John Michael Burdon - POLONIUS, OSRIC / PETRUCHIO

John has been involved in the theatre circuit since 1993, having performed in a number of musicals and plays for various companies across Sydney. Between 1998 and 2000, John trained for three years at ACTT where he gained an Advanced Diploma in Acting & Theatre Practices. Credits include Oberon & Theseus (A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Sydney Shakespeare Festival), Capulet (Romeo and Juliet – Sydney Shakespeare Festival), Malvolio (Twelfth Night – Sydney Shakespeare Festival), Gratiano (The Merchant of Venice – Sydney Shakespeare Festival), Laertes (Hamlet – Beryl Segers Presents…), The Player (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead – RLE) and Doug (Cosi – RLE). John, also a director and choreographer, has recently worked on directing projects including Dinner With A View, Hamlet, Cinderella and Little Shop of Horrors.

Emily Elise - ROSENCRANTZ, BERNARDO, 2ND CLOWN / GRUMIO, PEDANT, WIDOW

Emily graduated with a Bachelor of Performance at UWS (Theatre Nepean) in 2008 and this is her second year as part of the festival. In the 2011 Sydney Shakespeare Festival she played Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Other recent credits include Benvolio/Friar in Romeo and Juliet: A Vampiric Tale (Brave Touch Productions), Opposites Attract (Hot Room Theatre Group), Sydney Fringe Festival productions In the Slaughterhouse of Love (No White Elephant Productions) and Landing (Semicolon Backslash), Lot’s Wife (ABitOnTheSide , PACT Theatre), Rosalind in As You Like It and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (No White Elephant Productions), Power of the Dog (Theatre Nepean), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Riverside Lyric Ensemble) and Small Poppies and Wolf Lullaby (Castle Hill Pavilion). 

Christina Falsone - GERTRUDE / KATHARINA

Christina holds an Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts (Acting) from Actors Centre Australia. This is her third season with Sydney Shakespeare Festival. Previous roles for SSF include Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lady Capulet in Romeo & Juliet, Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Olivia in Twelfth Night.  Other credits include Shakespeare in Full Colour for the Sydney Fringe, Anna in the Tropics for B Sharp, The Cronulla Project, Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It and Death of a Salesman.  Christina’s TV credits include Dark Minds, All Saints and Dangerous.

Richard Hilliar - HAMLET / LUCENTIO, NATHANIAL

Originally from Newcastle, Richard is a graduate of the UWS Performance Course (Theatre Nepean). For Sydney Shakespeare Festival, Richard has performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors and Much Ado About Nothing. Other recent acting credits include The Complete Package for Sydney Independent Theatre Company, The Footage (Stooged Theatre), Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet (Brave Touch Productions), Hybrid Dream (Eclective Productions), In the Slaughterhouse of Love, As you Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (No White Elephant Productions), The Laughter Subsides (Crowd of Three Theatre), Crave (ABitOnTheSide), Mary Rose, Arcadia and Dangerous Liaisons (Factory Space Theatre).

David Jeffrey - CLAUDIUS / GREMIO

David is a graduate of the Actors College of Theatre and Television (ACTT). Originally from New Zealand, he has been acting in Sydney for 17 years. Recent productions include The Complete Package by Robert Allan for Sydney Independent Theatre Company, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing for Sydney Shakespeare Festival; and Serial Killers by James Griffin, Departures and Arrivals by Carol Shields, The M Word by Alan Ball, Boys Life by Howard Korder, The Dining Room by A. R. Gurney, After Dinner by Andrew Bovell and Two by Jim Cartwright for Go Theatre. Other productions include Mothers and Fathers by Joseph Musaphia at the Stables, A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Darlinghurst Theatre, One Flesh by Fiona Samuel for More Productions and Lovepuke by Duncan Sarkies at the Harold Park Hotel.

Lana Kershaw - HORATIO / TRANIO

Lana has performed in numerous independent theatre productions in Sydney, working on both new Australian works and classical texts. Most recently she performed in The Complete Package for Sydney Independent Theatre Company, and Ophelia in a 90 minute adaptation of Hamlet at the Q Theatre. This is Lana’s second year with the Sydney Shakespeare Festival, appearing as Titania and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lady Montague and Balthasar in Romeo and Juliet for their 2011 season . Other credits include various roles in Hi, How Can I Help You (HELP! Productions for the Sydney Fringe, 2010), the role of 3^rd Witch in Macbeth (Riverside Lyric Ensemble, 2010), Sprite/Narrator in Mary Rose (The Factory Space, 2010) and Jill in Mum’s the Word (NTT Productions, 2009). She is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts/Education, majoring in theatre.

Cherilyn Price - GUILDENSTERN, MARCELLUS, PRIEST / BIONDELLO, VINCENTIO

Cherilyn has been acting for over 15 years.  For Sydney Shakespeare Festival she has performed the role of Maria in Twelfth Night, 1st Witch in Macbeth, Emila (Abbess) and Doctor Pinch in The Comedy of Errors and Ursula in Much Ado About Nothing. Other recent productions include  The Complete Package by Robert Allan for Sydney Independent Theatre Company and Two by Jim Cartwright and Serial Killers by James Griffin for Go Theatre. In 2002 she appeared in a US version of Short and Sweet called Short Shorts, Wasatch Theatre.  In 1999, Cherilyn performed in Love Puke by Duncan Sarkies for Exordium at the Harold Park Hotel. For Darlinghurst Theatre from 1996 to 1999 she featured in La Voix Humaine by Jean Cocteau, The Next Big Thing by Jeff Nolan, Late Arrivals by Pamela Van Amstel and Death Comes to Us All, Mary Agnes, by Christopher Durang.

Roger Adam Smith - GHOST, PLAYER (KING), GRAVEDIGGER, ENGLISH EMBASSADOR / BAPTISTA, PHILIP

Roger has appeared in all of Sydney Shakespeare Festival’s productions playing Peter Quince and Egeus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Prince Escalus and Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet, Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, Duncan and the Porter in Macbeth, Balthazar and the Jailer in The Comedy of Errors and Dogberry and Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing. Roger has performed in numerous other stage plays including The Complete Package by Robert Allan for Sydney Independent Theatre Company, Sam Shepherd’s Icarus’ Mother (Bondi Pavilion), Inek (The Cow) (Sidetrack) and John Power’s classic Last of the Knucklemen (Bondi Pavilion) in the role of Methuselah. Roger has also appeared in several feature films including the AFI Award-winning Beneath Clouds.   

Jacob Thomas - LAERTES, PLAYER (QUEEN) / HORTENSIO

Hailing from Townsville, QLD, Jacob has been acting in Sydney for the past four years. Recent theatre performances include Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Francis Flute and Cobweb in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sebastian in Twelfth Night and Gobbo, Gratiano and Morocco in The Merchant of Venice for Sydney Shakespeare Festival, The Funky Zoo at Bondi Pavilion and Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, ATYP’s Phaedra’s Love directed by Kate Gaul, Slick Operettas Floradora, a couple of stints in Short and Sweet and Brave New Theatre’s ‘Meta-mor-phases’ A Difference of Opinion. Other performances include Henry IV, Part 1 and Beneath Castle Hill for Tropic Sun Theatre Company.

Nicole Wineberg - OPHELIA / BIANCA, CURTIS

Nicole is a graduate of the Performance course at UWS, formerly know as Theatre Nepean. This is Nicole’s fourth season with Sydney Shakespeare Festival after recently playing Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet for the 2011 season. Previously for the festival, she was seen in The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth and The Comedy of Errors. Nicole has a great interest in Shakespeare and recently played Juliet in the Brave Touch production of Romeo and Juliet. Other recent productions include Hamlet (Horatio), As You Like It (Phoebe), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Titania), In the Slaughterhouse of Love, The Beggar’s Opera (Diana) and Cosi (Julie).