WYONG DRAMA GROUP
2010 - 2019
The terrific 'teens' is the seventh decade of productions for the Wyong Drama group. The list below contains all of the Group's productions from 2010 - 2019.
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ALL MY SONS
By Arthur Miller
Directed by Pam Campbell
Performed April 2014
Promotional Image for the Show
The Action of All My Sons
The Action of All My Sons. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
Promotional Graphic for the Show
All My Sons is a powerful drama written by Arthur Miller, who also wrote The Crucible and Death of a Salesman. Set in the second half of the 1940s, just after World War II in America, it is the story of Joe and Kate Keller, who are reeling from the fact that their son has not returned from the war and is feared dead. Their other son Chris has dealt with the loss of his brother by moving on with his life, but is limited by his mother’s obsession that her son is still alive. Joe is a successful businessman in the town, but, as the play progresses, we soon realise that this is a family in crisis.
DIRECTED BY:
Pam Campbell
CAST:
CHRISTOPHER KELLER - Stephen McDonald
KATE KELLER - Ruth Crawley
JOE KELLER - Laci Weidlich
ANN DEEVER - Madeline Parker
GEORGE DEEVER - Duncan Mitchell
DOCTOR JIM BAYLISS - Trevor Doyle
SUE BAYLISS - Sally Bartley
FRANK LUBEY - Rohan Smith
LYDIA LUBEY - Tiffany Duncan
BERT - Callum Skeem & Zach Weeks
SWEET ROAD
By Debra Oswald
Directed by Joshua Maxwell
Performed November 2014
Promotional Image for Sweet Road.
The Group's November 2014 production was Debra Oswald's Sweet Road, directed by Joshua Maxwell. The score for the show was written by Joshua along with some talented cast members. Joshua also had a road trip to outback NSW (Bourke) to capture photographs that would be used in various backdrops for the show.
The author, Debra Oswald, is the writer of the hit TV series 'Offspring' and 'The Secret Life of Us’, along with hit plays including 'Dags' and 'Mr Bailey’s Minder’. Sweet Road is the moving story of 6 Australians travelling on the outback roads of Australia, each yearning for something - hope, freedom, revenge, adventure or escape.
The cast, crew, rehearsals and some miscellaneous photos from Sweet Road. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
Article from the Central Coast Express Advocate, Wednesday 12 November 2014.
DIRECTED BY:
Joshua Maxwell
CAST:
JO - Danielle Brame Whiting
CARLA - Jessica Pascuzzo
ANDY - Scott Russell
MICHAEL - Scott Osborne
FRANK - Marc Calwell
YASMIN - Kalani Hirst
CURTIS - Kyle Carlson
POLICEWOMAN - Cassie Roome
THE CEMETERY CLUB
By Ivan Menchell
Directed by Ron Baker
Performed April 2015
Three Jewish ladies, friends for a long time, have something in common, they are widows and their husbands are all buried in the same cemetery. Once a month they meet for tea before going to visit their husbands' graves. All appears normal until someone new enters their lives.
The cast, crew, rehearsals, and some miscellaneous photos from The Cemetery Club. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
DIRECTED BY:
Ron Baker
CAST:
IDA - Margaret Holdom
DORIS - Pam Campbell
LUCILE - Julie Bailey
SAM - Laszlo Weidlich
MILDRED - Kate Clark
Australian One-Act Play Triple Bill
THE CARD PLAYERS
By Peter Kocan
Directed by Pollyanna Forshaw
Performed May 2015
Life member, Paul Ractliffe (vale), reviewed this production and gave a sense of the plot:
"Set in an mental health institution in the 1970's, it had several excellent performances, most notably Helen Herridge as the delusional newly admitted patient but scene stealers (both with no actual lines) were Laura Honeysett as the car crash victim, totally bandaged 'mummy', with horror in her eyes and blood curdling screams, and the unrecognisable Polly Forshaw as 'Old Aggie' who staggered in and out with wild staring eyes and a bloody patched face to scare kids in their nightmares."
Niccy Hallam(Arlene) & Scott Osborne (Leo) in The Card Players
Laura Honeysett (The Mummy) in The Card Players
Helen Herridge (Maragret Page) & Pollyanna Forshaw (Aggie) in The Card Players
Niccy Hallam(Arlene) & Scott Osborne (Leo) in The Card Players
The Action of The Card Players. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
DIRECTED BY:
Pollyanna Forshaw
CAST:
ARLENE - Niccy Hallam
LEO - Scott Osborne
GEORGE - Andy Kabanoff
MARGARET PAGE - Helen Herridge
JOHN PAGE - Howard Oxley
DR MOORE - Kelly Humphries
THE MUMMY - Laura Honeysett
AGGIE - Pollyanna Forshaw
Australian One-Act Play Triple Bill
THE MALTESE MOUSE
By Peter Kocan
Directed by Alexandra Travers
Performed May 2015
Life member, Paul Ractliffe (vale), reviewed this production and gave a sense of the plot:
"A spoof of the Sam Spade stories, it starred Marc Calwell as private dick Joe Sleazy and his daughter Vivienne as the femme fatale. They had a lot of fun playing opposite each other as Joe tried to get to the bottom of the mystery of the 'collectable rodent' that Sydney Greenside (played by Laci Weidlich) was also trying to get his hands on. An unintentional incident happened towards the end involving a large chicken "onesie" that had cast and audience in stitches and drew huge applause. Ah, theatre is made of wonderful moments like this!"
Marc Calwell (Joe Sleazy) in The Maltese Mouse
Marc Calwell (Joe Sleazy) & Vivenne Calwell (Patricia) in The Maltese Mouse
Laura Honeysett (The Maid) in The Maltese Mouse
Marc Calwell (Joe Sleazy) in The Maltese Mouse
The Action of The Maltese Mouse. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
DIRECTED BY:
Alexandra Travers
CAST:
JOE SLEAZY - Marc Calwell
PATRICIA - Vivienne Calwell
DAME GERTRUDE - ? ? ? ?
THE BUTLER - Cameron Oxley
SIDNEY GREENBACK - Laszlo Weidlich
THE MAID - Laura Honeysett
Australian One-Act Play Triple Bill
HOME FIRES BURNING (2015)
By Peter Kocan
Directed by Pollyanna Forshaw
Performed May 2015
Life member, Paul Ractliffe (vale), reviewed this production and gave a sense of the plot:
"The award winning Home Fires Burning was last but not least, and was about the confrontation between Tossa (played by Brendon Flynn), a returned one armed vet from WWI and the unionist fiance (Kyle Carlson) of his landlady's daughter resulting in a tragic accident. Very powerful play about the diverse feelings from both sides of the war fence."
Cassie Roome (Marge Harris) & Brendon Flynn (Tossa Grimes) in Home Fires Burning
Cassie Roome (Marge Harris) in Home Fires Burning
Siana Moore (Auntie Lil) & Sally Bartley (Beryl Harris) in Home Fires Burning
Cassie Roome (Marge Harris) & Brendon Flynn (Tossa Grimes) in Home Fires Burning
The Action of the 2015 production of Home Fires Burning. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
Pollyanna Forshaw
DIRECTED BY:
CAST:
MARGE HARRIS - Cassie Roome
TOSSA GRIMES - Brendon Flynn
BERYL HARRIS - Sally Bartley
BILL HARRIS - Cameron Oxley
AUNTIE LIL - Siana Moore
This collection of one-act plays, showcasing the works of Peter Kocan (former resident playwright and international best selling author), had four performances from 28 - 30 May 2015. The plays were directed by Pollyanna Forshaw and Alexandra Travers, with production design by Joshua Maxwell.
General shots from the Australian One-Act Triple Bill. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
RUTHLESS!
The Stage Mother of All Musicals!
By Joel Paley & Martin Laird
Directed by Joshua Maxwell
Performed August 2015
The Action and Rehearsal of Ruthless! The Musical. Use the arrows to navigate through the images. Click the images to view them full-size.
Ah! Talent! Where does it come from? Is it a product of one's environment... something picked up from the street? Or is talent something you're born with? Something passed down from generation to generation... Something in the Blood?!
Ruthless! is an all female, Off-Broadway hit musical that twists housewives into movie stars, grandmothers into grand dames and children into sociopaths. All in fabulous fun, of course. Winner of the New York Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, Ruthless! is a razor sharp send-up of the entertainment business, full of witty one-liners, bright, brassy show tunes and ingenious plot twists.
The Cast of Ruthless! on Closing Night.
Joshua Maxwell
DIRECTED BY:
CAST:
TINA DENMARK - Marlee Carter & Chloe McWilliam
JUDY DENMARK - Ruth Jordon
SYLVIA ST CROIX - Pollyanna Forshaw
LITA ENCORE - Rose Cooper
MISS THORN & MISS BLOCK - Rebecca Roth
LOUISE LERMAN - Charlotte Cooke & Kyrah Brock-Fenton
EVE - Madeline Parker
RADIO VOICES - Scott Russell & Declan Green
JUDGE - Marc Calwell
TONY AWARD PRESENTER - Joshua Horner
PROSECUTOR - Joshua Maxwell
LEND ME A TENOR
By Ken Ludwig
Directed by Howard Oxley
Performed November 2015
Promotional Graphic for Lend Me A Tenor.
The Grand Opera Company is primed to welcome Tito Merelli for its "Grand Opening”. The world’s most famous Tenor is to perform Verdi’s Otello in a one-off performance. He arrives late, has a stomach upset, has fallen out with his wife and has taken too many tranquillisers! But "The show must go on!” The result is that Max, the theatre assistant, and his Boss conspire to hoodwink the General Public.
Lend Me A Tenor is a roaring comedy directed by Howard Oxley for Wyong Drama Group's November 2015 production.
The Company of Lend Me A Tenor
The Company of Lend Me A Tenor
Rehearsal for Lend Me A Tenor. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
Howard Oxley
DIRECTED BY:
CAST:
BELLHOP - Margaret Holdom
DIANA - Cathy De Vries
MARIA - Denise Pastor
JULIA - Sally Bartley
HENRY SAUNDERS - Marc Calwell
TITO MERELLI - John Gerrie
MAGGIE SAUNDERS - Madeline Parker
MAX - Declan Green
THE LONG WEEKEND
By Norm Foster
Directed by Ron Baker
Performed May 2016
The truth and lies of a friendship come to the surface during a weekend visit between two couples. Wounds run deep and there are plenty of surprises along the way in this 'comedy of manners'. The only problem with The Long Weekend, Norm Foster's hilarious look at love and marriage disposable-style, is its sheer volume of laughs. Good comedy is like that though, isn't it? It turns reality on its ugly head. It sets us laughing and we don't recover until the final curtain.
The Cast, Set and Graphic for The Long Weekend. Click the images to view them full-size.
Article in the Central Coast Express Advocate, Wednesday 27 April 2016.
Ron Baker
DIRECTED BY:
CAST:
MAX - Michael Burke
WYNN - Nikki De Vries
ROGER - Andrew Thomson
ABBY - Denise Pastor
SEPIA SECRETS
By Andy Kabanoff
Directed by the author & Pollyanna Forshaw
Performed July 2016
Promotional Graphic for the Show.
"He told me Dubrovnik was beautiful. He was here during the War." – Gretel
Sepia Secrets is based on playwright Andy Kabanoff's own family history - and family secrets he discovered while on a recent trip to his mother's birth place in Austria. The play beautifully weaves the past and present together to create this gripping piece of theatre!
Rehearsals for Sepia Secrets. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
"A very moving play. So many Australians have family or friends with a similar history. It will touch hearts and make connections, both past and present."
A retired Australian man makes a trip to Europe to retrace his parents' footsteps and hopefully to find answers to questions that have troubled him. The story explores the dislocation and loss caused by war and revolution, and the reasons Kabanoff's parents, like so many others, wanted to make a fresh start a long way from the tragedies they had experienced.
Article about Andy and the show in the Central Coast Express Advocate, 8 June 2016.
DIRECTED BY:
Andy Kabanoff & Pollyanna Forshaw
CAST:
ALENA - Jasmine Clough
MAXIM - Beau Wilson
ROB - Andy Kabanoff
GERMAN OFFICER - Hagen Heinrich
GRETEL - Pollyanna Forshaw
LAURA - Alexandra Travers
HERTA - Marta Cabarrus
FRANZ - Laszlo Weidlich
ILSE - Laura Honeysett
OLGA - Siana Moore
STEEL MAGNOLIAS
By Robert Harling
Directed by Brendon Flynn
Performed August 2016
The Action of Steel Magnolias. Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
Honey! It’s the 1980s, in Louisiana. At Truvy’s beauty shop the motto is “There is no such thing as natural beauty” and the women are all sass and brass. Through clouds of hairspray and over the buzz of blow dryers, six southern spitfires gather each week to gossip, but also support each other through thick and thin.
However, those bonds are about to be tested when M’Lynn and her daughter Shelby face a life-changing event. Infused with heart and humour.
Steel Magnolias is a hilarious story of love, loss, and enduring friendship.
Brendon Flynn, the director.
Article in the Central Coast Express Advocate, 17 August 2016.(This is currently the highest resolution we have of this image, and may not be suitable to read).
DIRECTED BY:
Brendon Flynn
CAST:
M'LYNN - Helen Herridge
CLAIREE - Rose Cooper
OUISER - Sally Bartley
TRUVY - Cathy De Vries
ANNELLE - Tiffany Smith
SHELBY - Clare Todorovitch
NOISES OFF (2016)
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Pam Campbell
Performed November 2016
Cast members describing their characters in three words.
(Other Videos available on Our Facebook Page - Search for 'Noises Off')
Noises Off is an uproarious "play within a play", focused on a British touring company’s production of ‘Nothing On’. The Opening Night performance of the farce ‘Nothing On’ is just hours away, and as the cast stumbles through their final dress rehearsal, things couldn’t get any worse. With lines being forgotten, love triangles unravelling and sardines flying everywhere, it’s complete pandemonium…and we haven’t even reached intermission! Can the cast pull their act together on the stage even if they can’t behind the scenes?
Being such a crowd pleaser, Noises Off is making a return to Wyong after 20 years, having last been produced by the group in 1998.
Sierra Phillips (Brooke) and Marc Calwell (Gary)
Ruth Jordan (Dotty)
Sierra Phillips (Brooke) and Marc Calwell (Gary)
The Action, Cast, Posters and Promotional Photos of Noises Off (2016). Use the arrows to browse through the photos . Click the images to view them full-size.
Article about the show in the Wyong Regional Chronical. 11 October, 2016.
DIRECTED BY:
Pam Campbell
CAST:
LLOYD - Howard Oxley
TIM - Duncan Mitchell
POPPY - Alexandra Travers
DOTTY & MRS CLACKETT - Ruth Jordon
GARRY & ROGER - Marc Calwell
BROOKE & VICKI - Sierra Phillips
FREDERICK, PHILIP & SHEIKH - Stephen McDonald
BELINDA & FLAVIA - Madeline Parker
SELSDON & BURGLAR - Laszlo Weidlich
THE VICAR OF DIBLEY
By Ian Gower & Paul Carpenter
Directed by Alexandra Travers & Madeline Parker
Performed in March 2017
To mark the first show of their 65th year, Coast Theatre Company will bring the marvellous British comedy The Vicar of Dibley to life on The Art House stage in March.
The stage adaptation follows the lives of your favourite Dibley Parish Council members in four classic episodes; Arrival, The Easter Bunny, The Engagement and Radio Dibley.
Of course we can’t forget a few Alice jokes, escaping cows, disastrous sandwiches and Kylie Minogue along the way.
This production marks the Group's 65th Birthday, and you can see the lovely cake we had to celebrate in our photos.
The Trailer released on our Facebook Page for the Production.
(Other Videos available on Our Facebook Page - Search for 'Vicar of Dibley')
Rehearsals, Cast and Crew of The Vicar of Dibley, as well as some of Celebrations for Our 65th Birthday! Use the arrows the navigate and click the images to view them full-size.
Article about the show in the Central Coast Express Advocate. 15 March, 2017.
DIRECTED BY:
Alexendra Travers & Madeline Parker
CAST:
GERALDINE GRANGER - Jillian Logan
ALICE TINKER - Gabrielle Brooks
HUGO HORTON - Scott Russell
DAVID HORTON - Greg Buist
OWEN NEWITT - Justin O’Connor
JIM TROTT - Laszlo Weidlich
FRANK PICKLE - Hagen Heinrich
LETITIA CROPLEY - Donna Brooks
THE CHILDREN'S HOUR
By Lillian Hellman
Directed by Andy Kabanoff & Sally Bartley
Performed May 2017
Promotional Graphic for the Show.
Children in starring roles – but this is no children's play!
One could easily think that Wyong Drama Group's upcoming production of 'The Children's Hour' was a sweet childhood comedy, but nothing could be further from the truth. When left-wing firebrand feminist Lillian Hellman wrote the play in 1934 she gave her dark story an ironic title – a suggestion that this is what might happen if children took control, unchecked by the wisdom that should come with maturity. She based the story on events which had taken place over a hundred years previously, but the story could well have been written yesterday. Audiences will find the story line disturbingly familiar.
Like Dalton Trumbo (the subject of the film Trumbo), Lillian Hellman and her partner, detective writer Dashiell Hammett, were blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. No doubt Lillian had strong left-wing leanings, but in this play she raises a flag for feminism decades before it was fashionable to do so. Her cast of 13 has one male character, 5 adult females and 7 girls between the ages of 11 and 14.
She examines prejudices which still hold sway in society today as two teachers at a girls school are accused of having a lesbian relationship. So controversial was the play that it was not filmed with the plot unchanged until 1961 because of the strict censorship rules which applied in US cinema. Hopefully we are somewhat more broad-minded today but small town narrow thinking can still influence today's society. Gossip becomes fact overnight, people are guilty until proven innocent, trial by media wins out in our post-truth world.
Director (offstage): 'C'mon guys - this is a serious scene!' Bill, Annie, Kathryn and Sally working hard at rehearsals...with a few giggles of course.
Rehearsals for The Children's Hour. Use the arrows to browse through the photos. Click the images to view them full-size.
Sally Bartley, seen in WDG's 'Steel Magnolias', and newcomer Kathryn Peterson (in WWLT's 'Dinkum Assorted') explore great emotional depths in the roles of Martha and Karen (played by Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film) - two women who run a small boarding school for the daughters of wealthy families and who become the subject of malicious allegations.
Pam Campbell (WDG's 'The Shoe-horn Sonata') and Annie Bilton (seen in Woy Woy Little Theatre's 'When Dad Married Fury') are both icons of Central Coast theatre and totally convincing as the righteous society matriarch and the self-centred actress-turned-teacher whose blindness and insensitivity each contribute to the tragic unfolding of events.
Newcomer Bill Mifsud shines as Karen's fiance, a voice of sanity amidst the madness, and Marta Cabarrus who debuted last year as Herta in WDG's 'Sepia Secrets' brings commonsense and humanity to the role of Agatha.
Kay-lea Sims (soon to appear in Jopuka Productions '13 The Musical') is truly frightening as Mary, every parent or teacher's worst nightmare. Harmony Davies evokes sympathy as the major victim of her bullying. Chloe McWilliam (seen in Jopuka's 'Hating Alison Ashley'), Emma Peterson (in Wyong Musical Theatre Company's 'Oliver'), Jacinta Cormie, Jorden Hynes and Isabel Purser complete the ensemble of children whose self-devised scenes will entertain and amuse against the dark backdrop of unfolding events.
Direction is by Sally Bartley and Andy Kabanoff (seen in 'When Dad Married Fury' at Woy Woy and in his own play 'Sepia Secrets' at Wyong.)
The Children's Hour ran from May 19th - 27th at The Grove, Wyong.
DIRECTED BY:
Andy Kabanoff & Sally Bartley
CAST:
KAREN WRIGHT - Kathryn Peterson
MARTHA DOBIE - Sally Bartley
DR JOSEPH CARDIN - Bill Mifsud
MRS AMELIA TILFORD - Pam Campbell
MRS LILY MORTAR - Annie Bilton
AGATHA - Marta Cabarrus
MARY TILFORD - Kay-lea Sims
EVELYN MUNN - Emma Peterson
ROSALIE WELLS - Harmony Davies
PEGGY ROGERS - Chloe McWilliam
LOIS FISHER - Jacinta Cormie
HELEN BURTON - Jorden Hynes
CATHERINE - Isabel Purser
GROCERY BOY - Harry McWilliam
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
By Agatha Christie
Directed by Pollyanna Forshaw
Performed July 2017
Cast, Rehearsal of And Then There Were None. Click the images to view them full-size.
This superlative mystery-comedy takes place in a house on an island off the coast of Devon. Statuettes of little soldier boys fall to the floor one by one as those in the house succumb to a diabolical avenger. A nursery rhyme tells how each of the ten "soldiers" met his death, until there were none. Eight guests who have never met each other or their apparently absent host and hostess are lured to the island and, along with the two house servants, marooned. A mysterious voice accuses each of having gotten away with murder and then one drops dead... poisoned.
This play has some differences to the novel and relies on special effects for its mounting tension.
Teaser Video released on our Facebook Page for the Production.
(Other Videos available on Our Facebook Page - Search for 'And Then There Were None')
DIRECTED BY:
Pollyanna Forshaw
CAST:
NARRACOTT - Dan Smith
MRS. ROGERS - Niccy Hallam
ROGERS - Stuart Mortimer
VERA CLAYTHORNE - Jennifer Sharrock
CAPTAIN LOMBARD - Allan Pleym
EMILY BRENT - Nikki De Vries
ANTONIA MARSTON - Gabrielle Brooks
DR ARMSTRONG - James Chambers
JUSTICE WARGRAVE - Andy Kabanoff
DETECTIVE BLORE - Justin O'Connor
GENERAL MCKENZIE - John Czerniecki
PROOF
By David Auburn
Directed by Brendon Flynn
Performed August 2017
Audience Reaction video to the First Weekend of Shows.
(Other Videos available on Our Facebook Page - Search for 'Proof')
Catherine has inherited her late father’s mathematical brilliance, but she is haunted by the fear that she might also share his debilitating mental illness. She has spent years caring for her now-deceased father, and upon his death, she feels left alone to pick up the pieces of her life without him. Caught between a new-found connection with Hal, one of her father’s former students, and the reappearance of her sister, Claire, Catherine finds both her world and her mind growing increasingly unstable.
Then Hal discovers a ground-breaking proof among the 103 notebooks Catherine’s father left behind, and Catherine is forced to further question how much of her father’s genius or madness will she inherit. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, David Auburn’s Proof is a passionate, intelligent story about fathers and daughters, the nature of genius, and the power of love.
Rehearsal for Proof. Click the images to view them full-size.
DIRECTED BY:
Brendon Flynn
CAST:
ROBERT - Marc Calwell
CLAIRE - Samantha Winsor
HAL - Rohan Smith
CATHERINE - Tiffany Smith
'ALLO 'ALLO (2017)
By Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft
Directed by Howard Oxley & Duncan Mitchell
Performed November 2017
November brought the classic British comedy ’Allo ‘Allo to the Art House! There was laughter and music, skulduggery and magic and a cabaret for all to savour and enjoy.
Directors Howard Oxley and Duncan Mitchell made it a "Night Out in World War II". Patrons enjoyed the music of the War era, then entered the world of madcap humour with our café proprietor as he tries to fool not only the Germans, but the Gestapo, the French Resistance and of course his beautiful songstress of a wife, Edith.
Playing René was Howard Oxley, a veteran comic (well known for all his Basil Fawlty episodes) with his wife Edith, being played by Ruth Jordon. These two have been doing plays together in Wyong since 1984! With Duncan Mitchell (Herr Flick) and Marc Calwell (Gruber), also veterans of the group, and a host of others, the cast had depth and quality guaranteed to please any audience.
For this show, the Group was attempting to provide - 'reasonably priced entertainment for the community against rising fees at The Art House in an area crying out for live theatre but constrained by the rising costs. If we “fill the house”
we can do it!'
Rehearsal Photos for 'Allo 'Allo (2017). Use the arrows to navigate and click the images to view them full-size.
Video from the Opening Night.
(Other Videos available on Our Facebook Page - Search for 'Allo')
DIRECTED BY:
Howard Oxley & Duncan Mitchell
CAST:
The French
RENÉ - Howard Oxley
EDITH - Ruth Jordon
YVETTE - Gabrielle Brooks
LECLERC - Laszlo Weidlich
MICHELLE - Vivienne Calwell
MIMI - Alexandra Travers
The Germans & Italians
COLONEL VON STROHM - John Humphries
HERR OTTO FLICK - Duncan Mitchell
HELGA - Kellie Martin
LIEUTENANT GRUBER - Marc Calwell
GENERAL VON SCHMELLING - Stephen McLaren
CAPTAIN BERTORELLI - Bill Mifsud
The British
OFFICER CRABTREE - Stuart Mortimer
THE ODD COUPLE (2018)
Female Version
By Neil Simon
Directed by Jillian Logan
Performed March 2018
Promotional Graphic for the Show.
Neil Simon’s most popular play has been re-gendered and is now even funnier. That famous mismatched couple, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, have become Florence and Olive, two complex and complicated women. Audiences will have a ball as they navigate the pitfalls of relationships and friendships of single women in 1980's New York. Full of warmth, spirit, heart and cracking one liners, this is a fantastic play for our exceptionally talented actresses on the Coast!
Note that the rest of James' photography was available here https://jamesbeggs.pixieset.com/wdg-oddcouple2018, but has since been removed. If you can help with tracking down the photos, please contact us.
Rehearsals for The Odd Couple - Female Version (2018). Use the arrows to browse through the photos. Click the images to view them full-size.
DIRECTED BY:
Jillian Logan
CAST:
OLIVE MADISON - Shayne Leslie
FLORENCE UNGER- Sally Bartley
MICKEY - Nikki De Vries
RENEE - Jane Sackman
SYLVIE - Niccy Hallam
VERA - Rebecca Holland
MANOLO - Andrew Harvey
JESUS - Jamie Sturgess
END OF THE LINE
By Andy Kabanoff
Directed by the author and Gabrielle Brooks
Performed May 2018
Promotional Graphic for the Show.
Wyong Drama Group proudly presented “End of the Line” by local playwright Andy Kabanoff in May 2018. Andy's “Sepia Secrets” production was greatly loved by audiences in 2016.
This prequel, set largely during the Russian Revolution, is loosely based on his grandmother's life. Orphaned as a child in 1890s Poland, she achieved prosperity in Imperial Russia, lost most of what she loved in the old Yugoslavia, and lived to a great age in her adopted Australia.
Rehearsal and Performance of End Of The Line. Use the arrows to browse through the photos. Click the images to view them full-size.
It is the life of a woman and her family dramatically affected by world events, having to escape from Russia during the Revolution, and from war-torn Europe after years of German occupation and war. Time is fluid, as an old lady and her grand-daughter relive her memories and find humour in the midst of the chaos.
A large and talented cast brought the epic story to life, once again in the Grove Theatre. It was directed by Andy Kabanoff and Gabrielle Brooks.
DIRECTED BY:
Andy Kabanoff & Gabrielle Brooks
CAST:
OLD ELIZABIETA - Ruth Jordon
YOUNG ELIZABIETA - Samantha Winsor
TASH & OLDER NATALIA - Gabrielle Brooks
ALEX - Kyle Walbank
ANDRE & TSAR NICHOLAS II - Marc Calwell
YOUNG NATALIA, HELENA & STUDENT - Chloe McWilliam
IVAN - Justin O'Connor
SERAPHIMA, DINER & TUTOR - Alexandra Mitchell
MIKHAIL, KERENSKY, DINER & MINER - Andy Kabanoff
POLITICIAN, OFFICIAL & CLERK - Stephen McLaren
RAILWAY FOREMAN & MINER - Allan Pleym
ENGINE FITTER & MINER - Stuart Mortimer
POOR WOMAN & NURSE - Kellie Mortimer
PEASANT GIRL & STUDENT - Charlie Mortimer
BALLERINA - Indi Mortimer
WOMAN WITH NEWSPAPER, HOSPITAL OFFICIAL & MINER - Kate Clark
FACTORY WORKER & SECRETARY - Les Besseny
NUNSENSE
By Dan Goggin
Directed by Margaret Holdom
Performed July 2018
Trailer Promoting Nunsense.
(Other Videos available on Our Facebook Page - Search for 'Nun')
Winner of the Outer Critics' Circle awards for best Off-Broadway musical, best book, best musical, this play was seen at London's Fortune Theatre in 1987.
Nunsense is a hilarious talent show staged by five survivors at the Little Sisters of Hoboken nunnery. The rest of the sisterhood has succumbed to botulism after eating vichyssoise prepared by Sister Julia, Child of God. The remaining "Little Hobos" parade their talents at a variety show staged to raise funds so that the last four of the dearly departed can be buried.
Promo Photos for Nunsense. Use the arrows to navigate and click the images to view them full-size.
The score pulses with merriment and an unabashed desire to make you laugh, with songs and spontaneous comic interludes paced at break-neck speed. Amid the merriment is a riotous audience participation quiz that has everyone rolling in the aisles. Nunsense offers a cornucopia of hilarity for the whole family, proving conclusively that nun rhymes with fun!
Fraught with hilarity, both Catholic and otherwise, we watch 5 nuns try to perform their planned performance amidst chaos and calamity.
DIRECTED BY:
Margaret Holdom
CAST:
SISTER MARY REGINA, MOTHER SUPERIOR - Ruth Jordon
SISTER MARY HUBERT, MISTRESS OF NOVICES - Cathy DeVries
SISTER ROBERT ANNE - Amanda Daniel
SISTER MARY AMNESIA - Jillian Logan
SISTER MARY LEO - Bella Nakhoul
BRASSED OFF
By Paul Allen
Directed by Howard Oxley & Kate Clark
Performed November 2018
Promotional Graphic for the Show.
Adapted for the stage by Paul Allen from the Mark Herman's film, Brassed Off was first performed at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre and subsequently at the Olivier at the National Theatre, London.
Grimley Colliery is set to close as the accountants say there's more money in it shut than open, even after redundancy payments. It means 1200 job losses, a dying town and the loss of its brass band. But under the leadership of Danny, coughing with coal-dusted lungs, the band is somehow transformed into British champions with local lass Gloria whipping up the money needed to get them to the Albert Hall.
Rehearsal performance and the Band of Brassed Off. Use the arrows to navigate and click the images to view them full-size.
DIRECTED BY:
Howard Oxley & Kate Clark
CAST:
DANNY (BAND LEADER) - Laszlo Weidlich
HARRY - James Chambers
VERA - Jenny Sharrock
JIM - Stephen McLaren
RITA - Sondra Broadhurst
PHIL - Daniel Craig
SANDRA - Zoe Thomson
MELODY - Adelaide Thomson
SHANE - Calem Madden
ANDY - Scott Russell
GLORIA - Tiffany Smith
THE TEMPEST
William Shakespeare
Directed by Andy Kabanoff & Alexandra Mitchell
Performed May 2019
Behind the Scenes, Rehearsal, Dress Rehearsal and Cast of The Tempest. Use the arrows to navigate and click the images to view them full-size.
The Group's first production of 2019 was Shakespeare's The Tempest. Directed by Andy Kabanoff and Alexandra Mitchell (Seraphima in 'End of the Line') the show explores the themes of forgiveness and redemption, is steeped in mystery and magic, and features live music and dance.
DIRECTED BY:
Andy Kabanoff & Alexandra Mitchell
CAST:
MIRANDA - Tiffany Smith
PROSPERO - Andy Kabanoff
ARIEL - Laura Honeysett
CALIBAN & BOATSWAIN - Christopher Brame
FERDINAND - Curtis Harrild
ALONSO - Pam Campbell
GONZALO - Laszlo Weidlich
ANTONIO - Douglas Kent
SEBASTIAN - Rowan Cowley
TRINCULO & CERES – Alexandra Travers
STEPHANO & SHIP’S MASTER - John Czerniecki
IRIS & FIRST SPIRIT DANCER - Rebecca Bright
SECOND SPIRIT DANCER – Bella Dash
THIRD SPIRIT DANCER – Chloe McWilliam
FOURTH SPIRIT DANCER – Katie-Maree Debenham
SPIRIT MUSICIAN - Harry McWilliam
SYCORAX & JUNO – Pollyanna Forshaw
Port Macquarie One-Act Play Festival
2019
Performed 7th - 9th June 2019
In March 2019, auditions were held for the two one-act plays which WDG planned to take to the Port Macquarie One Act Play Festival which would be held on the June long-weekend.
It was a wonderful weekend (even for those who weren't cast in a play but came for support) spent with like-minded thespians, held in Port Players' own theatre. The festival opened on Friday night 7th June with a Welcome Party, with information and talks. Plays were seen in a couple of sessions over Saturday and Sunday, with 3-4 plays in each session. The Awards Session was held afterwards on Sunday, so everyone could return home on Monday.
WDG entered the plays Café Fear and Time Flies.
Shots from the 2019 Port Macquarie One Act Play Festival. Use the arrows to navigate and click the images to view them full-size.
Awards
It was a great trip for all involved. Both plays were very well performed and showed that WDG has very high standards of production and performance. We stood very proud of ourselves!!! We announced that we’d host next year's event in Wyong so we’ll have to work hard.The Players Theartre Inc were marvellous hosts.
BEST PRODUCTION - Time Flies
BEST DIRECTOR - Howard Oxley (for Time Flies)
BEST ACTRESS NOMINATION - Cathy DeVries & Kate Clark (for Café Fear)
SPECIAL AWARD NOMINATION - Ron Baker (for Café Fear)
BEST MALE ACTOR RUNNER-UP - Marc Calwell (for Time Flies)
Port Macquarie One-Act Play Festival 2019
TIME FLIES
By David Ives
Directed by Howard Oxley
Performed June 2019
Meet May and Horace.
They are Mayflies.
They are not one of nature's most attractive creatures.
May and Horace don't agree.
Meet Sir David Attenborough.
He knows all about Mayflies.
He loves wearing his Safari Jacket.
Time Flies. Use the arrows to browse through the photos. Click the images to view them full-size.
DIRECTED BY:
Howard Oxley
CAST:
MAY - Cathy De Vries
HORACE - Marc Calwell
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH - Howard Oxley
Port Macquarie One-Act Play Festival 2019
CAFÉ FEAR
By John Matthews
Directed by Ron Baker
Performed June 2019
Rehearsal performance of Café Fear. Use the arrows to browse through the photos. Click the images to view them full-size.
DIRECTED BY:
Howard Oxley
CAST (in unknown roles):
Nikki DeVries
Bill Mifsud
Sondra Broadhust
Steve McLaren
Kate Clark
James Chambers
A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED BIG FAMILY CHRISTMAS
By Pat Cook
Directed by Ron Baker & Julie Bailey
Performed November 2019
Promotional Graphic for the Show.
Wyong Drama Group embraced the Christmas Spirit in November 2019 with this cheery production!
While no family is perfect, A Good Old-Fashioned Big Family Christmas, written by Pat Cook and directed by Ron Baker and Julie Bailey, affirms that the family that thinks of each other first will survive the stresses of the season. This entertaining comedy will ring a few bells as we are reminded of how Christmas can bring out the best and the worst in all of us. Performances took place at Wyong Grove Theatre.
Rehearsal and Cast of A Good Old-Fashioned Big Family Christmas. Navigate using the arrows and click the images to view them full-size.
Hayden Stewart's wife, Judith, and her sisters, Carla and Beth, are worried about their parents. "They argue all the time". When Judith mentions this to Hayden, he casually suggests that maybe the women could spend some time with Jack and Arlene in the hope of averting any such arguments. The next thing Hayden knows, Judith is planning a huge Christmas party with the whole family. "And it was all Hayden's idea!" This doesn't go down well with his brothers-in-law, who have a hard time getting along with Jack, their father-in-law. The outcome??? Who knows!
Teaser Video for A Good Old-Fashioned Big Family Christmas.
(Other Videos available on Our Facebook Page - Search for 'Big Family Christmas')
A Letter from David Harris thanking the group for the show.
