Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work. We pay respect to the Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
As Conservatorium Director, I wanted to congratulate the third year Acting cohort for the incredible journey we have witnessed as we have grown through the program and to thank all who have contributed to enabling this.
First, thanks go to Jacqui Somerville for her enlightened leadership of Acting, and in particular for the transition this year here to South Bank — together with Claire Christian, the numerous academic tutors and production teams, alongside the third-years leading the student actors, it has been so wonderful to have you all more closely connected with the Conservatorium community. Thanks too to our industry partners, here including Queensland Theatre, for their venue support across the year, allowing our work to be experienced in so many different spaces. For this final Showcase, I want also to acknowledge Anthony Gooley as co-director and Keith Clark as Lighting Designer, who, alongside Jacqui; have shaped this collective celebration.
More broadly, I want also to recognise Michael Hibbard and his team, as well as the Conservatorium production team for all their work across the year to position all the work so professionally. Thanks too to Stuart Jones and Liz Tyson-Doneley for their behind-the-scenes support.
For performers still in the early stages of their professional development, your enlightened support as audience is particularly appreciated, contributing significantly to the student experience and to enabling their growth — thank you for being with us! These coming weeks involve many culminating events for our students — do please feel welcome to join us again across the remainder of the year to celebrate the incredible diversity of talent which is currently thriving across the Conservatorium. Thanks too to Griffith University for their enlightened support for developing performance.
To the students, best wishes for all your futures! Looking forward to witnessing your professional journeys ahead!
Best wishes,
Professor Bernard Lanskey Director, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Final Showcase for the Bachelor of Acting Class of 2025. Tonight, we celebrate not only the culmination of three years of rigorous training, but also the spirit, resilience, and artistry of this wonderfully varied cohort.
Over their time with us, these actors have stretched themselves across styles, stories, and challenges. They have learned what it means to work with rigour and discipline, to listen deeply, to collaborate fiercely, and to bring imagination to every rehearsal room. They leave us as artists who are not only skilled performers but also adaptable, generous, and inventive collaborators, qualities we believe are essential for the evolving landscape of our industry.
The aim of the Acting Program has always been to cultivate actors who are hardworking, creative, collaborative, and adaptable. This group embodies that vision and I have great confidence in the careers that lie ahead of them.
What we see tonight is not the end of their journey, but a moment on the path. Their true training continues from here, in rehearsal rooms, on sets, on stages, and in the quiet resilience of their own practice.
As they take this next step into the profession, I want to acknowledge their dedication and growth, and to thank you, our audience, for being part of this milestone moment. We send these graduating actors into the world with pride, knowing they will help shape the future of our stages and screens.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dan, Criena, and the team at Queensland Theatre for their ongoing support of our students and program. Our partnership with the state company is an invaluable one, and we look forward to its continued growth in the years ahead.
To the Class of 2025: we wish you every success and trust you will take everything you’ve learned (and everything you’ve yet to learn) into the industry with courage and imagination.
Jacqui Somerville Head of Program
Class Of 2025
Rushad Katrak
Riley Fahey
Allegra Marino
Emma Kidd & Matthew Ianna
Acknowledgement of Country
The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
I, Tonya by Steven Rogers
Stupid Fucking Bird by Aaron Posner
Lachlan Brayshaw It’s Hard To Speak My Heart from Parade, Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Rory Gryffin
Allegra Marino & Callum Johnston
Cameron Rixon
Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan
Little Women by Greta Gerwig, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott
Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute
Emma Kidd Birdman by Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Angela Lal
Jordana Wenke & Rory Gryffin
Cecilia Varese, Ari Banerjee & Allegra Marino
Wrong Gods by S. Shakthidharan
Haunting of Hill House by Mike Flanagan & Meredith Averill
First Wives Club by Robert Harling
Matthew Ianna
Liam McMahon
Ari Banerjee
Rhys Canham
Darcy Jackson
Emma Kidd
Lachlan Brayshaw, Rhys Canham, Riley
Fahey, Rory Gryffin, Matthew Ianna, Callum Johnston, Rushad Katrak, Liam McMahon, Cameron Rixon
Ari Banerjee, Grace Faint, Darcy Jackson, Emma Kidd, Angela Lal, Allegra Marino, Cecilia Varese, Jordana Wenke
Cameron Rixon & Lachlan Brayshaw
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Antigone by Sophocles
DNA by Dennis Kelly
Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph
Nothing You Can Take From Me by Rachel Zegler and The Covey Band from The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore by Daniel Evans
Pitch Perfect 2 by Kay Cannon
Michael Swordfish by Lachlan Philpott
Liam McMahon & Cecilia Varese
Callum Johnston
Magnolia by Paul Thomas Anderson
Wasted by Kae Tempest
Lachlan Brayshaw This Is My Youth by Kenneth Lonergan
Angela Lal & Ari Banerjee
Grace Faint
Jordana Wenke
Rory Gryffin & Cameron Rixon
Riley Fahey & Darcy Jackson
Matthew Ianna & Callum Johnston
Lachlan Brayshaw & Jordana Wenke
Cecilia Varese
Rushad Katrak, Callum Johnston & Rhys Canham
Cameron Rixon & Riley Fahey
Angela Lal & Jordana Wenke
Polite Society by Nida Manzoor
Mean Girls by Tina Fey
Anatomy of a Suicide by Alice Birch
Holding the Man by Timothy Conigrave
Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey
Blackrock by Nick Enright
All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane by Stephen Vagg
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
Ruby Year by Alexander Lee-Rekers
Private Lives by Noël Coward
Derry Girls by Lisa McGee
Rhys Canham & Grace Faint
Liam McMahon & Riley Fahey
Rushad Katrak & Darcy Jackson
Emma Kidd & Grace Faint
Tonight from West Side Story, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
True West by Sam Shepard
Frasier by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee
The Odd Couple by Neil Simon
Class of 2025 Finale
Jacqui worked as an actor, theatre director, writer and producer for more than twenty years in the UK before coming to Brisbane to lead the Bachelor of Acting course at QCGU, and recently made her Australian directing debut with the 3rd year Musical Theatre students performing Sondheim’s Company at Brisbane Powerhouse. She has directed numerous productions (some award winning) nationally, internationally, on the London fringe and off West End, as well as directing many productions in various drama schools. Jacqui has led educational projects for Royal Shakespeare Company, Out of Joint, Shakespeare's Globe, Oxford Stage Company, Headlong and Filter and taught and directed at RADA, East 15, Guildford, Bretton Hall, LIPA and Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance. Jacqui has joined QCGU from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London, where she was the Head of Postgraduate Studies and Head of Acting & Musical Theatre.
Other positions held include Artistic Associate with Oxford Stage Company/Headlong; Education Consultant/Associate Director at Donmar Warehouse London with Declan Donnellan; Resident Assistant Director at the RSC (working closely with Cicely Berry and John Barton) and Associate Director with Max Stafford-Clark, Sean Holmes and Dominic Dromgoole.
Jacqui has an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice (Dramaturgy) from Royal Central School of Speech & Drama (University of London)
A NIDA graduate, Anthony’s theatre credits include The Caretaker, A View from the Bridge, Death Of A Salesman (Ensemble Theatre), Calamity Jane, Drizzle Boy, Bernhardt/Hamlet, Boy Swallows Universe (Queensland Theatre), The Mystery of the Valkyrie (QPAC), The Glass Menagerie (State Theatre Company of South Australia), Calamity Jane (Belvoir/The Comedy Theatre/Arts Centre Melbourne), Assassins (Sydney Opera House), A Case for the Existence of God (Outhouse Theatre Co.), Replay (Griffin Theatre Company), Venus & Adonis, The Crucible, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Of Mice and Men, A Doll’s House, Othello, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, The Libertine (Sport For Jove), Good Works, All My Sons (Eternity Playhouse), The Lost Echo (STC). As director, Steve Martin’s The Underpants (Seymour Centre), Orphans (Red Line Productions) and Gruesome Playground Injuries (The Kings Collective). Anthony appeared in the feature film Buckley’s Chance (Blacklab Entertainment) opposite Bill Nighy, and Venus & Adonis (Sport for Jove). Television credits include Apples Never Fall, Young Rock, Joe vs Carole, Underbelly, Packed to the Rafters, Satisfaction and Home and Away. Anthony is a Sydney Theatre Award winner for his performance in The Libertine and was also nominated for his performances in The Caretaker, Inner Voices, Of Mice and Men and A Doll’s House.
Hannah Paul for help with choreography.
Kate Schirmer for help with singing support.
Mrs. Kelly Redhead-Adelt from Redeemer School, Rochedale for additional scenery.
Dan Evans, Criena Gehrke, Bridget O'Brien and the team at Queensland Theatre.
Co- Directed by
Jacqui Somerville & Anthony Gooley
Lighting Designer
Keith Clark
Production Managers
Amy Hauser & Keith Clark
Stage Manager
Aaron Jeffery
Intimacy Coordinator
Jacqui Somerville
Director
Professor Bernard Lanskey
Deputy Director (Learning and Teaching)
Associate Professor Donna Weston
Deputy Director (Research)
Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet
Head of Acting
Jacqui Somerville
Lecturer in Acting
Claire Christian
Conservatorium Manager
Stuart Jones
Front of House Operations Manager
Michael Hibbard
Executive Officer (Engagement)
Dr Natalie Lewandowski-Cox
Technical Team Leader
Cameron Hipwell
Program Coordinator (Ensembles) & Orchestra Manager
Daniel Fossi
Operations Administrator
Clare Wharton
Technical Officers
Keith Clark, Amy Hauser, Len McPherson
Venue Officers
Joseph Gale-Grant, Grace Royle, Joshua White
/QueenslandConservatorium
@qldcon
@qldcon_griffith @qldcon griffith.edu.au/queenslandconservatorium queenslandconservatorium.com.au
140 Grey Street, South Bank 4101
Correct at time of publication.
CRICOS: 00233E | TEQSA: PRV12076