Ashleigh Cummings says Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries leads the way for women in telebisyon 

Ashleigh Cummings says Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries leads the way for women in television

WITH her starring role in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Ashleigh Cummings is one Australia’s most promising -— and busiest — actresses.

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SAUDI Arabia is not a country known for its progressive views on gender equality, so it’s curious that Ashleigh Cummings, star of such strong, female led programs as Puberty Blues and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, called the Arab state home for the first 12 years of her life.

Now 22, the actor says feminine strengths still shone under oppression.

“It was very confronting to see it in the world around me and my environment, but I was very young when I was there,” she says. “Despite the fact women dressed differently and weren’t allowed to drive or go out by ourselves … I always saw them as very strong and leading figures in society anyway.

“I was really lucky that despite my environment I was instilled with a great sense of independence.”

Next gen ... it’s entirely possible the selfie had yet to be invented in Miss Fisher\'s day.

It was this sense of independence that saw the young Cummings jet off to New York by herself at the age of 14 and she spends the downtime between acting jobs travelling the world, seeking out experiences such as living with local tribes in Kenya and the Sahara Desert.

Over the past few months she’s starred on stage in Julia-Rose Lewis’ coming of age play

Samson in Brisbane and Sydney, and her next stop will be Hollywood, where she has an agent scouting for work.

Making progress ... Ashleigh Cummings says her character Dot has really started to come into her own.

She says she’s spent her whole life on the move.

“I’ve been like that since I was a child so (

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) … has been like a little home that I get to return to, because I don’t have much else that’s very consistent,” she says, paying tribute to the fan campaign that convinced the ABC to renew the show for season three.

It’s a show filled with strong women, of course, from the marvellous Miss Fisher herself (Essie Davis) to assistant Dot (played by Cummings), Aunt Prudence (Miriam Margoyles) and Doctor Elizabeth “Mac” Macmillan (Tammy Macintosh). It’s no different behind the scenes either, guided by producer Fiona Eagger and head writer Deb Cox, with plenty of top female directors including Daina Reid (Paper Giants; INXS: Never Tear Us Apart miniseries).

Capable sidekick ... Ashleigh Cummings plays Miss Fisher’s assistant.

“That’s one of the reasons I really love working for these guys,” she says. “They’re all women who I deeply admire and respect. It’s just really wonderful having a feminine touch to these roles as well. Fiona and Deb have become like mothers to me and they’re really nurturing so it’s really beautiful to have that relationship while be able to see their strengths and drive and ambition coming to fruition.”

Those ambitions include a theatrical experience later in the year and a feature film that’s currently in development.

Cummings is eager to be involved in the film, if only for the longer running time. “I hope so, I really hope so,” she says.

“What we’ve always struggled with in the TV show is containing an entire murder mystery with all the detail, while also honouring and serving the character arcs,” she says. “A lot of that ends up on the cutting room floor because you have to have all the details of the murder mystery for it to make sense. So we’re always running out of time.”

Independent ... as a teenager, Ashleigh Cummings jetted off to New York.

In the new season Cummings says Dot has really started to come into her own. “Throughout season one and two we’ve seen Dot growing into this sidekick or accomplice to Ms Fisher.

“In season three that’s really consolidated and she kind of asserts herself in her relationship with Hugh (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) as someone who wants to be a working woman, as well as a married woman. She’s definitely more involved in solving the murder mysteries and at times she’s kind of even ground with Phyrne in terms of investigating.”

Theatre performer ... Ashleigh Cummings in the play Samson at Belvoir Downstairs. Picture: Lisa Tomasetti

She gives a sly grin and says: “I definitely assist in the most vital of ways: Nothing can be solved without a good tea, a good night’s sleep and a fluffed pillow! An assistant like Dot has an eye for detail!”

When we meet in person on the set at Rippon Lea Estate in Elsternwick, Cummings is in full costume. In person she’s as gentle and lovely as you might expect — though she can act out when she needs too.

With the show broadcast in 120 territories, she has plenty of international fans and recalls travelling to the Berlinale film festival with Aussie feature

“Some fans had come to see me because they wanted to see Dot … but unfortunately my character in that film is pretty much the antithesis of Dot,” she laughs. “They were a bit upset about that.”

Cummings admires and respects Essie Davis and says she’s learnt a lot from her.

“On a personal level, man, she is just so giving to everyone and I can imagine that must be exhausting,” she says.

“She’s an incredibly strong woman and I admire that hugely, she stands up for what she believes in and she is a wonderful mother too as well.”

MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES, FRIDAY, 8.30PM, ABC

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