Cage aux Folles and the original, sold-out Australian tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, in which he played Harold Zidler. He also spent 25 years as one of ABC TV’s Play School’s best loved presenters.
Dallimore famously originated the role of Glinda in the West End production of Wicked opposite Idina Menzel, and has appeared in Into the Woods, Legally Blonde and the acclaimed Australian production of Grey Gardens.
Together, they bring decades of theatrical experience, razor-sharp comic timing and a healthy willingness to send themselves up.
Part workplace comedy, part affectionate industry satire, FIVE MINUTE CALL offers the backstage absurdity of Extras and Call My Agent, with the biting humour and heart of Hacks.
Directed by Ainslie Clouston and produced by Bec Bignell, Simon Burke, Gus Murray and Robert Patterson, FIVE MINUTE CALL is a celebration of Australian creativity, theatrical talent and the wonderfully dysfunctional world behind the curtain. It features a predominantly female production crew including Ainslie Clouston (Director), Bec Bignell (Producer), Emma Ellis (Director of Photography), Lily Davis and Grace O’Connell (Editors), and Katie Beere (Production Designer).
FIVE MINUTE CALL is now streaming on Stan and available to buy or rent on Apple.
