Furious Mattress

Melissa Reeves

Margaret Thanos

Margaret Thanos is an award-winning Cypriot-Australian director, writer and actor for theatre and film. She is also the owner of Queen Hades Productions, a production company that works to bring together activism and art.

Margaret’s directing credits include Not Now, Not Ever: A Parliament of Women (25A), the 5-star sell-out season of I Hate People; or Timon of Athens (Sport for Jove), A Very Expensive Poison (New Theatre), the Australian Premiere of Labyrinth (Dream Plane Productions) and world premiere of A Grain of Sand (KXT). In 2023, she was awarded the prestigious Sandra Bates Director’s Award at Ensemble Theatre.

She has assistant directing credits on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Belvoir), Benefactors (Ensemble), Mr Bailey’s Minder (Ensemble), This Genuine Moment (Old 505), Animal Farm (New Theatre), Originate Project (Q Theatre), The Linden Solution (Ratcatch) and The Cherry Orchard (Chippen St). Her debut short Life Beyond Christine is currently in post-production.

Her acting credits include: Beautiful Things (Flickerfest Selection), Dear Australia (Spark Theatre), Screen Shot (Toronto Comedy Film Festival Selection), Twinemies (Australian Podcast Award Winner), Spider in My Soup (Shopfront Artslab and Bondi Feast), My Creatures (Tricky Feet), Intersection: Chrysalis (ATYP/Griffin). In 2020, Margaret was a part of Montague Basement’s Laboratory Program and in 2021 she was a part of ATYP’s Fresh Ink.

Julian Garner

Alex Malone

Alex’s theatre credits include Before the Meeting (Seymour Centre); The Caucasian Chalk Circle and The Lighthouse Girl (Black Swan State Theatre Company); Eurydice, Babes in The Woods and Threnody (The Old Fitz); Spring Awakening – The Musical (ATYP); A Little Piece of Ash, DNA and Youth and Destination (KXT) and Spectrum Now’s Orfeo Ed Euridice, directed by Shannon Murphy.

Alex is about to appear in Kitty Green‘s feature film The Royal Hotel for See Saw films. Her other film credits include Mercy Road, Transfusion, and Pulse and her television credits include the series Wanted, Colin from Accounts, Home & Away, RFDS, The Heights, Les Norton and A Place to Call Home. 

Matilda Ridgway

Matilda is an award-winning actor, director, theatre maker and arts educator. She is a proud member
of MEAA.

Matilda’s credits at Belvoir include Master and Margarita (2023), Rep Season (2022), Artists at
Work (2020), and Jasper Jones (2016). Her other theatre credits include Notre Dame (Brandenburg
Orchestra); Just Romeo and Juliet!, Just Macbeth!, Hamlet, Henry IV, and The Players (Bell
Shakespeare); The Norman Conquests Trilogy, Proof, Seminar, My Wonderful Day, Rain Man,
Brooklyn Boy, Ruby Sunrise (Ensemble Theatre); Platonov, and Sweet Nothings (ATYP); The
Merchant of Venice, A Doll’s House, The Crucible, A Midsummer Nights Dream and Much Ado
About Nothing (Sport for Jove) The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, Kayak, Cock and Sprout (Old
Fitzroy Theatre).

Her film credits include the TV series Hiding (ABC), Bump (Stan) and the films June Again, Book
Week, Disclosure, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, The Guests and Memorabilia.
The Guests was nominated for the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film festival. Disclosure was
nominated for the ‘Best Indie Film’ at the 2021 AACTA Awards. Matilda won ‘Best Performance in
an Australian Short Film’ at the Flickerfest International Short Film Festival for her role in
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. She has been nominated for three Sydney Theatre
Awards and won for her performance of Nora in A Dolls House.

Shan-Ree Tan

Mathew Lee 

Jess Zlotnick

Dominique Purdue

Angelina Daniel

Daniel Herten

Ryan McDonald

Ruby Jenkins

Nigel Poulton

Nigel is an award-winning movement director, fight and intimacy coordinator, SAG-AFTRA/MEAA stunt performer and actor, with over 25 years of professional experience. Selected theatre credits include: for Belvoir St Theatre, Holding the Man, The Master and Margarita, Miss Peony, Packer and Sons, Things I Know To Be True, Stop Girl, Blessed Union, At What Cost?, The Jungle and the Sea; for Sydney Theatre Company, Oil, On The Beach, Do Not Go Gentle, Fences; for Bell Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth; for Melbourne Theatre Company, Bernhardt/Hamlet; for Ensemble Theatre, Memory of Water, Mr Bailey’s Minder, Suddenly Last Summer. Nigel’s film and television work includes: Deadloch, Nautilus, Poker Face, Thor: Love and Thunder, Spiderhead, Ding Dong I’m Gay, Occupation 2, Pirates of the Caribbean V, Deadline Gallipoli, The Water Diviner, The Bourne Legacy, Vikingdom and Winter’s Tale.

In 2021, Nigel was awarded the status of Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors, as one of only two recipients outside the US with this accolade. He has also won a Green Room Award for outstanding contribution to the stage.

Diego Retamales

Harry Milas

Harry Milas is Australia’s leading sleight of hand specialist, based in Sydney. He has designed impossible stage illusions with theatre companies around Australia and he has been featured in the Guardian, Telegraph and enjoyed many TV appearances. He currently performs his award winning close up a show in a residency at the South-East pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Laura Farrell

Laura Farrell (she/her) is a Voice and Dialect Coach living and working on Gadigal land. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Voice from NIDA; a Post Graduate Diploma in Voice from the Victorian College of the Arts; and a Bachelor of Music Theatre from the Victorian College of the Arts. A current lecturer for NIDA’s BFA, Laura has also taught on multiple Sydney actor training programs, including NIDA’s Diploma of Stage and Screen and Diploma of Music Theatre, Actors Pulse, Sydney Acting Studio, Actors Centre Australia and The University of Wollongong.

For Belvoir, Laura’s coaching credits include Into The Woods, directed by Eamon Flack (2023), Blue, directed by Deborah Brown (2023), Jungle And The Sea, directed by Eamon Flack (2022), Tell Me I’m Here, directed by Leticia Caceres (2022), Fangirls, directed by Paige Rattray (2022) and Counting And Cracking, directed by Eamon Flack (2022).  

Other credits include Pear Shaped, directed by Miranda Middleton (Rogue Projects, 2023), F*** It Bucket, directed by Alyssa McClelland (LeftBank Productions UK, 2022),  Reluctant Sea Shanty for UNHCR, directed by Kyra Bartley (FINCH, 2022), Picnic At Hanging Rock, directed by Claudia Osbourne (NIDA, 2022), Paper Stars, directed by Miranda Middleton (Salty Theatre, 2021) and Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., directed by Heather Fairbairn (NIDA, Sydney 2021). 

Cris Chavez