Address: Peacock Theatre

Dummies Corp

Dummies Corp are the Australian circus-comedy specialists, recognised for creations of quality that are intelligent, theatrical, inventive and resonate across generations. Their productions transcend language barriers and their unique brand of dum and delightful has created treasured experiences for audiences across the globe.

Rowan Harris 

Rowan Harris has created a number of long-form improvisation show formats including ‘The Holey Book’,  ‘Sciprov’, ‘The Chair’ and ‘MomentUs’ as well as founding the first Long-Form and Narrative improvisation ensemble in Tasmania, ‘Imprognosis’. Some of his favourite shows performing alongside international improvisors have been ‘Close To You’ by Rama Nicholas, ‘The Long Weekend’ by Christine Brooks and ‘In a New York Minute’ by Glenn Hall.   More recent work includes performances for the Burning Desire Festival, Underground ArtsBar, Theatresports and for Science Week.  Rowan was a member of the Danger Academy ensemble for a number of years and performed at the Marion Bay Falls Festival.

Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson has worked for over 25 years as an improvisor, actor, and director. He has performed with companies such as Terrapin, Tas Theatre Company, Blue Cow and Round Earth. As an improvisor he has been seen in The Underground ArtsBar, Theatresports, science week Impro, and Imprognosis’ The Holey Book, as well as his long-standing prize-winning work with Rowan Harris in the duo Harris and Tweed. He can also be seen in the film clip to A. Swayze and the Ghosts Mess of Me and briefly in the feature film Van Diemens Land.

Andrew Morrisby

Andrew Morrisby is a pianist, award winning musical director, choral director, arranger, and tutor based in Hobart, Tasmania. He studied at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, completing a Bachelor Degree under the tutelage of Beryl Sedivka. As a student, he performed as a soloist in the Tasmanian Messiaen Festival (2008), and with the Derwent Symphony Orchestra playing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”. He has also played as an orchestral keyboardist with the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra and Derwent Valley Concert Band.

Andrew is heavily involved with the musical theatre community, having worked as a musical director, conductor, repetiteur, and pit orchestral musician for a number of Tasmanian theatre companies. He was a member of the winning ensemble, “Blush Opera” at the Tasmanian Cabaret Festival in 2014, and is a recipient of the Tasmanian Theatre Awards for Musical Direction in “Forbidden Broadway” (Hobart Rep 2015), and Best Ensemble for “[Title of Show]” (Old Nick Theatre Co 2019). Andrew has credits for vocal arrangements on the new work “Euphrasia, The Musical” (The Actors Studio, Kuala Lumpur 2019) in a collaboration with composer Mia Palencia.

More recently, Andrew has been busy post-covid as Musical Director for “Shane Warne the Musical” (The Cabaret Club) and “The Old Man and the Old Moon” (Jack Lark Presents), as a guest conductor for the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra Sinfonietta, co-directing vocal group “Tonic”, as accompanist for the Southern Gospel Choir, performing with original rock band “Gabe and the Dagrezios”, original funk/fusion band “Solace”, and as a member of the long-form theatrical improvisation group “The Practitioners of the Ephemeral Arts”.

Andrew works as a private teacher, tutor, and accompanist in Hobart.

Natalie Venettacci

Natalie is a proud Tasmanian creative and a graduate from Actors Centre Australia. She recently toured internationally with Terrapin’s Red Racing Hood. Natalie also toured with Poetry In Action around Australia and recently produced a performance art piece through UTAS at Dark Mofo called Touch Me if you Trust Me. Acting credits include As You Like it and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Directions Theatre, One Man Two Guvnors and Hamlet for Old Nick, O – The Tragedy of Ophelia for Andy Aisbett, and Dot Dot Dot for The Old 505. You might find her on Saturday’s at Salamanca Market roaming as a Covid Buster for Terrapin Puppet Theatre.

Simone Dobber

After a long-short hiatus, Simone is thrilled to be back performing Imprognosis alongside some of Tassie’s finest. Her pre-covid credits include As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing with Directions Theatre, Chicago with Bijou Creative, How to Hold Your Breath and Those Who Fall in Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon the Ocean Floor with Loud Mouth Theatre Company. Her screen credits include Rosehaven in 2016 and 2017 and The Magnetism of Us with Acute Brow Productions. She has also co-written, costume designed, acted and composed music for Mermaid and the City with Beauty and the Bitches.

Carrie Maclean

Carrie is a writer, actor, director and mother of four. She is a founding member of Mudlark Theatre and the Radio Gothic collective. Since graduating from UTAS with a BPA, Carrie has had numerous performing roles onstage and onscreen, with her debut in a feature role as Ann Solomon in The First Fagin (2012). As a writer, Carrie has several projects in development, including a television drama series for Aquarius Films and Pistachio Pictures and Mental, the Mother Load, a documentary theatre performance exploring the grotesque nature and beauty of motherhood.

Jeff Michel

Jeff is a performer, puppeteer, and theatre teacher who moved to Tasmania in 2005.  He is the chair of Big Monkey Theatre Inc. and a co-founder of Blue Cow Theatre. Credits include: TTC’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Rowan and the 2012 Helpmann Award winning BOATS for Terrapin.  His solo show, Pedalling Back, was developed with Peter Matheson, produced by Blue Cow, and toured by Tasmania Performs in 2016.

Rosemary Cann
Rosemary Cann is a pākehā writer, musician and actor based in nipaluna, who has previously performed as a member of Wellington-based improv troupes Playshop, and Definitely Not Witches. Rosemary has participated in multiple playwriting residencies, including Carclew’s Writing Place, Blue Cow Theatre’s Future Proofing the Page and Tarraleah Residency, and ATYP’s National Studio and Fresh Ink Mentorship Program. She has performed in local productions Eurydice, HerStory (2019-2020), The Campaign (2018) and CRAVE (2021). Rosemary is passionate about representative, intelligent art that touches audiences and brings queer and feminine narratives to the forefront. Rosemary holds a BA in Theatre, English Literature and Anthropology, and a Masters in Creative Writing.

Emma Skalicky

Emma Skalicky has worked in Hobart theatre since 2014. Highlights include Shakespeare in the Gardens productions from 2016-2021; Loud Mouth Theatre Company’s Hamlet: Heads or Tails (2014) and The Island of Doctor Moreau (2016); Theatre with Teeth’s Buckets (2017); PLoT Theatre’s Eurydice (2018) and Deadly (2019); and The Theatre Closet’s Crave (2021). She has directed Bad Company Theatre’s Picnic At Hanging Rock (2019); PLoT Theatre’s Doctor Faustus (2017) and Salome (2020); and assistant directed Loud Mouth Theatre Company’s The Island of Doctor Moreau (2016) and Archipelago Production’s The Bleeding Tree (2020).  Previous works include Ophelia: A Decomposition in Two Parts (The Picton Grange Quarterly Review, Issue 6), Panopticon for ATYP’s Intersection 2019: Arrival (Currency Press), and Medusa Waking (Bad Company Theatre, 2021).

Lizy Spanos
Lizy Spanos is a Greek/Canadian performer with a deep love for music, dance, acting, and especially doing all three at once. They have been involved in community theater since the age of ten, in Canada, Greece, France, and Australia. Their most recent performances include Alice (Rattle, 2021) and Mabelu/Lucy (The Old Man and the Old Moon, 2021), and they have been in productions ranging from Shakespeare (in French!) to Rocky Horror Picture Show. They are extremely excited for the opportunity to play with a talented group of improvisors and improve their skill!

Ollie Gorringe

Ollie Gorringe is thrilled to be working with the Practitioners of the Ephemeral Arts, he has enjoyed performing since a young age and has been involved in several theatre productions throughout his schoolyears, including 100 Reasons for War (Hobart college, 2019), Carrie (Bijou, 2018) and The Old Man and The Old Moon (Jack Lark Presents, 2021). For the last two years Ollie has been employed as a Performer with the Round Earth Theatre Company on the West Coast of Tas, honing his skills in acting and storytelling.  Working with a talented set of creatives and performers in such a unique production has been an intoxicating experience for him and he hopes you enjoy the performance.

Jacob Golding 

Jacob Golding is a local performer who’s been seen in Hobart theatres since 2017. Most recently he was seen as Jeremy Heere in the Tasmanian premiere of Be More Chill in the Playhouse Theatre. Prior to stage Jacob has trained for the screen with Sara Cooper since 2010. Jacob is really excited to take on a new performance challenge, completely script less!

Milla Chaffer
Milla Chaffer has been working in theatre for many years in and out of schools. Milla has performed as Kathy Seldon in ‘Singing in the Rain’. Some of her other stage credits include Spring Awakening (Old Nick, 2018) and 21 Chump St (Old Nick, 2018). Her most recent role was as Heather McNamara in Old Nick’s production of ‘Heathers’ this year. Milla has also been working several shows as a part of the creative team, including her role as Assistant Director and Assistant Stage Manager for ‘The Old Man and the Old Moon’ (Jack Lark Presents) to be performed in September 2021. Milla is passionate about theatre both on and off stage and is always looking for opportunities to expand her experience.

Jack Lark
Jack Lark is a theatre producer, director and performer, who holds a bachelor of musical arts in vocal studies, training under Maria Lurighi. He has spent time in Los Angeles studying directing at USC, and has a hardcore passion for directing contemporary musical theatre. He produced the Australian premiere of ‘The Old Man and the Old Moon’ in 2021 and is currently collaborating to create a new Australian Musical Theatre Production.  Jack’s recent performances include As You Like It (Directions Theatre), My Fair Lady (Bijou Creative), and Miss Trunchbull for St.Mary’s College

Ben Winspear, Director

As a director Ben has steered a number of new productions for Sydney Theatre Company, where he was Resident Director for three years including Morph, These People, This Little Piggy, Metamorphosis and Thyestes.  He also co-directed Victory for STC, ran numerous play readings and developments and judged for the Patrick White Award and Young Writers Award.

Other productions include Saved at NIDA, Insect!, Pantagleize, and Monkey for UNSW, Macbeth, King Lear, The Tempest with STC Education, The Bluebird – Cranbrook School, Silver at Downstairs Belvoir and The Feather in the Web for Griffin Theatre

As Associate Artist for Griffin Theatre he was Associate Director on Gloria, and for three years was responsible for running the artist development programmes there.

As assistant director, Ben has worked with Barrie Kosky (on three productions, Oedipus, Women of Troy and La Grand Macabre), Robyn Nevin (Don Parties On), Howard Davies (The Cherry Orchard), Garry McDonald (Stones in His Pockets), and Jean Piere Mignon (The Miser).

In Tasmania he has directed Monkey for Big Monkey, The Gardens of Paradise with Ten Days on the Island, Twelve Times He Spoke for Blue Cow, and Gruesome Playground Injuries for Tas Theatre Co.

For Archipelago Productions Ben has directed most recently the sellout seasons of The Maids by Jean Genet and Winterreise by Franz Shubert. His production of  The Bleeding Tree by Angus Cerini re-opened The Theatre Royal and Venus and Adonis premiered at St David’s Cathedral during the pandemic and then toured regionally with Ten Days On The Island.

Griffin McLaughlin
Born and raised in nipaluna/Hobart, Griffin has previously appeared in Heathers for The Old Nick Company and Medusa Waking for Bad Company Theatre. Griffin has trained with React where he also works as a tutor. He has trained in voice with Jude Elliot and in movement with Bella Young. He recently produced and performed physical theatre work Support Network for The Circus Studio. In 2021, Griffin was a recipient of a John Bell Scholarship.

Meg Clarke was born in London and relocated to Sydney where she attended Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) at QUT in Brisbane. She has worked extensively in theatre across Sydney and Queensland recently starring in a one woman show: Iphigenia in Splott, which received 5 star reviews. Meg also works across film and television, she has featured in Home and Away and recently completed principal photography in the lead role of Joseph Sims-Dennet’s next feature film Origin. In 2020, Meg co-founded a Film Production Company; MTM Productions, and is about to release her first film Pearly Gates. Theatre: Judith/Sister Rosa in The Chapel Perilous (Dir Carissa Liccardello, The New Theatre), Smeraldina in Servant of Two Masters (Dir Frankie Savige & George Banders, Sport For Jove), Juliet in Measure for Measure (Dir Lizzie Schebesta, Sport For Jove), Meg in Away (Dir Nicholas Cristo, Lambert House), Jenny in Yen (Dir Lucy Clements, KXT and New Ghosts Theatre Company), Anette in The Divorce Party (Dir Alex Lee Reckers, The Old 505 Theatre), Naz in Mercury Fur (Dir Kim Hardwick, White Box Productions at KXT), Lizzie in Shandys Corner (Dir Lucy Clements, KXT and Ignite Collective), Iphigenia in Splott (Dir Lucy Clements) Film: Five Blind Dates (Amazon Originals), Home and Away, Entanglement (Voices of Women), Moth (Dir Meryl Tankard), Witkacy and Malinowski (Dir John Gillies), All We Have Is Now (Dir Gretel Vella  & Emme Hoy, The Louise Frequency).

Ryan Hodson

Born in South Africa, before moving to the Gold Coast for high school, Ryan is a graduate of the 2017 class of QUT’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) degree. Ryan’s work on stage includes: Ferdinand in The Tempest as part of Shake and Stir’s QLD Shakefest. At QUT: Little Revolutions, Children of the Sun, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Anna Karenina, Detroit, Eurydice and prior to graduating: Jared in Blackrock at La Boite Theatre Company.

Ryan has since moved to Sydney and was part of New Ghosts Theatre Company’s Yen and bAKEHOUSE’s Coram Boy at KXT, as well as ATYP’s Intersection 2019: Arrival. In 2020 and 2021, he toured Australia as part of Bell Shakespeare’s The Players. Most recently, he performed in Viral Ventures’ The Great Gatsby as Nick Carraway. He is a proud member of MEAA.

Julian Larnach

Julian Larnach is a Sydney-based playwright and screenwriter.  He is Literary Associate at Griffin Theatre.

He is currently under commission with Canberra Youth Theatre for a large-cast political comedy and with Bell Shakespeare for a new cycle of history plays. He is working on a feature-length version of his short film SAFETY NET for Screen NSW/Mischief Media as well as a stage adaptation of Favel Parett’s award-winning novel Past The Shallows for ATYP/Archipelago Productions.

Julian has had seasons of work produced and toured by the Australian Theatre for Young People, Outback Theatre for Young People, Darlinghurst Theatre Company and the National Theatre of Parramatta.

Julian’s plays have been shortlisted for Griffin Theatre Company’s Lysicrates Prize, the Griffin Award for Playwriting, the Edward Albee Scholarship and the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award. He was an Affiliate Writer for Griffin Theatre Company in 2013, Resident Playwright at the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2015 and was a member of Sydney Theatre Company’s inaugural Emerging Writers Group from 2017 – 2019.

Hellgart Mahler lives near Devonport, Tasmania, but was born in Vienna. Her father, Hillel Mahler, came from a small village on the Polish-Czechoslovakian border, but his family soon moved to Vienna, then the cultural Mecca of Europe. In his grandfather’s family one older brother became the father of Gustav Mahler (who is Hellgart’s great-uncle), but her musical antecedents go right back to 16th and 17th century Italy, where the Maler family (the H was added later) were brilliant lute makers and players; sought after and vied for by dukes and princes.

Russell Gilmour was born in 1956 and received his early musical training at Guildford Grammar School, WA. Since graduating from the University of New England in the early 1980s, he has worked as a teacher, lecturer and arts administrator. Gilmour is best known for his short, quirky, humorous compositions (Dark on Bach, 2003) and sometimes melancholic, brooding work (Seven Things I’ll Do Tomorrow, 2005). His musical style has developed from a brief flirtation with neo-romanticism in the 1980s (A Peaceable Kingdom, 1985; Host Of The Air, 1984) to a more direct highly melodic style which the composer describes as ‘the art of post classical drivetime’

Don Kay

Don Kay’s musical language has its roots in the tradition of Western art music but has been significantly shaped by his experience of Tasmania’s environment and history. Kay identifies Hastings Bay (1986) as the first mature piece that was a direct, conscious response to a specific personal experience of a specific place, acknowledged by the title. Two works, amongst a number important to him for reflecting this influence, are: Tasmania Symphony – the Legend of Moinee for cello and orchestra (1988), and Piano Trio, The Edge of Remoteness (1996).

Dominic Fynn

Born in Hobart in 1997, Dominic Fynn grew up playing the drums in local bands before shifting focus to composition. Dominic’s music has been performed both locally and overseas, and he has collaborated with the Decibel New Music Ensemble, Hobart Wind Symphony, L’ Ensemble de Musique Contemporaine du Conservatoire de Musique de Rimouski, pianist Michael Kieran Harvey, and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.  In 2021 he received a grant to compose a string quartet inspired by convict folk music, and was selected to be a part of one of Australia’s largest commissioning projects, the ANAM Set. He has studied in Australia with Don Kay, Russell Gilmour, and Maria Grenfell, and in the United Kingdom with Michael Finnissy.

Ensemble Mania was created with the goal to provide a unique listening experience in Tasmania, showcasing music that would otherwise not be heard on the island, while exemplifying the possibilities of a richer, more diverse music scene. This music includes the latest, most exciting composers, to the pillars of Australian modernism and lost masterpieces.

Peter Tanfield
Born in England in 1961, Peter Tanfield started the violin aged four. He studied in Germany, Israel, Switzerland and Holland where his teachers were Igor Ozim, Felix Andrievski, Alberto Lysy, Herman Krebbers and Yehudi Menuhin. As soloist and chamber musician Tanfield has performed throughout Europe, China, Japan, India, Canada, the Middle East, Africa, USA and USSR. He was a prize-winner at The Carl Flesh International Competition, International Mozart Competition and International Bach Competition. He has recorded solo and chamber works for television and radio as well as CD. He has played for Chairman Deng Xiaoping in China and the Sultan of Oman. Tanfield led the Australian String Quartet from 1998 until 2001. As a soloist Tanfield has appeared with many orchestras; the Philharmonia, City of London Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Rome. As concertmaster he has worked with the BBC Philharmonic, RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has performed with Astor Piazolla, Charlie Watts, Pinchas Zukerman, Yehudi Menuhin, Charles Wuorinen, Arvo Pärt, Graeme Koehne, Gary Carr, Carlo Maria Giulini, Mark Gasser and Itzhak Perlman.

Joshua Farner is from Hobart, Tasmania, and began playing the violin at the age of nine. Following completion of a Bachelor of Engineering with 1st class Honours, he was awarded a University of Tasmania String Scholarship and commenced a Bachelor of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Susan Collins. Josh has performed with the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra and the Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute (AISOI), and regularly performs as section leader and concertino player with the Hobart Chamber Orchestra. In 2018 Josh was awarded the D & MV McDonald Scholarship in Music from the University of Tasmania, allowing him to travel to London to study under renowned pedagogues Simon Fischer and David Takeno.

Damien Holloway studied viola in Hobart with Keith Crellin, Simon Oswell and Jan Sedivka, followed by postgraduate studies in Brisbane with Elizabeth Morgan. He played viola with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and was a founding member of Camerata of St Johns (Brisbane). He is principal viola of the Hobart Chamber Orchestra, and regularly fosters the performance of new music

James Anderson is currently studying a Master of Teaching at the University of Tasmania, having completed his Bachelor of Music in 2018 studying under Sue-Ellen Paulsen. James has previously performed in the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute, the Jan Sedivka Camerata, and the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra. In 2018 James worked with the ensemble Musik Fabrik in Cologne, while also spending time at the Royal Conservatory of Den Hague in the Netherlands.

Genevieve Butler | Director

Director- Genevieve Butler is a bilingual performance artist who uses Bouffon, Drag, Circus, and physical comedy to examine the significance of social masks within theatrical frameworks.  Her artistic practice focuses on how audiences connect/relate universally to colloquial stories.

She is an actor, writer, director, circus performer, mask maker, video editor and teacher of circus fundamentals, mask play and devising. She has toured numerous Fringe and Arts Festivals around Australia, and worked with theatre companies across Australia, Italy and Belgium. She has been a working artist for over 10years   

Genevieve has a diploma in Commedia dell’Arte (FAVA, Italy) and Movement Analysis and Theatre Creation (Lassad, Belgium)— and a bachelors in Theatre (QUT).

Fithawit Hadgu | Actor

Fithawit recently migrated to Australia from Eretria. Since arriving Fithawit has been involved with Students Against Racism (SAR). Through SAR Fithawit has shared her personal story about how she came to Tasmania in schools and workplaces, revealing the realities of what refugees and new arrivals face when they come to this country. Last year Fithawit made her mainstage debut at the Peacock Theatre performing in The Story Behind My Suitcase. Fithawit received a scholarship from Salamanca Arts Centre to attend The Process drama workshops with Ben Winspear, Davina Wright and Lucien Simon.

Takani Clark | Actor

Emerging filmmaker, performer, artist Takani Clark is a professional dabbler and multidisciplinary creative from lutruwita, exploring and engaging with mediums of filmmaking, visual art and performance. As a First Nations woman, raised within the staunch palawa community, Takani feels a deep responsibility to protect and document the island and its cultural identity and diversity, both environmentally and socially. As a storyteller she strives to use her creative voice to deepen our understanding of each other, the natural world and ourselves. Takani believes that diversity is an integral part of her creative practice, striving to collaborate with people from different artistic practices, any background and all walks of life.

Bailey Jackson | Actor

Bailey is a Hobartian Thespian whose hit and miss performances will keep you guessing right until the very end — is this entertainment at its finest or is it a train wreck you can’t look away from? After more than a decade in Tasmanian theatre, still he isn’t sure. Nonetheless, Bailey appreciates Salamanca Arts Centre for rolling the dice and he hopes you enjoy the show.

Jackson Davis | Lighting Designer

Jackson Davis is a theatre maker, writer and performer based in Hobart. Since graduating with Honours from the University of Wollongong in 2012, Jackson has co-founded re:group performance collective and collaborates on new performance works with an emphasis on popular culture and videography. His theatre credits include Lost Boys (Performer, Merrigong Theatre Company, 2018), Route Dash Niner Part 1 & 2 (Director, Merrigong Theatre Company 2016-2017), Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo (Puppeteer, Japan Tour, 2016-2018), Conspiracies (Director, Shopfront, 2017) and LOVELY (Director, PACT, 2014).

Aiden Cleak | Composer

Aiden Cleak is a bleeps and bloops composer and sound FX nerd, who resides a full lightyear away from Earth making futuristic soundscapes and wonky beats. However, you may also find him closer to Hobart creating circuit bent instruments, surrealist art and video games. Aiden performs under the alias of Gochi, and has recently released his second EP of originals titled Ascent of a Madman.

Megan Kenna | Set Designer

Megan is a theatre and film creative learning, working and living in lutruwita/Tasmania. They are interested in design in regards to performance and production. Recently Megan has been apart of the design team of University of Tasmania’s theatre society PLoT. Designing for Cathouse (2021) and The Rise (2022). Megan has also worked and performed in collaboration on Anemeny (2022) and upcoming Antigo Nick (2022) which will be presented on the Theatre Royal main stage, both directed by Davina Wright. Designing for film sets Megan has worked as art director for many Tasmanian productions including Shake and Dance (2019) and Cold One (2022). 

Megan wants to explore the possibilities between design and performance, and how these two elements effect each other, actors and the audience.

Finucane & Smith Unlimited are Australian legends of Unrealistic Art. With their unique blend of provocation and entertainment, the company works across myriad artforms – from cabaret & burlesque to drama and hybrid and immersive art events; engaging unique and extraordinary artists, and cherishing audiences everywhere as they explore humanity, hope, freedom, power, desire and a shared future. 

Finucane & Smith’s work has been presented in 18 countries, winning acclaim in 13 languages and 15 awards including The Patrick White Playwright Award, 8 Green Room Awards, International Theatre Institute’s CHAMACO Award for International Presentation of the Year 2015 (Cuba), and the Climakaze Award (Miami) for outstanding art in climate justice. Their genre-defining variety works The Burlesque Hour & Glory Box have been seen by 600,000 fans worldwide, becoming the first Australian work invited to major festivals of Latin America, Japan and Europe, and winning awards worldwide. 

Lachlan (Aka Iva Rosebud)

Lachlan (Aka Iva Rosebud) is an emerging queer artist, known for bringing an old fashioned flair to the modern world. His work spans Cabaret, Music Theatre, Drag, Burlesque and Performance Art. 

Hailing from the Hunter Valley, Lachlan is a graduate of the Music Theatre course at The Victorian College of the Arts. In 2021 Lachlan made his mark on Melbourne’s cabaret scene, writing and performing his solo shows: ‘And I, In My Chair’ (Melbourne Cabaret Festival) described as “more than earning it’s standing ovation” by the Arts Review, ‘At hand with Iva Rosebud’ (Melbourne Cabaret Showcases) and ‘Iva’s Grand Opening’ (Tusk High Bar).

Lachlan made his Victorian Opera debut in March 2022, in the Happy End at the Arts Centre Playhouse and is thrilled to be apart of the Finucane & Smith family. 

Mama Alto

Mama Alto is a jazz singer, cabaret artiste & gender transcendent diva. She is a transgender & queer person of colour who works with the radical potential of storytelling, strength in softness and power in vulnerability. Best known for her velvet vocals, triumphant cabaret performances and illuminating writing, she is also the co-creator of the highly acclaimed variety cabaret “Gender Euphoria.” She has worked with luminaries such as burlesque production house Finucane & Smith, playwright Declan Greene, visual artist Brook Andrew, and performance artist Taylor Mac. Mama is the 2021 recipient of the Australia Council for the Arts Kirk Robson Award for Community Arts and Cultural Development. 

Paul Cordeiro

• Paul is an experienced teacher of 20 years, as well as being a qualified fitness instructor. He trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, obtaining a Diploma in Dance. Paul has enjoyed an extensive career as a dancer and choreographer, having performed with One Extra Dance Company, Opera Australia and the Balai ensemble. He has toured nationally with the musicals “The King and I” and “West Side Story”. Paul was the resident choreographer for “The Lion King” from 2003 – 2005 and was also the assistant choreographer for the “Nature and Arrivals” segment of the Sydney Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in 2000. 
• A great deal of Paul’s work has been working with artists and themes
  relating to aspects of diverse ethnic communities and cultural production, within the contemporary social and artistic tapestry. This has included a feature role in ‘The House Plus’, created by flamenco artist Antonio Vargas for the Carnivale festival, a guest season with the Odyssey Dance Theatre in Singapore, and as an actor, the role of Rosendo in ‘Tango Masculino’ at the New Theatre in 2007. Recently Paul was the recipient of the Goethe Institute Artist Language Scholarship, which enabled him to spend a month in Berlin learning German.

Maple Rose
Miss Maple Rose, known as the “Queen of Classic Burlesque,” has been described as the unwanted lovechild of Tempest Storm and Lucille Ball. Combining her professional expertise in costume and set design with her foundation in classical dance, Maple guides many a budding performance artist in the art of tease!

She’s here to prove that “classic burlesque” doesn’t have to be boring. Either with feather fans or tapping toes, Maple will take you on a deep dive into burlesque history. Headliner of The Australian Burlesque Festival in 2020 & 2022, winner of the the 1st Runner Up crown at Miss Burlesque Australia 2018, voted number 21 in the 21st Century Burlesque Magazine’s Top 50 Most Influential Artists of 2021, and voted Best Solo Artist and Most Classic at the Australian Burlesque Industry Awards, The Busties, in 2018.

Maple has shown that she’s “Australia’s Classiest Piece of Bacon”
with a tornado of feather fans and couture costumes!

Dummies Corp

Dummies Corp are the Australian circus-comedy specialists, recognised for creations of quality that are intelligent, theatrical, inventive and resonate across generations. Their productions transcend language barriers and their unique brand of dum and delightful has created treasured experiences for audiences across the globe.