Leona first joined The Guild Theatre in 1987 and the following year was involved in the premiere of the Australian play A Woman for Hanging. She has since appeared in countless shows, undertaken just about every role backstage, and has been much sought after as a lighting and sound operator for her precision and reliability. She has also served her time on committee as Secretary, Assets Manager, and in the always challenging role of Publicity Officer. Her favourite role at The Guild is Joy Gresham in Shadowlands, the American author and wife of C.S. Lewis.
After a long career in public education Leona ran away to sea almost six years ago to fulfil a dream of working on cruise ships. The Guild Theatre’s loss was the ocean world’s gain but even in those years shipping out of the UK her heart was never far from home. She always stayed in touch and even managed to make it back for a few shows. When the global pandemic put a suddens stop to the cruise industry, Leona’s ship turned back from the Caribbean towards Southhampton and she was soon on a plane back to Sydney. We were all secretly very pleased to have her back.
CREDITS
At The Guild
Previous Roles:
Mrs Soames in Our Town (2021) | Joy Gresham in Shadowlands | Meg in Hotel Sorrento | Blanche Cook in Night Watch | Sybil Birling in An Inspector Calls | Mrs Shankland / Sybil Raiton Bell in Separate Tables | Mrs Fitzpatrick in Tom Jones
Previous Production Team:
Lighting & Sound Operator – David Williamson’s Managing Carmen | A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Godspell | Summer of the Seventeenth Doll | Deathtrap | Breaker Morant
Other Companies
Previous Roles:
Kate Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer (Arts Theatre Cronulla) | Sorel Bliss in Hayfever (Arts Theatre Cronulla) | Kate Mason in The Removalists (Woodstock Players Burwood)
Previous Production Team:
Stage Director – Thoroughly Modern Millie (Miranda Musical Society) | Hello, Dolly! (Miranda Musical Society) | Oklahoma! (Miranda Musical Society)