Cast

Shubshri is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University, holding a Bachelor of Musical Theatre.

Having launched her professional career, playing the role of Princess Jasmine in the national tour of Disney’s Aladdin, Shubshri is fast becoming a sought-after performer. Her credits include Brianna in Belvoir’s national tour of Fangirls, Ismene in Antigone with Queensland Theatre and The Pearlfishers with Opera Queensland. In 2020, she was cast in the role of Pritti Pasha in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie; unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the production was not staged.

A Brisbane based performer, she has also appeared many times as a featured artist with the Queensland Pops Orchestra, most recently in their 2019 NYE Variety Gala, the 2017 Spirit of Christmas at QPAC and An Evening with Liz Callaway, performing a duet with Liz.

As a woman of South Asian heritage, Shubshri is proud and honoured to be taking on the role of Ella.

Ainsley was most recently seen playing the title role in Pippin for John Frost and Suzanne Jones to reopen the Sydney Lyric following Covid-19 theatre shutdowns. Prior to this he appeared in Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2019 season playing the role of Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Ainsley starred in the title role of the Broadway production of Aladdin for Disney Theatrical Productions following his success in the Australian production of Aladdin playing at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne, Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane and Crown Theatre in Perth. He also played the title role in the Aladdin live capture at the Prince Edward Theatre in London’s West End and was due to head back to Broadway in 2020 when theatres closed around the world.

Ainsley has appeared as Sonny Malone in Xanadu for Matthew Management at Hayes Theatre Company and performed in The Stonnington Classics series in Broadway S’Wonderful.

Ainsley was a cast member of Hi-5 from 2013-16, appearing in its Australasian tours, the televised Hi-5 House series and the documentary film Some Kind Of Wonderful. The iconic children’s pop group has been released on Netflix with Ainsley as one of the starring hosts.

Ainsley trained in musical theatre at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts graduating in 2012. 

He was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for the 2017 Helpmann Awards and Male Lead in a Musical for the 2018 and 2020 Green Room Awards.

Ainsley Melham recently co-founded We The Industry Inc. with Callum Francis. The charitable organisation strives for inclusivity across all disciplines in Australian Theatre.

Silvie Paladino is one of Australia’s most versatile and talented entertainers.

Her first theatrical role was Eponine in the Australasian tour of Les Misérables at the age of eighteen. She was then invited to perform the same role in the London production. In 1997, Silvie returned to London where she performed the role of Fantine in Les Miserables for a successful two-year season. 

Silvie’s Australian credits include the roles of Jeannie in Hair, Grizabella in Cats, Ellen in Miss Saigon, Donna in the smash hit Mamma Mia!, Rita in Sideshow Alley, Clara in Passion and for The Production Company, Lady Thiang in The King And I, Florence in Chess (Green Room and Helpmann Award nominations) and Jerry’s Girls. More recently, Silvie revisited her role of Florence in a concert version of Chess at the Civic Theatre Newcastle. 

Silvie has performed at many special events such as the worldwide telecast of the Rugby League Grand Final, the Australian Football League Grand Final, Melbourne Cup, Boxing Day Cricket Test, Roger Federer Foundation at Rod Laver Arena, the President’s Cup Golf tournament and a concert in Beijing, as part of the 2008 Olympics. 

Silvie’s concert credits include performances with symphony orchestras throughout Australia, internationally with the Salvation Army Band, a solo concert tour of China and tours with international performers, Patrizio Buanne and Michael Bolton. She has also performed for celebrated theatre composers Stephen Sondheim and Stephen Schwartz. Her one-woman shows Silvie Paladino Sings Streisand (Green Room Award nomination) and Silvie Paladino – The Songs of Eva Cassidy havereceived rave reviews. 

Apart from her theatrical credits, she is well known to Australian audiences through her regular television appearances including Carols by Candlelight for the Nine Network. Her recordings include Silvie Paladino Sings Streisand, Silvie Paladino – Christmas List, On My Own, When You Believe, I Give You My Heart, O Holy Night and Take My Breath Away – The Songs of Eva Cassidy.

Most recently, Silvie was invited to perform at Government House, Melbourne, as a thank you to Victoria’s essential workers. 

Celebrated actress Tina Bursill’s outstanding career spans decades, with a substantial body of work which has brought to life some of Australia’s best loved characters on stage and screen.

Commencing her career in revues and political satire, such as Scandals of ’74 and The Son of the Naked Vicar before transitioning to other genres, Tina’s characters are often cool, grounded and self-reliant women tinged with humour, including alcoholic Lenore in Time of Our Lives, single mum Hilary Scheppers in Heartbreak High and Maree the project mum in both A Moody Christmas and The Moodys. For the latter the cast received the Equity Ensemble Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Series in both 2013 and 2015.

In Doctor Doctor, her portrayal of family matriarch and outspoken mayor Meryl Knight has earned Tina two AACTA Award nominations, in 2017 for Best Supporting Actress and in 2018 for Best Actress, with each season of the series being nominated for Best Drama at the TV Week Logie Awards. Her other television credits include Frayed (Series 2), Wentworth (series 8), Neighbours, Jack Irish, Rake, Crownies, Offspring, Farscape, Flying Doctors, Jackeroo, Winner Takes All, Skyways, Prisoner and the animation The Three Musketeers.

Tina starred in the feature film Jilted which earned her an AFI Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her other film credits include Wish You Were Here, Three Blind Mice, The Great McCarthy, Billy’s Holiday, Heroes Mountain and Never Tell Me Never.

Her theatre credits include Top Silk, Beyond Mozambique and Zastrozzi for Nimrod Theatre, Feather in the Web for Griffin Theatre Company, Boys Will Be Boys at the Sydney Theatre Company and Up for Grabs for which Tina received a MO Award nomination for Best Female Actor in a Play.

One of Australia’s most versatile performing artists, Todd McKenney is an award winning and critically acclaimed performer on stage and screen. As an actor and the leading man of song and dance in musical theatre productions, he has entertained Australians for over 30 years from the main stage to intimate venues.

Todd has led the cast on some of the 7 Network’s major productions including The Full Monty, The Real Full Monty, Mates on a Mission, Ladies Night and The All New Monty which aired in 2020, a one night show that was dedicated to men and women’s health awareness. Todd also appeared as a host / choreographer in The Real Dirty Dancing, a four episode spin off of the 1987 classic film Dirty Dancing, which saw eight celebrities revisit the most memorable dancing moments from the original movie. There’s no sign of Todd slowing down in 2021, returning to his role as a judge in the revamped season of Dancing With The Stars – All Stars, which saw all the original cast members back for a two week special, for its 16th season on Channel 7.

It’s not surprising that Todd McKenney is a household name. Todd’s stage credit roll and career highlights include his most notable role of Peter Allen in the Australian hit production The Boy From Oz, in which he performed over 1000 shows nationally and became one of the longest running and most successful musical productions in Australian history.

Todd’s first professional musical role was in 1983 in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance. His career followed with lead and headline roles in Cats, 42nd Street, West Side Story, Crazy For You, Born Yesterday, Camelot, Pirates of Penzance, Cabaret, Strictly Ballroom, La Cage aux Folles, Singin’ In the Rain, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Orpheus In the Underworld for Opera Australia, Annie the Musical, Grease and Anything Goes. In 2018 he stepped into the stilettos and successfully took on the role of Frank N’ Furter in The Rocky Horror Show in Melbourne. In 2019 Todd stepped out on stage as Australia’s Greatest Showman in the title role of Barnum, and most recently played Lord Farquaad in the hit musical Shrek. 

As a dancer, his journey started at the age of three at his mother’s dancing school in Perth, training in jazz, tap, acrobatics and ballroom dancing. He represented Australia in ballroom and Latin American dancing, winning many international dance titles. Amongst his Australian awards for performance in musical theatre he has two Mo Awards, the Variety Club Heart Award, the Glug Award, the Green Room Award, two Australian Dance Awards and a Helpmann Award.

On the small screen Todd has starred in the hit show Winners and Losers on the 7 Network.  He has also appeared as a guest judge on Australia’s Got Talent, hosted on a range of morning Television programs and appeared as an entertaining guest across all networks. On radio Todd co-hosted Sydney’s MIX106.5 breakfast radio program with Sonia Kruger for two years and is a regular guest on the airwaves.

On a personal level, Todd had the delight of becoming a father in 2007 and his daughter Charlotte is the light of his life. He is a student of Auslan sign language and has worked within the deaf community all around Australia. Todd is also a keen supporter of The Grace Centre For Newborn Intensive Care at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

2020 saw Todd launch Todd Creates, an online marketplace exclusively for independent, Australian creatives and small businesses who produce and ship their products in Australia.