“Wow, Cate Blanchett.” My first time hairdresser paused and looked at me in the mirror. “I’ve only recently got in to her.” She leaned back in with the scissors. “She was great when she played Billy Joel.”

I paused

“Do you mean Bob Dylan?”

“Yeah one of those guys.”

That is an unembellished, actual transcript of the conversation.

Cate Blanchett had come up in conversation and I casually remarked I was just about to go to the theatre with her … ‘in fact is that the time?’ This was essentially true. I was going to the Griffin Theatre in Darlinghurst in Sydney as part of a larger group of complimentary guests with cast and crew of the production of “The Complete Works Of Shakespeare” I am currently rehearsing.

I bade farewell to my star struck, but confused stylist and walked the short way to the theatre. I stopped at the busy intersection where the Cross meets Darlo.

‘Which way was it again?’ … hang on why don’t I just follow … Cate Blanchett

… Thus we arrived in the queue together but I deferred. She had a little trouble getting her ticket and had to make a phone call. The front of house girl saw me, then nodded and handed me my ticket. Something was quite right but I still hadn’t met her … yet anyway.

The Griifin Theatre is a unique space with a triangular stage with two small raked banks of seats on either side. You literally look through the actors in front of you to the other audience members. Cate sat directly opposite and I found it almost impossible to not watch her watch the play. The play ‘Tender” by Nikki Bloom finished. It was fantastic and so was Cate … she didn’t nod off once and evenly divided her attention between the actors.

But now for the big moment - Drinks in the foyer. Almost immediately my actor friend, John Leary introduced me to Andrew Upton, Cate’s husband. Matter of time now. We had a nice little chat and then she appeared by Andrew’s side with another woman. The circle widened to accommodate them. This was it.

“Damian I like you to meet my friend … Kim.”

“What?”

Our director John Saunders had snuck up behind me. I greeted his friend and looked back only to see the circle closed around the space I had vacated. Cate left soon after.

If you have a more pissweak brush with fame story. Send it to damcall@bigpond.com