July 2nd, 2025Our artists

Cath Jamison and Aurora Kurth will present Sass & Secrets – a magical cabaret promising a touch of Broadway and a splash of Vegas – at Radius Art in Hepburn on Saturday, July 19. Cath is a multi-award-winning illusionist and mentalist while Aurora is a comedy chanteuse. Both are Hepburn locals.
Cath, above left, says Sass & Secrets is a wickedly funny, theatrical cabaret featuring awe-inspiring magic, mind-bending mentalism, powerhouse singing, and physical comedy mayhem.
“This is a show made specifically to lift spirits and to take the crowd out of the everyday and into a world of wonderment and imagination. Highly interactive, this work engages directly with its audience – there are moments of call and response, group sing-alongs and acts where members of the audience become stars of the show.”
Cath said the show started in 2019 and was performed for the Melbourne Magic Festival. “We’re two quirky girls, talented women so we thought let’s try and put something together that’s a little different. Magic, music and comedy.
“That’s why our shows are very hard to explain. There’s a lot of interaction and improvisation and interaction between Aurora and me. And then Covid hit.”
With a few years of Zoom performances under her belt, and then rejoining Aurora for corporate gigs, the pair received some funding for Regional Arts Victoria’s Connecting Places tour.
“It was perfect for us because we love performing in small towns and small venues and you can really connect with people. We’ve both done places like Her Majesty’s but we love these small shows. They are so much fun. And so we went on tour and did 10 shows from St Arnaud to Corryong to Archie’s Creek, all around Victoria, and we had great reaction.
“And now we’re doing Sass & Secrets in our hometown. And people will really have to be prepared for the unexpected. I do the mind reading and Aurora goes into the crowd and improvises. But don’t worry, we know who to approach and who to leave alone.”
Cath said she started dabbling in magic after being given a magic kit as a child. “I was always trying to make the dog disappear but it didn’t work, it always barked.
“But then I went to magic school and while I was there I was also doing an apprenticeship in horticulture, working at places like the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Exhibition Building gardens.
“And for many years I was a professional gardener but I was also a professional clown. I won Australia’s best busker juggling chickens. Finally, I thought, I love being a magician. It is so much fun. And with all that experience with busking and clowning and mask work, I was able to learn how to really interact with people close up. And even on stage, I can still send out the interactive vibes, even reach someone right at the back of the room.”
Aurora said she was one of those kids who lived for drama class and school musicals. “I went to St Martin’s Youth Arts Centre as a teenager and basically never looked back. I’ve always known I wanted to perform, I never had a backup plan, which in hindsight was either very brave or very foolish.
“The beauty of this job is that no two weeks are ever the same. Last weekend I was singing showtunes at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival with Clare Bowditch. The month before that I was singing opera while dodging acrobats in Rouge at QPAC and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Now I’m belting out Bowie in rehearsals for a show at the Arts Centre next week, and in a couple of months I’ll be back on stage in a straight play. I love switching hats – it keeps things spicy.
“My first memory of Hepburn Springs is from the ’80s – Mum and Dad brought me here and I remember splashing around at the old bathhouse and wandering through the forest like a pint-sized wood nymph.
“Fast forward a few decades, Mum moved here permanently, and I’d visit from Castlemaine, then from Melbourne. I fell hard for the place all over again, the forest, the lakes, the characters, and the sense of peace you just can’t get in the city. Now I’m a full-time local when I’m not on tour.
“Now, Sass & Secrets is taking a final bow. I’m off to Europe soon, and Cath’s booked out with solo shows. So this one-night-only in Hepburn Springs is a kind of homecoming and a fond farewell.”
Words: Donna Kelly | Image: James Penlidis & Nicole Cleary