BLUE

Thomas Weatherall

From the age of six Thomas professionally trained in dance, in styles across musical theatre, contemporary dance, tap, ballet, jazz and hip hop. He has been trained in singing by Kirri Adams and is also a trained acrobat.

Thomas’s first professional on-screen role was in the AACTA award- winning ABC iview teenage drama series DEADLOCK. He went on to appear in the Network Seven drama series RFDS alongside Stephen Peacocke, Rob Collins and Justine Clarke and the ABC crime series TROPPO.

In 2021 Thomas also made his professional stage debut in the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) production of FOLLOW ME HOME, staged at the Griffin Theatre. 

Thomas was most recently seen in the hit Netflix drama series HEARTBREAK HIGH, inspired by the original 1990’s series but reimagined for a new generation. He has recently completed shooting on the Australian drama series THE LAST DAYS OF THE SPACE AGE for Disney+.

In 2020 Thomas was named as one of the Casting Guild of Australia’s Rising Stars. In 2021 Thomas was the recipient of the Balnaves Fellowship which funds the creative development of Australian talent, bringing new work to theatre audiences. This award will enable him to further develop his writing talent.

Deborah Brown

Blue marks Deborah’s directorial debut for Belvoir St Theatre. In 2019 she was Associate Director on Winyanboga Yurringa, directed by Anthea Williams and participated in Belvoir’s Artists At Work in 2020.

Deborah has been Assistant Director for STC for The Long Forgotten Dream, directed by Neil Armfield, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, directed by Paige Rattray and Wonnangatta directed by Jessica Arthur.

Other independent works as Director/Choreographer include, The Wave (Project Animo), hide, Campbelltown Arts Centre and Spinifex Gum, a collaboration with Felix Riebl, Ollie McGill and Marliya of Gondwana Choirs.

Deborah was a Senior Artist for Bangarra Dance Theatre, having worked on award winning shows choreographed by Stephen Page and Frances Rings.

She was awarded the 2013 Helpmann Award for Best Female Dancer in a Dance or Physical Theatre Production, Terrain. That same year, she was named one of Arts Queensland’s Culture Champion’s for her contribution to the Queensland arts and culture sector as well as making her choreographic and directorial debut, creating a short dance film titled dive paying homage to the Pearl Shell divers of the Torres Strait Islands for Bangarra’s season of Dance Clan 3, leading her to co-create IBIS as part of the Lore national season in 2015. Her career highlights with Bangarra were returning to Country – including Mer Island and Yirrkala – performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theatre and partnering with The Australian Ballet at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

Deborah has been honoured to be the recipient of the 2016 Australian Dance Award, Outstanding Performance by a Company, Lore (IBIS and Sheoak) Bangarra Dance Theatre; 2015.

Following her time at Bangarra, Deborah received her Masters in Screen Directing from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Her capstone project, Bala, has made the official selection for various film festivals including ImagineNATIVE Film Festival, Toronto, Flickerfest, Sydney and the Brisbane International Film Festival. Bala is currently screening on ABC iView.

She recently directed for the newly commissioned Children’s Series, Barrumbi Kids, due to air on NITV in late 2022. 

Callan Purcell

Jacob Nash

Jacob’s a descendant of the Daly River people, West of Darwin and has spent the last 20 years living, working and creating across the Eora Nation.

He graduated from the NIDA Design Course in 2005. In 2010, he designed the set for OF EARTH AND SKY for Bangarra and received a Green Room Award for Best Design in Dance. He was appointed Artist-in-Residence at Bangarra the following year and now holds the position of Head of Design. Jacob has designed sets for Bangarra’s annual productions since 2010, including DARK EMU, BENNELONG, PATYEGARANG, LORE, OUR LAND PEOPLE STORIES, TERRAIN, BLACK and WARUMUK – IN THE DARK NIGHT. In 2018 Jacob was awarded a Helpmann Award for Best Scenic Design for his set design in BENNELONG.

For Belvoir Jacob has designed: RANDOM, RUBEN GUTHRIE, JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN and YIBIYUNG.

His other theatre credits include; WONNANGATTA, THE LONG FORGOTTEN DREAM, THE REMOVALISTS, TUSK TUSK/LIKE A FISHBONE (Sydney Theatre Company); BLACK TIES (Ilbijerri); and MACBETH (Bell Shakespeare);  

In 2021 Jacob became Creative Artist in Residence at Sydney Festival. For Sydney Festival he has created the works ALWAYS and PROCLAMATION, large scale artwork that became backdrops for THE VIGIL and the WUGULORA CEREMONIES.

Jacob’s film and television credits include Production Designer and Co-Creature Designer on Goalpost Pictures CLEVERMAN Season 2 for the ABC; and Production Designer on Stephen Page’s 2015 feature film SPEAR for Arenamedia.

Jacob holds a position as a Board Director at Belvoir.

Cris Baldwin

Chloe Ogilvie

Chloe Ogilvie is a Yamatji Nanda woman from Western Australia, where she graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts Specializing in Lighting Design.  Chloe works mostly as a designer but has crossed over into other areas such as Production Management and Event Coordination. Chloe has been a resident Artist with Black Swan for three years and is currently co curating the Maali Festival. Chloe Ogilvie is also a member of the arts collective The Farm where she has designed and production managed a range of shows including Throttle, Cockfight (Drover Award Winner), Ninth Wave, Tide (Helpmann Award Winner) and Depthless. Other highlights of hers include, Spinifex Gum (LD/ALD), Bungul (ALD), The Visitors (LD), Winyan Boga Yurringa (Belvoir, ALD), Fever and The Fret (Yirra Yaakin, LD), Bayala (Sydney Festival, Event Coordinator) and Toast (Maiden Voyage Theater Company, LD).

Kelsey Lee

Kelsey is a lighting, set and costume designer for theatre, dance and events. Previously for Belvoir she was the Lighting Designer for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, A Room of One’s Own; and Associate Lighting Designer for Blue, At What Cost?. Other credits include Lighting Designer: Mutiara (Marrugeku); Gurr Era Op (Force Majeure); The Lewis Trilogy; Sex Magick; Whitefella Yella Tree (Griffin Theatre Company), The Comedy Of Errors (Bell Shakespeare); Tell Me On A Sunday (Hayes Theatre); Masterclass; The Memory of Water; A Letter For Molly (Ensemble Theatre); Queen Fatima (NToP); Jali (Aya Productions, Griffin Theatre Company); Extinction of the Learned Response, Skyduck, Kasama Kita (Belvoir 25A); April Aardvark (ATYP); Good Dog; If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You (Greendoor Theatre Company). Set & Costume Designer Somos (Sydney Dance Company). Set Designer: Nothing; A Practical Guide To Self Defence (NTofP). Costume Designer: Silence and Rapture (Sydney Dance Company & ACO), Switzerland (Ensemble Theatre). Co-production Designer & Lighting Designer: Destroy, She Said (Belvoir’s 25A). Set & Lighting Designer: An Ox Stand On My Tongue (Belvoir 25A). Lighting, Set & Costume: Lulu: A Modern Sex Tragedy (NIDA), Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge (ACO). Associate Lighting Designer Cut The Sky (Marrugeku). 

Wil Hughes

Wil’s credits as a composer, songwriter and sound designer for theatre have ranged from contemporary ballet to musicals, and include Blue (Belvoir St); Tiddas, Single Asian Female, The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek, The Village, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Wind in the Willows (La Boite Theatre Company); Face to Face (Playlab); Lucie In The Sky, Arc, Still Life (Australasian Dance Collective); Propel (Expressions Dance Company); Mind Your Head, From Within, Sonder, B- Sides (Queensland Ballet); Kill Climate Deniers (That Production Company); Elizabeth I (Monsters Appear/Wonderland Festival); Rice, The Scene Project 2018 (Queensland Theatre); Day After Terrible Day, We Will Not Kiss/ Touch/Frighten You in the Dark, Caligula (The Danger Ensemble); The Theory of Everything (Brisbane Festival/Metro Arts); Dust Covered Butterfly (Metro Arts); and Sweet Meniscus (Anywhere Theatre Festival). Wil is also an internationally acclaimed composer for film, television and other media, awarded Composer of the Year in 2018 by the California Independent Film Festival and most recently winning Best Music for a Short Film at the 2022 Australian Screen Music Awards.

David Bergman

David is a video, music and sound designer for theatre, dance, opera, installation, and film.

Theatre credits include: composer and sound designer for Scenes from the Climate Era, sound designer for Into the Woods, video designer for Blue, co-sound designer for Packer and Sons (Belvoir); video designer for Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The Picture of Dorian Gray, sound designer for Playing Beatie Bow, video and sound designer for A Cheery Soul and The Wharf Revue from 2009-2018 and video designer for Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical, The Hanging, The Effect, and The Long Way Home (Sydney Theatre Company); video and sound designer for The Gospel According to Paul (STCSA/Soft Tread); sound designer for The Lovers (Bell Shakespeare); video designer for Sandsong, Knowledge Ground and Spirited (Bangarra Dance Theatre); video designer for Breaking Glass (Sydney Chamber Opera); composer and sound designer for Superheroes, composer, video and sound designer for First Love is the Revolution and sound designer for Green Park (Griffin Theatre Company); sound designer for RENT (Sydney Opera House), sound designer for Dubbo Championship Wrestling, The Rise and Disguise Of Elizabeth R., Catch Me If You Can, and sound and video designer for Merrily We Roll Along (Hayes Theatre Co); video designer for Possum Magic and The Peasant Prince, and sound designer for Josephine Wants to Dance (Monkey Baa Theatre Company); composition, sound and video designer for Museum of Modern Love and Made To Measure (Seymour Centre); and sound designer for Spring Awakening (ATYP). 

David is a National Institute of Dramatic Art graduate and teaches at NIDA.  

Dom Mercer

Dom Mercer (he/him) is a director and dramaturg, and currently the Head of New Work at Belvoir. Recent Belvoir dramaturgy credits include: Blue, At What Cost and Looking for Alibrandi and he has worked closely across Belvoir’s new work over the past few years. Recent directing credits include: A Practical Guide to Self Defence (National Theatre of Parramatta, Merrigong Theatre Company), Grounded (National Theatre of Parramatta), On The Face of Things (WAYTCO), Little Borders (Old 505 Theatre), The Block Universe: or so it goes (Old 505 Theatre), Hilt (Old 505 Theatre) Attempts on her Life (Dancehouse), Silent Theatre (Sydney Fringe), In The Blood (NIDA), Songs for a New World (NIDA) Thirst (NIDA). As assistant director: Sex with Strangers (STC), The Testament of Mary (STC), Straight White Men (MTC), Hollywood Ending (Griffin Theatre Company). 

As a dramaturg he has also worked with Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney Chamber Opera, Malthouse, NToP, Merrigong, The Joan, Little Room Theatre and Barking Gecko.

In his role at Belvoir, Dom also curates the 25A program in the Downstairs Theatre. 

Steph Storr

Stephanie is a proud Biripi woman from Newcastle, New South Wales living and working on Gadigal land. Stephanie has worked in all aspects of Stage Management across dance, theatre, film, corporate events and live performance, with a strong focus on Indigenous storytelling.

Stephanie started her career as the Indigenous Production Trainee at Bangarra Dance theatre in 2018, making her way through the ranks as Production Assistant, Assistant Stage Manager and most recently in 2021 became the first Indigenous Resident Stage Manager of Bangarra Dance Theatre.

Stephanie’s credits include Sand Song: Stories of the Great Sandy Desert; Terrain; Wudjang: Not the Past (Sydney Theatre Company); Brolga Spirit (Sydney Festival, North American Tour) ; Bennelong; 30 Years of 65,000; Dubboo: Life of a Songman; Ochres; Macq; Nyapanyapa; Dark Emu. (Bangarra Dance.Theatre). Spamalot (One Eyed Man Productions, Hayes Theatre Co), Black Drop Effect (Bankstown Theatre Company).