Five Times Dizzy
Encyclopedia
Five Times Dizzy is a children's novel by Australian author Nadia Wheatley
It was first published in 1982. In 1986 it became an Australia
n children's television series. The book is about the comedy and drama of a Greek Australian
family in a multi-cultural neighbourhood of inner-city Sydney
. To help her Greek
grandmother feel more at home, Mareka comes up with a brilliant plan to give her a pet goat
.
in 1986. The series was filmed on location in the inner-city suburb of Newtown
and is notable for an acting role by Mary Kostakidis
, who went on to become a longtime newsreader on SBS
.
The cast featured:
Nadia Wheatley
Nadia Wheatley is an award winning Australian writer of children’s fiction and non-fiction, adult non-fiction and biographies, and newspaper and journal articles. Her works often focus on "the difficulties faced by Aborigines or non-English-speaking newcomers to Australia, ... environmental issues...
It was first published in 1982. In 1986 it became an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n children's television series. The book is about the comedy and drama of a Greek Australian
Greek Australian
Greeks are the seventh-largest ethnic group in Australia, after those declaring their ancestry simply as "Australian". In the 2006 census, 365,147 persons declared having Greek ancestry, either alone or in conjunction with another ethnicity....
family in a multi-cultural neighbourhood of inner-city Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. To help her Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
grandmother feel more at home, Mareka comes up with a brilliant plan to give her a pet goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
.
Television adaptation
The mini-series Five Times Dizzy first screened on the Nine NetworkNine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
in 1986. The series was filmed on location in the inner-city suburb of Newtown
Newtown, New South Wales
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
and is notable for an acting role by Mary Kostakidis
Mary Kostakidis
Mary Kostakidis is the former weeknight SBS World News Australia presenter.Mary Kostakidis was the first woman appointed to present a national prime time news bulletin in Australia....
, who went on to become a longtime newsreader on SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
.
The cast featured:
- Rebekah ElmaloglouRebekah ElmaloglouRebekah Elmaloglou is an Australian actress who is best known for portraying the role of Sophie Simpson on the long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away from 1989 to 1993 and again on a recurring basis from 2002 to 2005...
as Mareka Nikakis - Mary KostakidisMary KostakidisMary Kostakidis is the former weeknight SBS World News Australia presenter.Mary Kostakidis was the first woman appointed to present a national prime time news bulletin in Australia....
as Roula Nikakis - Stavros Economidis as Georgio Nikakis
- Dominic Elmaloglou as Costa
- Helen Kambos as Yaya (Grandma)
- Jane CliftonJane CliftonJane Clifton is a Gibraltar-born actress and singer who lived as a child in Cardiff, Wales. In 1961 she emigrated to Perth, Australia. Her best known acting role is probably that of tough prison bookie Margo Gaffney in Prisoner...
as Mrs Wilson - Jim Holt as Brian Brooking
- Joanne SamuelJoanne SamuelJoanne Samuel is an actress who remains best known for her role as the screen wife of Mel Gibson in the 1979 film Mad Max....
as Chris Booking - Ray MeagherRay MeagherRay Meagher surname pronouned "Marr" , is a veteran Australian character actor. He has appeared regularly in Australian film and television since the mid 1970s, and is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, as Alf Stewart on Home and Away, having played the...
Awards and nominations
- 1983: New South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsNew South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsThe New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards were established in 1979 by the New South Wales Premier Neville Wran. Commenting on its purpose, Wran said: "We want the arts to take, and be seen to take, their proper place in our social priorities...
Special Children's Book Award - 1983: Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Older Readers: Highly Commended
- 1983: International Board on Books for Young PeopleInternational Board on Books for Young PeopleThe International Board on Books for Young People is a non-profit organization based in Switzerland committed to bringing books and children together.-History:...
: Honorary Diploma - 1987: AWGIE AwardsAWGIE AwardsThe AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967....
for Best Adaptation, Children's Television Drama (television mini-series)