Cate Clelland | Director/Designer
Cate is passionate about the arts in general, and about theatre in particular. All types of theatre – from experimental to opera, from Ancient to Modern.
She has worked with most of Canberra’s pro-am and amateur companies as well as some corporate and government events. She has directed several productions for Canberra Philharmonic Society, winning a CAT Award for her production of Hot Mikado (still one of her favourites). For Free-Rain she has directed and/or designed a stack of productions of plays and musicals, including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf for which she won a CAT Award for Best Director and a Canberra Critics’ Circle Award. Also, for Free-Rain, she directed/designed Speaking in Tongues at Act Hub in 2024, winning an Ovations Award for Outstanding Production. In 2022, she directed the opera Orfeo for the ANU School of Music, a production she will always be very proud of. Her recent projects this year have been the direction of Antigone for Greek Theatre Now and directing /designing The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Lend Me a Tenor for Free-Rain at Act Hub.
Cate has worked on projects at REP for almost three decades. Her first involvement with REP was as director of an experimental new play by Canberra poet, Paul Cliff, for REP Studio, followed by designing costumes for the 1998 Old Time Music Hall, for which she won a CAT Award for Best Costume Design. Many productions have followed. One of her favourites was Much Ado About Nothing, which she directed/designed in 2015, and for which she was very proud to receive a CAT Award for her original music. More recently, she has directed/ designed Australia Day, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Amadeus and Sense and Sensibility. Last year she worked as Associate Director and Set Designer for Last of the Red Hot Lovers and as designer for Dead Man’s Cell Phone, for which she won an Ovations Award for Outstanding Set. As always, Cate is deeply grateful for the help and support she receives from the REP community.
Lachlan Ruffy | Assistant Director
Canberra’s favourite son, Ruffy has gained critical and popular acclaim across Australia as a performer, writer, director, and educator. Most recently Ruffy played Brutus in Chaika Theatre’s Julius Caesar, Banquo in Lakespeare’s Macbeth, Little Charles Aiken in Free Rain’s August: Osage County, and Mitch in Free Rain’s Streetcar Named Desire. Major REP credits include: Thomas Klopper in The Book of Everything; Jay in Lost in Yonkers; Bingley in Pride and Prejudice. He is the co-creator of the multi-award-winning Tattletales, an immersive and interactive storytelling experience that sold out at Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festivals. Since returning to Canberra, Ruffy has worked as an assistant director (Antigone, 2025; Low Pay? Don’t Pay!, 2025), as well as an intimacy and combat coordinator (Julius Caesar, 2025; Dogfall, 2025; The Squirrels, 2025; How to Vote, 2025). He is thrilled to be a mentor to the coming generations of Canberran talent.
Stephen Still | Lighting Design
Stephen is delighted to be working with REP again. Stephen has also designed for: Complete works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (revised), Home, I’m Darling, and Love Letters (2023); Hotel Sorrento (2022); The Penelopiad, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2021); The Grapes of Wrath (2020); The Art of Coarse Acting, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Assassins (2019); Arms and the Man, and Oh! What a Lovely War (2018); The 39 Steps, and Trelawney of the Wells (2017); She Stoops to Conquer (2016); The Threepenny Opera (2016); Blithe Spirit (2014); Calendar Girls (2013); and Hayfever (2007).
Darcy Abrahams | Costume Design
Darcy Abrahams (aka Lil Chumba) is an emerging, self-taught designer from Canberra who specialises in upcycling, sustainable practices and handcrafting techniques. Ms Abrahams has been involved in the Canberra fashion and DIY community since early 2024, and will be debuting as a costume designer for the REP production Low Pay? Don’t Pay! As Lil Chumba she coordinated and presented original designs at the Lil Chumba and Friends DIY Fashion Show and Market (2024 and 2025), and organised the Art Anarchy DIY art showcasing project (September 2025). Through DIY she has built a thriving community of local/emerging artists around artistic empowerment, community involvement, sustainable fashion and handcrafting. Ms Abrahams has used upcycling and handcrafting techniques for the costuming of Low Pay? Don’t Pay! to create bold pieces in her “Gluttonous Maximalist” style that pair with the ridiculous nature of the play. You can find Ms Abraham’s work on instagram @lilchumbaclothing.
Neville Pye | Sound Design
Most recently Neville was the Sound Designer for Lend Me a Tenor. Neville has produced an impressive array of sound effects, some which have been skilfully interwoven into this show. Nev always goes above and sometimes waaaay beyond! His dedication is deeply appreciated by all who work with him, as indeed are the ear plugs. Neville has been the Sound Designer on more than 60 theatre productions and radio plays, over the past 9 years, with Shadow House Pits, REP, Papermoon, Alchemy Artistic, Chaika, Everyman, Free Rain & Echo Theatre. His most recent highlights have been The Boys; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Three Tall Women (2022); Holding the Man, The Children, and King Lear (2023); Seagull, Dead Man’s Cellphone, Lord of the Flies, and Away (2024); Baby Jane, The House of Bernarda Alba, A Doll’s House Part 2, and The Beauty of Queen Leenane (2025).
