Former Home and Awaystar Jake Speer has weighed in on the producers’ decision to stop having school-aged kids and Summer Bay High on the soap. The young actor, who played Oscar MacGuire from 2013 to 2016, was shocked when he realised there are no more teens living in Summer Bay.
Fans have been begging producers to bring back the school storyline for years now, and Jake is quick to agree. In a chat with Yahoo Lifestyle about his next big career move, the star reminisced on his first major role and explains why producers should ‘bring back Summer Bay High’.
“What is Home and Away without high school kids? The show was built around what it’s like growing up in Australia and all the highs and lows that brings,” he tells us.
The Clickbait actor continues by saying that he always “loved” speaking with viewers who recognised themselves in the soap opera and frequently “faced similar dilemmas.”
He says, “I felt like we were having a national conversation about issues that really mattered to the viewers of the show. “Summer Bay doesn’t have any children any more? Please the populace by bringing Summer Bay High back.
‘I’d go back in a heartbeat’
Although the star’s character was killed off six years ago, there is still a chance that Oscar, Evelyn’s twin brother, will make an appearance. A common plot device in soap operas is for characters to pretend to die or make a comeback as a long-lost twin; in Jake’s case, this would require a triplet.
Jake says he would return to the show in “a heartbeat,” despite the fact that he has been busy working on other stage and screen projects.
Who would refuse to visit Summer Bay? However, we’d have to think outside the box as to how,” he jokes. “I like the thought of having triplets. Oscar may have left behind a number of siblings when he left the cult, but who knows?
The Kinky Boots Australia actor recalls his time on the programme with affection, saying that many of the cast and crew members felt “like family.”
Though saying goodbye was difficult, he says, “I am incredibly grateful for my time on the show and all the wonderful memories.”
He’s still close with members of the cast, and had a mini-reunion when he wed high-school sweetheart Leanne Wood in 2021. Former co-stars Philippa Northeast (Evelyn MacGuire), Alec Snow (Matt Page) and Scott Lee (Hunter King) were there to celebrate his big day.
“I see Pip and Alec quite often, as well as Georgie Parker (Roo Stewart) and Shane Withington (John Palmer). Georgie is my ‘stage mum’ and Shane is my sailing guru,” he tells us.
Jake’s exciting career move: ‘Perfect Christmas outing’
Since leaving Home and Away, Jake has dabbled in a variety of entertainment-related endeavors, but his upcoming major project is a fresh interpretation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The roles of Theseus and Titania will be played by the Catch Me If You Can theatre star during the 2022–2023 season of Sport for Jove. Jake teases that the show will be unexpected and “wild” and that it will be performed at two outdoor locations.
People may envision cute fairies, intoxicated teenagers in love, and a man with a donkey’s head, but our production is going in a different direction. It’s a play that takes place in a world where there is environmental chaos, where marriages are forced and arranged, and where people are not allowed to be themselves,” he says.
In what will be a “perfect Christmas outing for everyone,” the star continues, viewers can anticipate a “confronting” and “hilarious transformation.”
Bella Vista Farm will host a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream from December 16 to 30, and Everglades Gardens, Leura, will host the event from January 7 to 22. Tickets are available here.
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