The Gloves are Off

p>lsquo;I can actually tell my story without the benefit of a playwright or hidden beneath the cloak of a character.' Maggie Kirkpatrick, famous for her role as The Freak in em>Prisoner/em>, presents a no-holds-barred account of her life both on and off screen./p> p>In em>The Gloves Are Off/em>, Maggie takes us on her journey from humble beginnings in a Newcastle dress shop to becoming one of Australiarsquo;s most well-known television and theatre stars. She gives us a peek behind the scenes of the television industry and the world of the theatre with insight and wit ndash; the business, the challenges and the names. Maggie also shares publicly, for the first time, the full story of her very public legal battle ndash; and the consequences of that battle that shersquo;s still living with today./p> p>em>The Gloves Are Off /em>is an engaging, amusing and sometimes harrowing tale from one of the grand old dames of the Australian acting scene./p> p>What happens when you take a half-orphan from Newcastle with stars in her eyes eventually give her the chance to play a sadistic, psychopathic prison guard in a cult TV series for 389 episodes?/p> p>She turns into a household name, thatrsquo;s what./p> p>But therersquo;s so much more to Maggie than em>Prisonerrsquo;s/em> favourite freak Joan Ferguson. Over an acting career that spans almost six decades Maggie Kirkpatrick has established herself as one of Australiarsquo;s most respected actors with highlights that include war survivor Bridie Cartwright in em>Shoehorn Sonata/em> and master-manipulator witch Madame Morrible in em>Wicked/em>. Shersquo;s also been a political activist, wife, mother, grandmother and friend to some of the most renowned professionals in the entertainment industry in Australia and the U.K./p> p>em>The Gloves Are Off /em>is the autobiography of a working actor, and your chance to get to know the real Maggie Kirkpatrick./p>