Australian Epic: Nov 15

This week on Australian Epic is a documentary-meets-musical fairy-tale of Tasmania’s Mary Donaldson, who met a European prince inside a pub during the Sydney Olympics and lived ‘happily ever after’ …well until this week perhaps?

Tasmanian-born Mary Donaldson was living an ordinary life when on a last-minute whim she accepted a friend’s invitation to go out drinking during the Sydney Olympics.

Arriving at a pub called the Slip Inn, she caught the eye of a dashing young man called Fred, who just happened to be the Crown Prince of Denmark.

The pair embarked on a secret long-distance relationship, and – after the Danish tabloids outed their romance – Frederik had the difficult task of convincing his mother, the Queen of Denmark, that Mary was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

In this documentary-meets-musical, The Chaser’s Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen use the Mary fairy-tale to ask broader questions about Australia’s relationship with royalty; and to also question the limits of Australian patriotism and egalitarianism: deep down, how many of us secretly cling on to dreams of improving our lifestyle or our social standing, even if it means saying goodbye to the country we love?

Featuring interviews with Angela Bishop, Peter FitzSimons, Sarrah Le Marquand and Mary’s personal transformation coach Teresa Page.

9pm Wednesday on ABC.