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BY WILLY RUSSELL3 MAY – 9 JUNE 2018THEATRE FOR EVERYONE

WELCOMEWE HOPE YOU ENJOY SHIRLEY VALENTINE!We want to bring you the best of entertainingtheatre from close to home and aroundthe world. We are working hard to makeEnsemble Theatre not only a place of qualityentertainment, but also a place that sitsnaturally within our gorgeous environment.To this end we are installing solar panels onour roof top to help us cut bills and reducegreenhouse emissions the natural way. Wehave successfully applied for a grant towardthis work and with the Federal Member forNorth Sydney, Trent Zimmerman’s help wehave offset some of the cost, but we still havea way to go to reach our target of 50,000.If you are interested in SETTING THE SCENEwith us please visit our website or Box Officeto donate. Here’s to a brighter future, onstage and off.To soak in the full experience of our beautifulnatural setting, we invite you to complementyour visit to the theatre with a relaxingdrink in the foyer bar or a sumptuousmeal in Bayly’s Bistro. Our location boastsunsurpassed views of the harbour which arestunning – rain, hail or shine.We are busy behind the scenes as alwaysand looking forward to two DIRECTOR ATWORK sessions in the coming months: withMitchell Butel (May 24 for MARJORIE PRIMEby Jordan Harrison) and Janine Watson (June7 for UNQUALIFIED by Genevieve Hegney &Catherine Moore). Venture into the rehearsalroom with these two skilled practitioners andsee first-hand what the rehearsal processentails. You can catch both these wonderfulproductions up next at Ensemble Theatre:from MARJORIE PRIME’s dazzling explorationof our possible future, to the laugh-out-loudhilarity of UNQUALIFIED, we hope there issomething for everyone.Mark Kilmurry, Artistic DirectorBY WILLY RUSSELL3 MAY – 9 JUNE 2018CASTSHIRLEY VALENTINE SHARON MILLERCHIPCREATIVESDIRECTOR MARK KILMURRYSET & COSTUME DESIGNER SIMONE ROMANIUKLIGHTING DESIGNER NICHOLAS HIGGINSSTAGE MANAGER STEPHANIE LINDWALLCOSTUME SUPERVISOR RENATA BESLIKDIALECT COACH AMY HUMEACT 1. Scene 1:THE KITCHEN OF ASEMI-DETACHED HOUSE. EVENING.Scene 2:THE SAME. THREE WEEKS LATER.ACT 2.A GREEK ISLANDRUNNING TIME APPROX 2HRSINCLUDING INTERVALPROGRAMS: 2 which helps enormously with the cost of printing.

paulcoxphotos.co.ukWILLY RUSSELLPLAYWRIGHTWilly Russell’s career spansmore than four decades;born in Liverpool in 1947, heleft school at 15, becamea women’s hairdresser,part-time singer/songwriter before returning toeducation and becoming a teacher. Russell’sbreakthrough work, commissioned by LiverpoolEveryman, JOHN PAUL GEORGE RINGO AND BERT transferred to the West End winningBest Musical - Evening Standard and LondonTheatre Critics Awards. Two of Willy’s bestknown plays have female protagonists,EDUCATING RITA (Olivier Award for BestComedy) and SHIRLEY VALENTINE (OlivierAward - Best New Comedy & Best New Actress,Tony Awards, Broadway – Best Actress). Bothbecame successful films – Julie Walters andPauline Collins who played the roles on stagereceived Oscar nominations as did Willy Russellfor the screenplay of EDUCATING RITA. BLOODBROTHERS, (Laurence Olivier Award, Best NewMusical, 1983), played for 24 years becomingthe 3rd longest running West End musical. Majorforeign productions include a 2 year run onBroadway, with recent productions in SouthAfrica and Korea and current productions inAustralia and Japan. The UK tour is still playingto packed houses. OUR DAY OUT, originallywritten for TV, about a school outing, has beenadapted for the stage as OUR DAY OUT –THE MUSICAL. Premiered at Liverpool’s RoyalCourt in 2010 to rave reviews it was revived ayear later for another sell out season.The critically acclaimed novel, THE WRONGBOY was published in 2000 and translatedworldwide. For the last few years, Willy hasbeen working on painting, developing his ideasand experimenting with line, colour and form.During 2017 Willy’s artwork was exhibited forthe first time; ANOTHER ASPECT at the KirkbyGallery, Liverpool and SEEING BETTER atthe Coningsby Gallery, London. Willy Russellcontinues to be one of the most celebrated andwidely produced writers of his generation withworks regularly being produced throughoutthe world as well as in the UK. willyrussell.comtwitter.com/willyrussellukMARK KILMURRYDIRECTORMark is the Artistic Directorof Ensemble Theatre.Recent directing creditsinclude: TAKING STEPS,NEVILLE’S ISLAND, TWO,ODD MAN OUT, RELATIVELY SPEAKING,BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, BETRAYAL, GOODPEOPLE, MY ZINC BED, EDUCATING RITA,ABSENT FRIENDS, OTHER DESERT CITIES,THE ANZAC PROJECT, RICHARD III, THEGLASS MENAGERIE, FRANKENSTEIN,MANAGING CARMEN, RED, THE SPEARCARRIER and HAMLET. Mark’s recent actingcredits include: Frank in EDUCATING RITA,Richard in RICHARD III, Hamlet in HAMLET;Otto in THE ACT; Angus in THE DRAWERBOY and Serge in ART. Mark’s recent playsand adaptations include; RICHARD III (withPatrick Dickson); HAMLET (with John Trutwin);THE BIG DRY (based on the novel by TonyDavis); CASANOVA (based on the TV seriesby Russell T Davis); DIARY OF AN OLYMPICCABBIE (based on the book by AnthonySharwood); MERCY THIEVES; HAPPY AS LARRY& VIV and ONE SHOT. Mark is the recipientof two Norman Kessell Memorial Awards forOutstanding Performance by an Actor for hisroles in HAMLET and JAPES, he was awardedthe 2006 Hayes Gordon Memorial Award forImportant Contribution to Theatre and the 2017North Sydney Community Award.

Sharon returns to the stageafter recently steppingout of the spotlightto work as ResidentDirector/Choreographeron the Disney blockbuster ALADDIN andBaz Luhrmann’s STRICTLY BALLROOM:THE MUSICAL. Sharon was last seen at theEnsemble Theatre in the smash hit one-womanshow BOMBSHELLS, A PICASSO and LASTOF THE RED HOT LOVERS. Other main stageroles include Roxie Hart in CHICAGO, Meg Giryin Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LOVE NEVER DIES,Belle in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Anita inWEST SIDE STORY, Charity in SWEETCHARITY, Catherine in PIPPIN, Meg Giry inTHE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Velma Kelly inCHICAGO, Columbia in THE ROCKY HORRORSHOW, Sonia Walsk in THEY’RE PLAYINGOUR SONG, Demeter in CATS, and Cordelia inFALSETTOS and Little Red Riding Hood in INTOTHE WOODS for the STC. Sharon has receivedmany awards for her performances, includingthree Helpmann’s and three Sydney TheatreAwards. sharonmillerchip.comREHEARSAL PHOTOS by Karen WatsonSHARON MILLERCHIPSHIRLEY VALENTINERehearsal photos by Karen Watson

SIMONE ROMANIUKSET & COSTUMEDESIGNERSimone Romaniuk is anaward winning theatre andfestival designer who worksbetween Australia and theUK. For Ensemble Theatre she has designedFRANKENSTEIN and CASANOVA.Set and costume design credits include:Unicorn Theatre, London: THE HUNTINGLODGE. RNCM, Manchester: LA VIEPARISIENNE. Queensland Theatre Company:MACBETH, VENUS IN FUR, KELLY, HEAD FULLOF LOVE, ELIZABETH: ALMOST BY CHANCEA WOMAN, BOMBSHELLS, FRACTIONS, THEREMOVALISTS, WAITING FOR GODOT, RUBYMOON, EATING ICE CREAM, BECKETT X3, and THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED. OperaQueensland: THE MAGIC FLUTE, THE MERRYWIDOW, SPACE ENCOUNTERS and THEMIKADO. Sydney Theatre Company: THECRUCIBLE and THYESTES. Simone is theCreative Director of OZASIA FESTIVAL, theannual international arts festival at AdelaideFestival Centre. She was resident designer atQueensland Theatre Company across2011- 2012 and was awarded Matilda Awardsfor Outstanding Achievement for Design in 2012and 2014. She holds design degrees from NIDAand QCA. simoneromaniuk.comNICHOLAS HIGGINSLIGHTING DESIGNERNick has been anindependent lightingdesigner since graduatingfrom WAAPA in 1999. Hehas worked across all genres in all states andfor most companies. Nick is not only a LightingDesigner, but a photographer and film-maker.He has worked extensively for EnsembleTheatre and was a nominee for the BestLighting Design Award, Sydney Theatre Awardsfor his design for FRANKENSTEIN. Nick andhis partner moved to Tasmania after workingon a show and falling in love with the state.He just hopes that no-one else finds out howwonderful it is there!Vic

STEPHANIE LINDWALLSTAGE MANAGERStephanie is a graduate ofthe Australian Academyof Dramatic Art. As StageManager: NEVILLE’SISLAND, THE RASPUTINAFFAIR, BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, GOODPEOPLE (Ensemble Theatre), THE DAPTOCHASER, HOOTING AND HOWLING (CriticalStages Regional Tours), SENIOR MOMENTS(Return Fire Productions National Tour), PRIDE,THE HORSES MOUTH FESTIVAL, BONDI FEAST(TRS), SET: THE PLAY (NIDA Independent), AVIEW FROM MOVING WINDOWS (RiversideTheatres), ON THE RAZZLE (AADA). As SwingTechnician: THE REMOVALISTS (TRS), SAYHELLO FIRST (Cupboard Love). As ProductionManager: (& Mentor) PLAYHOUSE CREATURES(AADA), SAY HELLO FIRST (Cupboard Love),BODY LANGUAGE (107 Projects), BEFORE/AFTER (AADA). As Assistant Stage Manager:EMPIRE (TRS), THE WIZARD OF OZ (Packemin),THE WOODSTOCK EXPERIENCE (AIM), THETHREE LIVES OF LUCY CABROL (AADA). AsProducer: GODS AND GAMES: NEW SHORTWORKS (AADA).RENATA BESLIKCOSTUME SUPERVISORRenata is a costumesupervisor, maker andmilliner. She graduatedfrom NIDA in 2007 witha Bachelor’s degree inCostume Production. Supervising creditsinclude: DIPLOMACY, THE KITCHEN SINK,BUYER AND CELLAR, WHO’S AFRAID OFVIRGINIA WOOLF?, David Williamson’sODD MAN OUT, BAREFOOT IN THE PARK,BETRAYAL, A HISTORY OF FALLING THINGS(Ensemble Theatre), THE CORONATIONOF POPPEA, RAMEAU: ANACREON ANDPIGMALION, THEODORA (Pinchgut Opera),HENRY V, THE WINTER’S TALE, MACBETH,INTIMATE LETTERS (Bell Shakespeare) THETEMPEST, WOYCECK, A LIE OF THE MIND,PORT, THE THREESOME (NIDA). Design creditsinclude: THE TEMPEST, ROMEO AND JULIET,A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Sport forJove). Costume making credits include: THECRUCIBLE (Sport for Jove), KING KONG(Global Creatures), IN THE NEXT ROOM (STC),THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, LOVE NEVERDIES, and many Opera Australia productions.Millinery credits include: THE GREAT GATSBY(Bazmark), THE 7 SOPRANOS (Cre8ion), MYFAIR LADY, AIDA, CARMEN (Opera Australia).AMY HUMEDIALECT COACHAmy Hume is a voiceteacher at the NationalInstitute of Dramatic Art(NIDA), voice and accentstutor at Australian Theatrefor Young People (ATYP) and Founder ofone of Sydney’s leading voice studios, VivaVoice. Amy was Dialect Coach for Ensemble’sTHE KITCHEN SINK. Most recently she wasDialect Coach for Belvoir’s SAMI IN PARADISEand provided voice support on THE ROVERand GHOSTS (Belvoir). Other theatre creditsinclude Voice/Dialect Coach at the Sydneyproduction of MATILDA THE MUSICAL (RSC/Louise Withers), Voice Coach for MEASUREFOR MEASURE and THE SERVANT OF TWOMASTERS (Sport for Jove), and Dialect Coachfor STONES IN HIS POCKETS (Critical Stages).In New York she has worked on productionswith Shakespeare & Co, The ShakespeareForum and Columbia Stages. Through VivaVoice, Amy regularly facilitates corporate voiceand communication training for organisationsacross different industries.