BLOOMSDAY IN MELBOURNE
MEET THE CREATIVES
DIRECTOR CARL WHITESIDE
Carl is Artistic Director of Meerkat Productions, a nationally touring theatre company for young people. He has experience of directing musicals, plays, cabaret and new writing. In London he led independent theatre company Illuminated Productions before moving to Melbourne in 2009.
He also has experience of Theatre Management in London's West End; working on The Lion King, Beauty & The Beast and Starlight Express.
Australian credits include: Yes I Will Yes! for Bloomsday In Melbourne; Stockholm by Bryony Lavery for Et Tu Theatre; Mastress of Ceremonies for MICF and Melbourne Fringe; Oops! for MICF; The Stone Lion at Adelaide Fringe; The Sexual Awakening of Virginia Poppycock at Sydney Fringe; The Madwomen Monologues for Baggage Productions; The Comedy of Errors; The Sound of Music; Urinetown: The Musical (nominated Best Production & Best Director); Spelling Bee.
UK credits include: Macbeth; Death and The Maiden; Oleanna by David Mamet; Stags & Hens by Willy Russell and Kiss Me Kate.
RICHARD ROWAN - DOUG LYONS
Doug is a Melbourne/Naarm based actor and improviser. After completing a Bachelor of Science, he started his foray into acting at St Martins’ Youth Theatre in the performers ensemble program then went on to train at Ward Studios in 2010, in the Meisner Technique.
In recent years he has been an active at The Improv Conspiracy improv theatre, successfully auditioning to be a house team member on ‘Harold’ nights. Some of his stage credits are: Hermes/Ceyx in Metamorphosis (Tamzen Hayes), Sid/Sonny/Carl in Ruby Moon (Bakers Dozen), Mick in A Conversation (FizzWack), and Aiden in Scarborough (Honey Trap). From 2017-2022 he starred as Adam in Rostered On (Netflix/7Mate/Robot Army/Ruby).
Doug has also appeared in many TV commercials and music videos. In 2021 he led in the short film My Friend Anxiety (Robot Army/Ruby) which was selected to screen at FlickrFest in Sydney. Doug can be found on stage most Thursdays at The Improv Conspiracy or saving bees on the Yarra in his kayak.
BERTHA ROWAN - LUCY PAYNE
Lucy (she/her) is a queer theatre maker, facilitator and activist based in Naarm. Previous credits include Bayou Bart (dir. Kalina Lauer), An Indigenous Trilogy (dir. Glenn Shea & Dr. Kirsty Reilly), The Crucible (dir. Gary Abrahams), Hey is Dee Dee Home? A Punk Rock Sitcom (dir. Steven Boltz), Brontë (dir. Kellie Torrie) and Everyman (dir. Ross Hall).
She is currently working towards accreditation as an Intimacy Coordinator with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators International (IDC) and is a member of Pathways, La Mama Theatre’s emerging writers’ development program. Lucy loves theatre that is socially engaged, urgent and has storytelling at its core. She is a proud MEAA member.
ROBERT HAND - SOREN JENSEN
Soren Jensen is a professional actor in the Melbourne scene, working in theatre, TV, films, commercials, voiceovers, and whoever else pays the monkey to dance.
He has spent the last three years performing in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as Hagrid and The Sorting hat during the run of the two-part production 2019-2022. Other theatre credits include Don in Don's Party, Prior in Angels in America, Gary/Roger in Noises Off, Franz Liebkind in The Producers, Zadkiel in The City they Burned, Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 8 in 12 Angry Men, Louis in Cosi, The Economist and many more.
Soren has a love of immersive theatre appearing in many shows with Underground Cinema and Secret Squirrel Productions and most recently with Labassa Murder Mysteries. He has appeared with Essential Theatre, Draculas, Australian Shakespeare Company, Complete Works Theatre, Attic Erratic, Mockingbird Theatre, MKA in Melbourne.
TV credits include Warnie, Dr Blake Murder Mysteries, Home and Away, Wentworth, Romper Stomper next gen, Informer 3838 and A Beautiful Lie. He can also be found on numerous commercials and voiceovers.
BEATRICE JUSTICE – MARY AGNES-O’LOUGHLIN
Mary is an acting graduate from Federation University’s Arts Academy. Upon graduating in 2020, she has been performing in both Melbourne and interstate, travelling to the Darwin and Adelaide Fringe Festivals to perform in Cuttings, directed by Maude Davey. In 2022 she made an appearance in the AACTA award-winning series Mystery Road: Origin, playing the role of Grace.
Mary is delighted to be working with the cast and crew of Bloomsday in Melbourne’s Exiles.
BRIGID – LINDA COOKSON
Linda trained at the Journey (Actors' Centre Australia) and The Ensemble Theatre three year course and the International Film and Television Course where she completed the professional full-time course.
She has performed at Belvoir Street Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Gasworks, La Mama, Butterfly Club and Independent Theatre. Films include Brian Patto's Snowblind and Jack Naylors Absence. And for Television in Preacher, The Fires ( A.B.C.). Linda has also worked for Sense Advertising, Visual Domain and VisualEyes productions.
Linda enjoys musical theatre and hosting ghost tours at Williamstown morgue and Pentridge.
ARCHIE ROWAN - CAITHLIN O’LOGHLEN
Caithlin (she/her) is a South Australian born and Melbourne/Naarm based performer. Since graduating from the Flinders Drama Centre in 2017, Caithlin has worked in touring children’s theatre, recorded radio plays, voice overs, and performed in several short films, theatre shows and live art installations.
She was awarded ‘Best Onscreen Talent’ at the 2020 ReelGood Film Festival for her work in the short film Call Connect (dir. Indianna Bell & Jo Allen). Most recently she performed in Hedda GablerGablerGabler (dir. Mary Angley) at La Mama, and had her art installation Selfcare4eva_2001 showing at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore.
Currently she is filming her first feature film. Outside of performing, Caithlin works as an online presenter and content creator for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, at the Melbourne Zoo and is a proficient roleplayer both for the corporate sector and for the Department of Justice. She is a proud MEAA member.
SET DESIGNER, COSTUME DESIGNER – BRIDIE TURNER
Bridie is a Naarm/Melbourne based Production Designer and an Associate Artist with Burning House. Bridie’s recent credits include Set and Costume Designer for Burning House's and Heartstring's production of Little Eyolf, Props Manager/Designer for La Mama’s Measure of a Moment (2022), Assistant Designer for Burning House’s Caligula (2022), and Set Designer for UMMTA’s Footloose (2022) and 2050 Theatre’s Those Well-Oiled Members (2022).
She has been involved in other roles such as Cast Member in Caligula, Co-Producer for UMMTA’s The Sitzprobe 2021, and Equity Officer on UMMTA’s 2021 committee. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy and Politics at the University of Melbourne. Bridie loves how theatre-making engages with these disciplines, and is excited to be working with Bloomsday in Melbourne to bring Exiles to life.
STAGE MANAGER – GIN ROSSE
Since 2016 Gin (she/her) has worked as part of Stage Management and Dresser teams for a variety of theatrical performances primarily within the Musical Theatre genre including Cruel Intentions – the 90’s Musical, The Sapphires – the Musical (Australian Tour 2022), Voyagers – a Staged Reading (Wagga Wagga 2022), Kinky Boots and Party Like Gatsby (Hamburg 2017), The Full Monty (Melbourne 2017), and Avenue Q (Melbourne 2016).
Some of Gin’s credits, as Stage Manager, in other genres include Pear-Shaped (Melbourne 2022), RINSE (Sydney 2022), Love’s Bitter Mystery (Melbourne 2022) and three productions with the Melbourne Shakespeare Company (2016 – 17). In addition to her theatre experience Gin recently completed a Master of Business (Arts and Cultural Management) (2022) with Deakin University, Australia.
Gin is very excited to be leading the Stage Management team on this production of Exiles and to be working once again with Bloomsday in Melbourne in the truly unique space and experience that is fortyfivedownstairs.
LIGHTING DESIGNER – LINDON BLAKEY
Lindon has been involved in the independent Melbourne theatre scene for the last 12 years, as a sound and lighting designer, stage manager, and writer. Lindon has previously worked with Bloomsday in Melbourne on The Seven Ages of Joyce (2013) and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (2016), Yes I will Yes! (2022) and Love’s Old Sweet Song (2022).
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER – ELLIE BRINDLE
Ellie is a Melbourne-based Freelance Stage Manager who has studied at Melbourne Polytechnic and Victoria University. Credits include ASM: And She Would Stand Like This (Antipodes Theatre Company), SM: Stop/Over (Three Fates Theatre), SM: When All Is Said And Done (Beng Oh), Audition Coordinator: Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (TEG Dainty), and most recently, SM: The Merry Wives of Windsor (Melbourne Shakespeare Company).
Ellie also worked at Walt Disney World in Florida as an attractions hostess at multiple locations in EPCOT. In addition to her theatre work, she also works for AV hiring company CVP Film, TV and Events.
Ellie is thrilled to be working with Bloomsday in Melbourne as Assistant Stage Manager.
EXILES
We hope Melbourne audiences will enjoy this Bloomsday version of the play, find themselves vastly more literate in its sexual politics which we think are of our time, and find it as exhilarating (and discomforting) as we do. We can’t wait to see what Carl Whiteside, our theatre Director and his talented team do with it. It will be an exciting ride.
