Calamity Jane

Virginia Gay graduated WAAPA, then spent four years pretending to be a nurse on All Saints, six months pretending to be a cop on Savage River (ABC, Paramount+), and five years on Winners & Losers, where she pretended to know a lot about high finance. That last one, particularly, was a stretch. 

She recently starred in her adaptation of Cyrano, which had a sold-out season at Edinburgh Fringe 2024 and won a Fringe First for Best New Writing. The production transferred to London’s Park Theatre, where Virginia was nominated for an Offie – an Off West End Award – for Best Lead Actor for her performance. The show was previously a hit for Melbourne Theatre Company and Black Swan/Perth Festival 2022/23.

She won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actress for Calamity Jane, starred in the film Judy & Punch which premiered at Sundance, and wrote and directed her short film Paper Cut, which made Tropfest finals. 

She’s an absolute nightmare in Colin From Accounts (S2), chewed up the scenery on Thank God You’re Here, was a grand finalist on Dancing With The Stars, and was nominated for a Logie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress for After The Verdict. Virginia is also the 2024/2025 Artistic Director for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.  

She wrote and co-directed The Boomkak Panto for Belvoir, and is currently working on a new play for Windmill Theatre, Mama Does Derby. Her script for Cyrano is published nationally by Currency Press and internationally by Nick Hern Books.  

Kaya (he/him) is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and is an actor, musician, and singer/songwriter.

He most recently appeared as Jimmy Ray in the Hayes Theatre season of Bright Star (Sport for Jove). Previous theatre credits include A Christmas Carol (GWB), A Streetcar Named Desire (MTC), Groundhog Day: The Musical (GWB), Come From Away (Newtheatricals), Chess (Storyboard Entertainment), HOSH: West Side Story (Opera Australia), Lazarus and Ragtime (The Production Company), Ring! Ring! and The House on Fire at the Edge of the World (Fringe Replanted), The Wind in the Willows (ASC), and Gilligan’s Island: The Musical (Left Bauer Productions).

Screen credits include the short films The Tide and My Straight Mate, and advertising campaigns for OpenTable, Heinz and NAB. He has also narrated both fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults with Bolinda Audio.

An instrumentalist and composer, Kaya released his debut EP Belladonna/Supernova in early 2025, alongside music videos for his singles Stasis and Flying Into The Sun.

He's looking forward to making his Sydney Opera House debut alongside such wonderful actors, musicians and creatives.

Andrew Cutcliffe is a versatile actor with fifteen years of experience across stage and screen. A graduate of the Ensemble Acting Studios, he is about to hit the stage in Betrayal for Sport for Jove at the Old Fitz; has worked with many of Sydney’s leading theatre companies, most recently as Henry V in Sport for Jove’s critically acclaimed The Player Kings and in Hayes Theatre Co.’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Other notable theatre credits include Karim (National Theatre of Parramatta), The Dismissal (Squabbalogic), Caroline, or Change, Darlinghurst Nights and Melba (Hayes Theatre Co.), as well as Face to Face and Girl, Interrupted (Ensemble Theatre).

On screen, Andrew recently starred in the second season of Last King of the Cross (Paramount+) and the Stan original series Critical Incident. His other television includes The Secrets She Keeps, Amazing Grace, Lambs of God, Reef Break, Hyde & Seek, Wonderland, Home & Away and Underbelly.

A prolific voice artist, he’s lent his talents to animations, commercials, and television shows. Expanding his creative horizons, Andrew made his directorial debut with the short film Hero, currently touring the global festival circuit.

Victoria Falconer (she/her) is a theatremaker, music director, and cabaret artist. She is Co-Artistic Director of Hayes Theatre Co alongside Richard Carroll, and the recipient of the 2024 Arts & Culture Asian-Australian Leadership Award.

Music direction highlights include Hedwig & The Angry Inch (GWB), My Brilliant Career (Melbourne Theatre Company), In The Heights (Sydney Opera House), Ride The Cyclone (Hayes Theatre Co), M’ap Boulé (Performing Lines), and Oklahoma (Black Swan State Theatre).

Recent work as lead creative and performer includes Smashed: The Nightcap (Sydney Festival/Auckland Arts Festival), The Sight (Dark Mofo), and The Vali Myers Project (Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Frank Ford Commission winner).

Victoria has performed on cabaret stages across the globe, including Soho Theatre London, Club Cumming NYC, Edinburgh Fringe, Glastonbury, Sydney Mardi Gras, and Bi Pride UK. Her accolades include two Best Cabaret awards (Adelaide Fringe), a Green Room Award, and multiple Sydney Theatre Award nominations for musical direction.

Kala Gare (She/Her) is a Melbourne/Naarm-based performer who graduated in 2017 from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Kala has since performed in roles such as Sophie de Palma in Andrew Kay’s production of Masterclass; Maureen in Rent; Olivia in Twelfth Night; Alice in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s musical Bright Star; Anne Boleyn in the original Australian cast production of Six; Sonya in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Marcus in Murder For Two at the Hayes Theatre; and more recently, she originated the role of Sybylla Melvyn in Melbourne Theatre Company’s My Brilliant Career.

Kala is currently performing in the Hayes Theatre Company’s production of Being Alive: The Music of Stephen Sondheim.

She is also a singer/songwriter and has performed solo shows of her original work to audiences around Australia. She has recently released her debut EP Closer to Home, which is available to stream anywhere you get music.

Ryan Gonzalez is a true triple threat performer with a career spanning cabaret, film, and theatre.

Most recently, they originated the role of Dave in the world premiere of Zombie! The Musical after starring as Santiago in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Ryan’s performance as Usnavi in 2018 earned them the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actor. In 2019, they starred as Frankie Valli in the national tour of the international blockbuster Jersey Boys, receiving a Green Room Award nomination.

Theatre credits include: Roy in Fun Home, Gabriel in Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Freddy in The View Upstairs, Charles Guiteau in Assassins, Eddie Ryan in Funny Girl in Concert, ¡Hispanic Attack!, Velvet Rewired, Kinky Boots, Strictly Ballroom the Musical, King Kong Live on Stage, Legally Blonde and Violet.

Film: motion capture artist in Happy Feet Two (directed by George Miller) and The Great Gatsby (directed by Baz Luhrmann).

Albums: Dubbo Championship Wrestling and Zombie! The Musical Original Cast Recording.

Phillip’s impressive career began in 1995 after completing his studies at W.A.A.P.A. and includes: Come From Away (Nick), Georgy Girl (Keith), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Mary Poppins (Northbrook), Eurobeat (UK), The Producers (Mr Marks/Kevin), The Sunshine Club (Peter), Showboat (Frank u/s), Cabaret and Crazy For You.

In 2017, Phillip was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award for his portrayal of Edward Bloom in Big Fish and in 2018 was nominated for a Green Room Award for the role of Harry Bright in Mamma Mia.

During the Covid lockdown, Phillip played the role of Tyler Nelson in the world’s first live-streamed musical season of Who’s Your Baghdaddy.

On television, Phillip has been seen in Crownies, All Saints, Anzac Girls, Australia; The Story of Us, Blonde, Home and Away and the big screen has seen him in roles in Black and White, The Honourable Wally Norman and Thank God He Met Lizzie.

Calamity Jane at Tuesday night performances.

Originally from Dubbo, Billie began her vocal training at the Macquarie Conservatorium and went on to complete a Bachelor of Music at the Australian Institute of Music. 

Billie’s credits include HMS Pinafore (Ralph Rackstraw), Godspell (Jesus) and swing for both Dubbo Championship Wrestling and Jekyll & Hyde for The Hayes Theatre Company, The Lovers Workshop for Bell Shakespeare, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Muriel & Mrs Hatch) for Squabbalogic, A Christmas Carol for Ensemble Theatre, Once Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Ratburger (Sheila/Tina) and RENT for LPD Productions. Most recently she appeared in Pirates of Penzance with Hayes Theatre.

Her powerhouse voice saw Billie crowned the 2019 winner of the Sydney Cabaret Competition with her cabaret "From Dubbo to Death".

Tyran Stig, originally from the coastal town of Newcastle, has studied with Rachelle Schmidt of The Voice Studio, Renae Perry of Tap Dogs, and most memorably, Kristin Chenoweth.

Tyran made his professional theatre debut as Ross in the Australian tour of Friends: The Musical Parody! (SK Entertainment), as well as his screen debut in STAN/NBC Universal’s Joe Vs. Carole. He played Professor Bhaer in Joshua Robson’s production of Little Women at the Hayes Theatre and was most recently seen in Titanique (Michael Cassel Group), covering the roles of Jack, Cal, Ruth, Victor and Iceberg.

Other credits include: Swing in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (September Remedy Productions/Hayes Theatre), Robert Martin in The Drowsy Chaperone (High Street Productions), Laurence in In A Pink Tutu (dir. Callan Purcell), and Seymour in The Little Shop of Horrors (Pantsuit Productions).