Peter Goers

Peter Goers is a South Australian arts critic, producer, director, columnist and author who hosted The Evening Show for over twenty years on ABC Radio Adelaide, broadcasting throughout South Australia and to Broken Hill. Goers presented his final Evening Show with a live audience at Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide on Thursday November 30, 2023. His career spans over 40 years in the entertainment industry across a range of different mediums and formats including television, print, radio and theatre. In the Australia Day Honours, 2013, Goers was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his "service to the community as a radio broadcaster".

Early life Goers was born in Adelaide, raised in Woodville South and educated at both Woodville Primary and Findon High schools. Goers is a fifth-generation Australian of German and Irish descent. An influence in Goers' early life was teacher and former South Adelaide footballer Mick Rivers, who encouraged his interest in acting. Upon completion of his secondary schooling, Goers studied arts at Flinders University for eight years.

On 9 July 1982, both his parents were killed in a plane accident involving Pan Am Flight 759 which crashed shortly after takeoff from New Orleans, USA.

Career Early career

Goers worked as full-time historian of the Performing Arts Collection of South Australia with the South Australian director Colin Ballantyne. Having debuted as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! at the Woodville Town Hall in 1972, Goers has been involved in many amateur theatre companies in Adelaide as an actor and director, including as artistic director of the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild (1982–86), and with Jimmy Zoole Presents, Q Theatre Company and Adelaide Repertory Theatre.

During the same period, Jason Daniel, an arts editor for The Advertiser, had heard Goers' movie reviews and suggested that he also review theatre for the newspaper, which he did from 1985 to 1996. He became known as 'the critic that ate Adelaide'. While with The Advertiser he began writing an opinion column for the associated Sunday Mail in 1991. In 1986 he was abused by Fringe comedian Wendy Harmer during her show after providing a bad review, had his glasses broken, was spat on, and his notebook was taken and thrown at him.

Goers also hosted horror movies on Channel Ten Adelaide during the 1980s.

Mid career

In 1996 Goers left Adelaide and moved to Istanbul in Turkey. There he found work in theatre, working as a producer on local productions. He also returned to theatre reviewing, writing English-language reviews for a local paper.

Goers returned to Adelaide in 1998 and to News Limited's Sunday Mail as a regular columnist. The following year saw his return to local radio, with a Monday night slot on the commercial radio station FIVEaa. Two months later he was joined by Rex Jory and Pamela Francis to produce The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as a weekly panel, which soon expanded to a twice-weekly show with the addition of Alex Ward. Nevertheless, the show was to have a short life, and by early November of that year it had ended its run.

The ABC

In 2003, Goers was invited to audition for the ABC. From there he went on to host The Evening Show on a permanent basis.

The Evening Show is presented in a magazine format, with Goers interviewing local, national and international celebrities and academics in addition to a regular call-back segment and a quiz. The show also has several regular guests, including his Goers' Gals, Nick Prescott discussing film, and linguist Roly Sussex discussing the evolution of the English language.

Goers begins his show with "Hi ho, everybody", a line borrowed from Jack Davey and at the end of every show, Goers signs off with the line "Goodnight Mrs Calabash, wherever you are" – borrowed from Jimmy Durante.

In October 2023 Goers announced his retirement from radio broadcasting, planned to occur in November that year.

Personal life Goers was raised Methodist and has described himself as a Christian and also "a bit of an agnostic as are all reasonable people of reasonable faith. None of us knows if there is a God, but there's always hope." In an article encouraging tolerance between New Atheists and Christians, Goers was extremely critical of atheism. , including from international media.

In September 2023 Goers wrote an article in The Advertiser in support of the Yes vote in the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, in which he wrote "I don’t understand how our nation will deal with the international backlash a failure like a No vote will bring".

Peter Goers believes cyclists "are a scourge". He also claimed that "cyclists often terrorise pedestrians" in 2025, claiming "Cyclists demand and get bike lanes everywhere, which are rarely used." and that Adelaide is not Amsterdam. Regarding e-bikes, he claimed "it’s time they are banned" and that he has used an "open car door as a shield" against them. He described a policeman pulling over a cyclist as a "unique thrill".