Old friends Marina Prior and Philip Quast settle into unusual roles in a brilliant new show.

It's probably the most unusual and unlikely piece of stage work that music theatre luminaries Marina Prior and Philip Quast have undertaken.

The Secret Garden, which recently opened to rave notices in Sydney. has Marina hovering over the stage as a ghost and Philip playing an embittered, loveless doctor. Their stage presence is formidable, yet surprisingly they don't sing a great deal.

You would think a musical that sees these two reuniting with their old Les Miserables co-star, Anthony Warlow, would be teeming with show stoppers, but this is not the case.

Philip and Marina say The Secret Garden holds great appeal simply because it is so different from their previous roles. But they are quick to point out that they love the few songs they do sing.

"I can't liken it in style to anything," Marina says of the show based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's evergreen 1911 novel. "It is not like any show I have heard or seen."

For Philip, the chance to sing the rousing duet, Lily's Eyes, with old mate Anthony Warlow was reason enough to join the show.

He laughs at the notion he is playing yet another twisted, loveless character - one on a par with Inspector Javert, the Les Miserables character that took him to the West End.

"Yes, it is another one of  those sorts," he says. "This is basically a show about people who can neither give nor  receive love. I just try to find some depth to these characters. I see their  problems stem from lack of communication, lack of honesty  or a stuffed-up childhood."

The rigors of parenting leave little time for Philip to be precious about his revered singing voice.

"Life is too short to worry about that sort of thing," he says. "It just doesn't worry me. I get colds. We're all human. I've had two colds recently. The stress that goes with doing musicals is phenomenal."

Marina, however, is very protective of her voice. "I can't be around smoke and I can't talk too much during the day. If you are tired, it shows straight away in your voice," she says.

Beyond The Secret Garden, which heads for Melbourne after its season at the Sydney State Theatre, Philip is booked to tape some episodes of Play School - "Just so I can have fun again" - and plans to do more theatre in the UK.

"My career choices will be dictated to by the needs of the children," he says. "I'd love to write, and I'd love to be an archaeologist. Having come off the land (north of Tamworth, NSW), my big dream would be to go and live on it. That's my  idea of bliss."

Marina isn't so forthcoming about her plans. "I just want be better than I was yesterday," she says.

Would she consider starting a family? "It's a goal, but not at the moment. I'm too caught up in what I'm doing," she says.

Story: Glen Williams Picture: Brett Preston
TV WEEK Australia 30 September 1995