Introducing the extraordinary actors featuring in Andy Payne’s Pillow Talk, opening 16 August.
Annie Laurenson- Henri
We last saw Annie on the Beaumaris stage at the end of 2017, when she managed to cover almost all the British Isles in the one production - Death by Fatal Murder .
Some of Annie's favourite recent roles include: Fabia Tomb in Tiptoe Through the Tombstones; Edith in Allo! ‘Allo! with Frankston Theatre Group; Maria Merelli, a mad Italian Lend Me A Tenor and Mitzi, a mad German in An Absolute Turkey with Waverley. See the pattern? She recently finished a one-act play with Dionysus’ Arête: Epsilon – Moving On, a homegrown one-act play about loss, grief and moving on. Many decades ago Annie was in Blithe Spirit, The Maids, On the Razzle, Breaker Morant and Catholic School Girls among many others, here on the Beaumaris Theatre stage.
Rod Hulme- Harry
Rod was first active in community theatre in the late 80’s early 90’s working with companies across Melbourne such as Malvern, 1812, Brighton and Williamstown Theatre.
He then took a short break to concentrate on work and family. This ‘short’ break lasted over 20 years until 2017 when Rod rejoined the community theatre scene for Australia Day at Mordialloc Theatre Company. Since then Rod has made up for the lost time and has done shows at Malvern Theatre Company in Our Town, Mordialloc Theatre Company in Seasons Greetings and Pack of Lies and Peridot Theatre Company in Brilliant Lies.
Caity Leong – Young Henri
Caity’s acting career began during the early years of high school at the age of 12 in shows such as OKLAHOMA! and The Wedding Singer and performing as Catherine in Pippin.
Following high school, Caity was honoured to perform in the roles of Cherry in Così with Frankston Theatre Group and Christmas Eve in Avenue Q with Mornington Players.
In between theatre commitments, Caity works as a barista and singing coach at Coach Music Academy.
Pillow Talk marks Caity’s first production with Beaumaris Theatre.
Alex Ashcroft- Young Harry
Alex is a Beaumaris Theatre regular who earned his stripes treading the boards of his native England. Since arriving in Melbourne he’s appeared in several Beaumaris shows including playing Gendarme in Une Belle Farce, Constable Atkins in Death by Fatal Murder and James/Peter in Echoes, as well as appearing as Bob in Mordialloc Theatre Company’s All Things Considered.
He takes an active and enthusiastic interest in all parts of the theatre world, being a frequent face at set-builds, backstage and on front-of-house.
When not on stage, you can usually find him either working as a multifaceted admin at a children’s not-for-profit, buried in a book, raving about Shakespeare or quoting Terry Pratchett at you.
Siobhan Barnes- Cassandra
Pillow Talk marks Siobhan's first show with Beaumaris Theatre since being in Bugsy Malone back in 2003.
Siobhan has been performing her whole life, whether it is on stage or the sporting field and had a big involvement in musical theatre when she was younger playing the roles of Genie in Aladdin, Nancy in The Boyfriend and returned to the stage last year as Babette in Beauty and the Beast.
When Siobhan isn’t performing, she is working as a Talent Agent and Sports Coach.
Stephen White- Justin
Stephen has been involved in theatre for over 30 years, both in Australia and his native UK. His first outing for Beaumaris Theatre was in Set Build in 2013. Since then, he has appeared in Beaumaris’s Une Belle Farce and Fawlty Towers, Flowers for Algernon, and Echoes . In between “going out front”, Stephen has assisted backstage for The Thirty-Nine Steps, The Little Mermaid JR, A Chorus Line, and most recently as Stage Manager for Company. He also helped write 2017’s Cinderella: The Pantomime.
Back in the UK, credits included playing Bill Sikes in Oliver!, Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar, painting himself gold to play the Genie in Aladdin, and appearing as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, which he also directed.