welcome to Monster
Cast
Tom Tony J. Black
Jodi Romney Hamilton
Rita Linda Nicholls-Gidley
Darryl Campbell Parsons
CREATIVES
Director Kim Hardwick
First Assistant Director Jo Booth
Second Assistant Director Poppy Cozens
Set and Costume Designer Victor Kalka
Lighting Designer Topaz Marlay-Cole
Sound Designer Charlotte Leamon
Stage Manager Bede Curran
Assistant Stage Manager Jennifer Manoogian
Assistant Stage Manager Roslyn Hicks
Executive Producer Romney Hamilton
Associate Producer/Graphic Designer Mel Jensen
Assistant Producer Celine Widjaya
Marketing/Social Media Manager Liminka Pather
Photographer Abraham de Souza
RUNNING TIME
1 hour and 45 minutes with no interval
Content Warning
References to violence and suicide
DIRECTOR’s note
I remember the first time I read Monster. I finished it and just sat there for a while. It didn’t feel sensational or dramatic in an obvious way. It felt unsettling because it felt true. It captured something we don’t often say out loud: the quiet ache of trying to survive, the shame people carry in silence and the desperate hope that connection might somehow mend what feels broken.
For me, this is not a play about villains. It’s about people. People shaped by trauma. People shaped by absence. People shaped by systems that are stretched, flawed, or simply not equipped to hold them. And yet, within that, there are moments of tenderness…small, fragile gestures of care that almost change everything.
Throughout rehearsals, I found myself thinking a lot about the stories we tell about young men. The language of threat. Of danger. Of “problem”. We often rush to define, to label, to protect ourselves from discomfort. But Monster refuses that simplicity. It asks us to sit in ambiguity. To acknowledge how family, institutions, fear and love intertwine in complicated ways. And to consider what responsibility we share in the worlds we create.
In Australia right now, conversations about mental health, family violence, coercive control and intergenerational trauma are urgent and ongoing. These aren’t distant issues. They exist in our communities, our classrooms, our hospitals, our homes and too often they are reduced to numbers or headlines.
My hope is that tonight you watch with curiosity rather than certainty. That you allow yourself to feel unsettled. That you resist easy judgement. If we all leave this theatre with a deeper capacity for empathy and perhaps a greater willingness to look honestly at the systems and relationships that shape us then this story will have done something meaningful.
Thank you for being here and sharing this space with us.
Kim Hardwick
TONY J. Black
TOM
Tony J Black is an actor originally from Detroit, Michigan. His screen credits include NCIS: Sydney (CBS/ Paramount +), where he portrayed Toran Edwards; Apples Never Fall (NBC-Peacock), where he played Jeff; and the feature film Sting, in which he appeared as Officer Miller. On the stage, he performed in the Australian and New Zealand tour of Girl from the North Country produced by GWB.
When not acting, he is an entertainment lawyer practicing in both California and NSW.
ROMNEY HAMILTON
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/JODI
Romney Hamilton (She/Her) is an actor, voice over artist, director, producer, writer and graduate of AFTT living on Gadigal land. Romney is also the proud co-owner of Australia’s leading adult beginners acting school, Darlo Drama.
Producing and acting credits include (Actor Producer) Monster by Duncan Macmillan at KXT on Broadway, (Actor/Producer) The Children’s Hour
by Lillian Hellman at The Old Fitz Theatre, (Actor) The House of Bernarda Alba by Lorca with Frantic Muse Productions at Flow Studios, (Actor) Catherine at Avignon by Paul Gilchrist with Subtlenuance at Meraki, (Actor/Producer) Love Song by John Kolvenbach with Little Cup Productions for Sydney Fringe, (Actor) Control by Keziah Warner at The New Theatre, (Actor/Producer) Macbeth - The Installation with Barestage Theatre, (Actor) Scarecrow By Don Nigro with Dead Fly Productions, (Actor) Troilus and Cressida with Secret House, (Actor) A Winter's Tale with Secret House, (Actor) Cymbeline with Secret House, (Actor/Producer) Henna Night at Old Fitz Theatre, (Actor) That Eye, The Sky at The New Theatre.
In 2018 Romney was in Suzy Goes Sees 'Top 5 Best Supporting Actors' for her role in Scarecrow.
Recent Directing credits include Angels in America by Tony Kushner, (Assistant Director) Heaven by Eugene O’Brien at Qtopia, Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell, Myth Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America by Stephen Sewell, Home Country by Stephanie Reeves, God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, The Jungle by Louis Nowra, Sunrise by Louis Nowra, Websters Bitch by Jacqueline Bircher, DNA by Dennis Kelly, An Ordinary Person by Robert Allan, 100 Reasons for War by Tom Holloway, Welcome to the Moon & Other plays by John Patrick Shanley.
Romney has been a proud member of MEAA (Equity) since 2015.
Linda Nicholls-Gidley
DIALECT COACH/RITA
Linda’s theatre credits include: Crossroads Live: Cluedo, Back to the Future, Annie, The Odd Couple, Cinderella, 9 to 5, An American in Paris; Darlinghurst Theatre: Let the Right One In, Once, A Chorus Line, I’m With Her, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Love; Dreamworks: How To Train Your Dragon – Arena Spectacular; Ensemble Theatre: True West, Primary Trust, The Half-Life of Marie Curie, The Lover/The Dumb Waiter, The Glass Menagerie, The Heartbreak Choir, Colder Than Here, Master Class, Ulster American, Switzerland, Alone it Stands, The Memory of Water, Summer of Harold, Benefactors, Clyde’s, Suddenly Last Summer, Boxing Day BBQ, The Caretaker, Photograph 51, Black Cockatoo, Baby Doll, The Last Five Years; Gordon Frost: The Rocky Horror Show, Shrek, Saturday Night Fever, The Bodyguard, Dirty Dancing; Griffin Theatre: Pony; GWB Entertainment: The Lord of The Rings – A Musical Tale, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Jagged Little Pill, Girl From the North Country, An American in Paris; Hayes Theatre Company: Ride The Cyclone, Zombie, Murder for Two, Jekyll and Hyde; Jones Theatricals: Pretty Woman. Matt Ward Productions: Beautiful; Monkey Baa Theatre: Hitler’s Daughter; NToP: Daytime Deewane, Yoga Play, Fade, Grounded; New Theatricals: Gaslight; Opera Australia: Guys and Dolls, Miss Saigon; Outhouse Theatre: Eureka Day, A Case for the Existence of God, Consent, Heroes of the Fourth Turning; Playlab: Slow Boat TEG Dainty: Tina Seymour Centre: The Inheritance, Museum of Modern Love; Sport For Jove: Betrayal, The Player Kings, Isolde and Tristan, The Crucible.
Her television credits include: Paramount+: Shantaram; Netflix: Wellmania; STAN Year Of; Freemantle: Mary: The Making of a Princess; Film: We Will Never Die, Sleeping Dogs, Seeds of Gold, Jungle.
Campbell Parsons
DARRYL
Campbell Parsons is an Australian actor, photographer & filmmaker. At 19 he moved from Sydney to Perth to study at the Western Australian Academy of Performing arts (WAAPA) 2022. Some of his recent theatre works include Moses in KXT’s production of Babyteeth 2025 under the direction of Kim Hardwick, Barnette in Crimes of the Heart 2024 directed by Mike Booth, and his most recent portrayal of Dennis in the Sydney Actors Playhouse 2025 production of Mauritius under the direction of Mike Booth. Some of his writing/directorial film credits include Bungan Beach 2024, Reverie 2025, and Roots of a Lily 2025.
KIM HARDWICK
DIRECTOR
Kim Hardwick is a stage director and theatre producer.
Kim most recently directed Babyteeth by Rita Kalnejais with her company White Box Theatre at KXT On Broadway. Prior to that she directed Stephen Sewell’s Partying with Manson starring Helen O’Connor for 2025 Adelaide Fringe and The Children’s Hour presented by Tiny Dog Productions & Dead Fly Productions at Old Fitz Theatre.
In 2024 Kim directed Dog by Shayne de Groot at KXT On Broadway. The year prior she directed the Arts on Tour NSW Tour of Wild Thing by Suzanne Hawley, after directing the original production at the Flight Path Theatre in 2021. In 2021 Kim also directed Dead Skin by Laneikka Denne with her company White Box Theatre at KXT. In 2020 she directed and produced Campion Decent’s The Campaign with White Box Theatre at the Seymour Centre.
In 2019 she directed Starstruck The Musical produced by NIDA with Garry McQuinn, with a book by Mitchell Butel and Hilary Bell based on the screenplay by Stephen Maclean. Earlier that year she directed and produced Tanya Ronder’s Table with White Box Theatre at the Seymour Centre and directed Beth Steel’s Ditch at the Limelight on Oxford. In 2018 she directed Edna Walsh's The Walworth Farce (Workhorse Theatre), and she produced and directed The Shifting Heart (Seymour Centre). Kim also produced and directed the Blackrock (Seymour Centre) in 2017 and Hurt (Old 505), which won the 2016 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Independent Production. In 2015, she was the Resident Studio Artist for Griffin Theatre Company and directed the lauded production of The House on the Lake.
Kim’s other credits include One Flew Over The Cockoo’s Nest (Sport For Jove), I Love You Now (Darlinghurst Theatre Company), I Love You My Mother and The Shadow Box (both at The Old Fitz), Unholy Ghosts (Griffin Independent), BANG (B Sharp), Time Stands Still and Love Song (both at Darlinghurst Theatre Company), Love Bites (Seymour Centre), The Hatpin (Seymour Centre, which then played at the New York Music Theatre Festival), The Memory of Water (Darlinghurst Theatre Company & NSW regional tour), A Moment on the Lips (Darlinghurst Theatre Company, The Old Fitz and The Stables in NSW, and the Old Council Chamber in Carlton, VIC), Sprung! (National tour), and A Day In The Death of Joe and Dinner With Friends (both at Darlinghurst Theatre Company).
She is a graduate of VCA and WAAPA.
JO BOOTH
FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Jo’s Assistant Director credits include the Green Room-nominated, all-female Coriolanus (Heartstring), You Got Older (Red Stitch) and the critically acclaimed The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Kin Collective).
Jo is also an Actor. Her recent roles include Tilly Thompson for The Amazing Lucas Girls (STC/Her Story Festival), Prudencia for The House of Bernarda Alba (Directed by Kim Hardwick), Don Petra for Much Ado About Nothin’ (Bar’d Work) Titania/Hippolyta for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespearience Australia), Audrey for As You Like It (Shakespearience), Banquo/Lady Macduff/Caithness for Macbeth (QSE),Morgan for Still (Heartstring), Devina Savage for The Savages of Wirramai (Crying Chair Theatre), Pippa Moynihan for Hotel Sorrento (Hit Productions), Aufidius/Virgilia for Coriolanus (Heartstring) and Ensemble for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Australian Shakespeare Co).
Poppy Cozens
SECOND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Poppy Cozens (she/her) is a multidisciplinary actor and artist. She is passionate about art that reflects the current issues of modern day life- some obvious, some not. Having graduated from JMC Academy (AFTT) with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Acting) in 2024, she is currently studying a Juris Doctor at the University of Sydney, with which she hopes to use to represent more modern day issues across our stages and screens in hope for change and a better future. Poppy recently performed in Beautiful Thing at Qtopia’s Loading Dock Theatre (dir Finn Stannard); In 2025 she directed I Terribly Miss You at Short+Sweet; She performed her own piece in Green Scenes for Blinking Light Theatre Company; With JMC Academy she wrote and produced Healers to Dealers. In 2025, Poppy was selected to participate in the Performance Space Youth Ambassador Program. She is ecstatic to be working with Tiny Dog Productions on Monster.
Victor Kalka
SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER
Victor is a freelance designer and director. In 2019 Victor established the indie theatre company Virginia Plain. Select credits include:
Director: Various Characters (PlusMinus Productions); Three Sisters, Grain in the Blood, The Pitchfork Disney, Chef, Twelfth Night [heads or tails] (Virginia Plain); Radiant Vermin (Studio Sputnik) A Delicate Balance (Sydney Classic Theatre Co.)
Designer: Three Sisters, Grain in the Blood, The Pitchfork Disney, Chef, Twelfth Night [heads or tails]; Ear to the Edge of Time (Sport for Jove); Things I Know to be True, Once in Royal David’s City (New Theatre); Wit (Clock and Spiel Productions); The Street of Crocodiles (AFTT)
Lighting Designer: Plenty of Fish in the Sea (Clockfire); Betty is a Butcher (Siren Theatre Co.); Things I Know to be True, Once in Royal David’s City (New Theatre); Wit (Clock and Spiel Productions).
Training: B.Perf Australian Institute of Music, and B.A. University of Sydney.
Topaz Marlay-Cole
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Topaz Marlay-Cole (she/her) is a lighting designer and theatre technician, who completed her BFA in Technical Theatre and Stage Management at NIDA in 2024. Her lighting design credits include The Girls Guide to Saving the World (Late Night Old Fitz, 2026), The Hairy Ape Development (The Church, 2025), Three Short Plays (Late Night Old Fitz, 2025), The Land of Her Bruce (Sydney Fringe, 2025), Babyteeth (KXT, 2025), Heaven (Qtopia, 2025), IRL (KXT on Broadway, 2025), Don’t Save Me (KXT on Broadway, 2025), The Flea (New Theatre, 2025), The Pigeons (KXT on Broadway, 2024), The Cherry Orchard (Old Fitz, 2024) and Atlantis (2024).
Charlotte Leamon
SOUND DESIGNER
Charlotte Leamon is a composer and sound artist based in Sydney, Australia. In 2025, Charlotte’s works were showcased across international festivals in London, Berlin, France and Argentina, as well as across Australia. Her theatre credits as a composer include Contest (Sydney), Two Hearts (Sydney), Instructions for Correct Assembly (Sydney), The Culture (New York, Wellington, Hobart, Adelaide, Sydney & Melbourne), Ladybird Ladybird (Sydney), Puppets (Sydney, Melbourne, Edinburgh) and Silenced (Sydney).
Bede Curran
STAGE MANAGER
Bede is an emerging Sydney-based stage manager with a passion for organised chaos and collaborative theatre-making. His recent credits include Timon of Athens (Stage Manager), Marian: Or the True Tale of Robin Hood (Assistant Stage Manager), First Love is the Revolution (Assistant Stage Manager, JMC Graduation Performance), and 4min 12secs (Stage Manager) at Flight Path Theatre. He enjoys working across a range of styles and scales, and is always excited by projects that are bold, precise, and people-driven.
Jennifer Manoogian
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Jennifer is a Sydney based creative, excited to make her stage crew debut with KXT. She has trained in both stage and screen with Sydney Acting Studio and NIDA Open (2025). Recent credits include the Genesian Theatre’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” (2026), "Glass Cannon" (2026 AACTA Contender) and "Look at Me" (2025 Canberra Short Film Festival). She is very excited to continue to grow within the Australian theatre scene, alongside her screen work!
Roslyn Hicks
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Roslyn is a dedicated theatre artist, having worked for roughly 20 years as a puppeteer and children's entertainer. On stage, her recent credits include 'Night, Mother for Sydney Fringe Festival, Claire in Proof for Four Shadows Productions, and Caroline Sheppard in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Backstage, her recent credits include An Inspector Calls (assistant stage manager) and The Great Divorce (assistant director) at Flight Path Theatre. She thrives off creating experiences that allow an audience to forget the world outside the theatre.
Mel Jensen
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Mel has worked in design for close to 30 years, she is also an actor, writer and producer. She has extensive performance training from NIDA, Actor’s Centre Australia, Darlo Drama, Improcorp and has studied the Meisner Technique with Luke Ford.
Her production and design credits include The Children's Hour for Tiny Dog Productions, The One/Home Country, God of Carnage and Love Song for Little Cup Productions, Land of the Dead/Helter Skelter and Speaking in Tongues for Dark Matters Theatre Co, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Love Song for Gamut Theatre Company and The Naked Truth and Five Women Wearing the Same Dress for Act IV Theatre Co.
Celine Widjaya
ASSISTANT PRODUCER
Celine is an Australian-Indonesian emerging actor and producer with a knack for keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes. She trained at NIDA Open, Sydney Theatre School, and Darlo Drama, and spent several years working in Operations Management before leaving to pursue the creative industry – a skillset she now suspects was excellent producer training in disguise. Her recent theatre credits include The Laramie Project (Production Associate and Understudy, New Theatre), Secret Bridesmaids’ Business (Guild Theatre), Anthem, A Play with Repeats, When the Rain Stops Falling, and Ruby Moon (Darlo Drama). For Monster, Celine blends her love for creative support and logistics while hoping audiences leave thinking about the monsters we all live with - and the grace we can offer ourselves and each other.
Liminka Pather
MARKETING/SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Liminka is passionate about theatre, loves making friends and is addicted to her phone. What better field to combine all three of her loves, than social media marketing.
Abraham De Souza
PHOTOGRAPHER
Thank you City of Sydney, kxt Bakehouse and Darlo Drama for your generous support.