The Revenger's Tragedy
Cast & Crew
Lennon Bradford -SUPERVACUO / PIERO
Lennon Bradford (They/He) is a neurodiverse multidisciplinary artist residing on treaty 13 territory, Tkaronto. They are currently in rehearsals for the 2023 Paprika Festival as a member of the creators unit, and have been creatively nourished by devising and creating with their ensemble. Past performance credits include: Essential Collective Theatre’s world premiere of Michael Kras’ THE TEAM as Bobby Brantwood, Artists in Residence Quarantine Plays production of Amanda Freedman’s BAD PLAY as Jamie/Narrator, Black Swan Production Co’s New Works Play Festival production of Rachel Arnold’s LOVE AND OTHER DRAG as Fallon, and various Covid-cancelled productions. Drag, writing, and dance, are just a few of the outlets bringing him creative joy outside of theatre. His drag persona, Ace Monstera (@ace.monstera), has electrified audiences at venues such as El Mocambo, The Rivoli, and Glad Day Bookshop. Lennon has enjoyed working with James and Julia through Class BASH’d over the pandemic, and is over the moon to get to work with Shakespeare BASH’d and the cast of THE REVENGERS TRAGEDY.
Carly Chamberlain
Carly (she/her) has been a theatremaker and artsworker in Toronto for over 15 years. After refocusing on directing, she considered herself "retired" from acting after 2014 - her final role being in Shakespeare BASH'd's Love's Labour's Lost at the Toronto Fringe Festival. It is an honour to briefly return to the stage/bar almost ten years later working with the same fine group of people. Thank you to Julia and James, and all the Bashd family past and present for being a loving community all these years.
As an actor, some favourite credits include Isabella (Measure for Measure), Adrianna (Comedy of Errors), Olivia (Twelfth Night), all at Shakespeare by the Sea in Halifax; Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream) Hart House Theatre; and Holofernes in Shakespeare BASH'd's LLL.
Some favourite directing credits include: Asking for it (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Plucked (SummerWorks); Much Ado About Nothing (Hart House Theatre); Happy Days (National Theatre School).
Carly has trained at the University of Windsor's BFA Acting Program, and The National Theatre School of Canada's Directing Program. She is Communications Manager for The Toronto Fringe and hopes to see you at the festival this July 5 - 16th!
As an actor, some favourite credits include Isabella (Measure for Measure), Adrianna (Comedy of Errors), Olivia (Twelfth Night), all at Shakespeare by the Sea in Halifax; Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream) Hart House Theatre; and Holofernes in Shakespeare BASH'd's LLL.
Some favourite directing credits include: Asking for it (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Plucked (SummerWorks); Much Ado About Nothing (Hart House Theatre); Happy Days (National Theatre School).
Carly has trained at the University of Windsor's BFA Acting Program, and The National Theatre School of Canada's Directing Program. She is Communications Manager for The Toronto Fringe and hopes to see you at the festival this July 5 - 16th!
Sofía Contal - CASTIZA / OFFICER / JUDGE
Sofía Contal (She/Her) is so excited to be doing her first show with ShakesBASH’d! James and Julia have gifted her so much wisdom about taking Shakespeare’s text and painting the most abundantly colourful pictures. She loves Shakespeare because she loves the complexity and versatility of the language - there’s so much to mine, and therefore so much opportunity to make it one’s own. Beyond the Bard, Sofía is also a big lover of music; she often spends an hour or two of her day strolling through a park listening to 80s rock, 70s disco, 20s jazz, and, having trained in musical theatre at Randolph College for the Performing Arts, the occasional original broadway cast recording. Although Sofía feels most on fire when performing, she also dreams of recording a jazz album, directing, and writing her story. It has been difficult for Sofía to see herself reflected in Canadian theatre - she longs for stories rich in South American culture, or that explore what it is to be a foreigner yet local, or that are crowded with queer, Hispanic, nuanced human beings. The things she can’t find, she hopes to create, and she knows she isn’t alone in this - she wants to continue discovering her community of artists here in Toronto! Hola!
James Graham - LUSSURIOSO
For Shakespeare BASH'd: Othello, King John
Selected Theatre: Casimir & Caroline, Punk Rock, Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, The Glass
Menagerie, 52 Pick-Up (Howland Company) Out the Window (Luminato
Festival/Theatre Centre), Mockingbird (NSTF, Dora Nominee), NSFW (Studio 180), Titus
Andronicus, As You Like It (Canadian Stage), New Jerusalem (Harold Green Jewish Theatre).
Selected Media: Murdoch Mysteries (CBC)
Awards: Dora Award winner, two-time Dora Award nominee
Selected Theatre: Casimir & Caroline, Punk Rock, Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, The Glass
Menagerie, 52 Pick-Up (Howland Company) Out the Window (Luminato
Festival/Theatre Centre), Mockingbird (NSTF, Dora Nominee), NSFW (Studio 180), Titus
Andronicus, As You Like It (Canadian Stage), New Jerusalem (Harold Green Jewish Theatre).
Selected Media: Murdoch Mysteries (CBC)
Awards: Dora Award winner, two-time Dora Award nominee
Margot Greve - HIPPOLYTA
Margot Greve (she/her) is a Dora nominated Director and Writer. Her central focus as an artist is to create unapologetically FUN works of theatre. As a Director she has worked on projects for the Next Stage Festival, Next Stage Audio Series, New Voices Festival, Hamilton Fringe Festival and the Watershed Festival. She has directed for companies such as Tweed and Company, the Panoply Collective, the Uncommon Folk Collective, and other independent companies in Toronto. When not writing and directing, she can usually be found at a pub trivia night, reading or cooking something way too complicated for her skill level.
Jordin Hall - VINDICE
Five seasons at the Stratford Festiva: Richard II, Grand Magic, Love's Labour's Lost, All's Well That Ends Well, Richard III, Henry VIII, The Crucible, The Neverending Story, An Ideal Husband, Julius Caesar, To Kill a Mockingbird. Elsewhere (selected): Montague/Steve in Serving Elizabeth (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Eribo in The Neverending Story (NAC); Othello in Othello (Driftwood Theatre); Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost, Leontes in The Winter's Tale (Dauntless City Theatre); Aaron in Titus Andronicus (Seven Siblings Theatre); Lysander and Robin Starveling in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Humber River Shakespeare). Film/TV: The Kings of Napa (OWN); The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu); Mayday (Discovery); See No Evil (Discovery ID). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre; Brock University (Performance Concentration). Etc: Love, peace, and SOULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL TRAIN.
Kevin Hammond - THE DUKE / ANTONIO
Kevin (he/him) is an actor/director, based in Toronto, where he has been the Artistic Director for both Humber River Shakespeare and Shakespeare in the Rough. He has directed or performed in over 30 Shakespeare productions. Guest director credits include Othello and Hamlet for the Arabian Shakespeare Festival (San Francisco), Richard II for Perspective Theatre (San Jose) and The Taming of the Shrew for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Kevin is also a member of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Festival where he spent two seasons as an Assistant Director. While there he also directed workshop productions of Double Falsehood and an original Shakespeare mash-up entitled A Most Unnoble Swerving. Since the pandemic he has been the Development Manger for The Actors’ Fund of Canada and proud puppy dad to Zoe.
Julia Nish-Lapidus - THE DUCHESS / DONDOLA / OFFICER
Julia (she/her) is an actor, director, and producer, as well as a Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Shakespeare BASH'd. For Shakespeare BASH'd, Julia has directed Cymbeline, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, and The Duchess of Malfi (staged reading). She has also performed in many BASH'd productions, including The Tragedy of King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and Volpone (staged reading).
She was a member of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Directing, acting as the Assistant Director on Private Lives and Associate Director on All's Well That Ends Well, and as co-facilitator of the WordPlay series in the Forum. In the Festival's 2021 season she was Co-Director and Co-Curator of Play On! A Shakespeare-Inspired Mix-Tape.
Selected Additional Credits: 3Tempests (Shakespeare In Action), The Tom & Gertie Letters Project (Co-Director), Modern Love (Co-Creator, Canadian Stage), and as an actor OVER, See Bob Run (Theatre Caravel), reasons to the pretty (The Labute Cycle), The Forest (Red One Theatre Collective), Dublin Carol (Fly on the Wall). Julia is a graduate of the joint acting program at UofT and Sheridan College.
She was a member of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Directing, acting as the Assistant Director on Private Lives and Associate Director on All's Well That Ends Well, and as co-facilitator of the WordPlay series in the Forum. In the Festival's 2021 season she was Co-Director and Co-Curator of Play On! A Shakespeare-Inspired Mix-Tape.
Selected Additional Credits: 3Tempests (Shakespeare In Action), The Tom & Gertie Letters Project (Co-Director), Modern Love (Co-Creator, Canadian Stage), and as an actor OVER, See Bob Run (Theatre Caravel), reasons to the pretty (The Labute Cycle), The Forest (Red One Theatre Collective), Dublin Carol (Fly on the Wall). Julia is a graduate of the joint acting program at UofT and Sheridan College.
Sepehr Reybod - AMBITIOSO
Sepehr Reybod (he/him) is an Iranian-Canadian actor, playwright, and creator based in Toronto. Select stage credits include ENGLISH (Soulpepper & Segal Centre); R+J (WhyNot Theatre & Stratford Festival); Richard III, All’s Well That Ends Well (Stratford Festival); The In-Between (Geordie Theatre). He is a former Factory Mechanical (2018-2019) and holds a BFA from York University. His first play Saffron & Caviar was publicly presented in the Parkdale New Works Theatre Festival in 2019. His current work-in-development, The Karkhaneh, was developed through Factory Theatre’s Foundry unit (2019-2020) and Factory’s initial Bedrock Creators’ Initiative.
Le Truong - JUNIOR BROTHER / SPURIO'S SERVANT / NENCIO
Raised in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, actor Le Truong now bases his work in Toronto. After pursuing a Bachelor of System Engineering from the University of Regina, he made a bold leap to instead follow his lifelong passion for the performing arts.
Since moving to Toronto, Le has graduated from Randolph College for the Performing Arts in December 2022. His favourite credit is playing Kodaly in She Loves Me. Currently, Le spends his time working with on-screen coach Steven Yaffee along with honing his craft for musical theatre.
In his spare time, Le enjoys badly playing chess or mindlessly wandering around the city of Toronto. Le is grateful for the love and support of his family and friends. Le is thrilled to be making his Shakespeare BASH’d debut in The Revenger’s Tragedy.
Since moving to Toronto, Le has graduated from Randolph College for the Performing Arts in December 2022. His favourite credit is playing Kodaly in She Loves Me. Currently, Le spends his time working with on-screen coach Steven Yaffee along with honing his craft for musical theatre.
In his spare time, Le enjoys badly playing chess or mindlessly wandering around the city of Toronto. Le is grateful for the love and support of his family and friends. Le is thrilled to be making his Shakespeare BASH’d debut in The Revenger’s Tragedy.
James Wallis - CO-FACILITATOR
James has been a Shakespeare fan all his life, having performed with Resurgence Theatre Company as a teenager and again as a professional later in his career.
In 2010, James co-founded Shakespeare BASH’d with his wife, Julia. For the company, James has directed staged readings of Romeo and Juliet (2010), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2011), Edward II (2015), Volpone (2017), as well as the full productions of Romeo & Juliet, Love's Labour's Lost, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tragedy of King Lear. He played Petruchio in the company's Best of Fringe winning production of The Taming of the Shrew in 2012 and the remount in 2015, played Benedick in their sold-out production of Much Ado About Nothing in the 2013 Toronto Fringe, as well as the title roles in Hamlet and Richard III. James participated in the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Directing at the Stratford Festival, assistant directing Macbeth, Bunny, and Romeo and Juliet, as well as Julius Caesar in 2018. He returned to Stratford in 2021 as Co-Director and Co-Curator of Play On! A Shakespeare-Inspired Mix-Tape.
In 2010, James co-founded Shakespeare BASH’d with his wife, Julia. For the company, James has directed staged readings of Romeo and Juliet (2010), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2011), Edward II (2015), Volpone (2017), as well as the full productions of Romeo & Juliet, Love's Labour's Lost, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tragedy of King Lear. He played Petruchio in the company's Best of Fringe winning production of The Taming of the Shrew in 2012 and the remount in 2015, played Benedick in their sold-out production of Much Ado About Nothing in the 2013 Toronto Fringe, as well as the title roles in Hamlet and Richard III. James participated in the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Directing at the Stratford Festival, assistant directing Macbeth, Bunny, and Romeo and Juliet, as well as Julius Caesar in 2018. He returned to Stratford in 2021 as Co-Director and Co-Curator of Play On! A Shakespeare-Inspired Mix-Tape.
John Wamsley - SPURIO / KEEPER
John Wamsley (he/him) is a Toronto-based actor, theatre creator, and graduate of the Theatre and Drama Studies program at Sheridan College and the University of Toronto. You can catch John in this year's Stratford Festival season in Richard II, Grand Magic, and Love's Labour's Lost. Recent credits include Jean Delorme in 1939 (Stratford Festival), Flute/Philostrate in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare BASH'd), Private Harris in Timothy Findley's The Wars (Grand Theatre), Chip Tolentino in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Hart House Theatre), and Algernon Moncrieff in The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatre Erindale). For more, go to www.johnwamsley.ca or Instagram @wamsley.