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Performing Arts Stars

Ebony BUCKLE - Musician

Born: 20 November 1986

TGS: alumni year 2004

Ebony is a London-based conceptual pop artist. She writes and performs with her husband - musician and producer Nick Burns.

Theatre:

Ibsen's 'Rosmersholm', directed by Ian Rickson, at the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End.

Ivo Van Hove's Production of Hedda Gabler at The National Theatre.

Music

https://music.apple.com/au/artist/ebony-buckle/417765952

https://www.ebonybuckle.com/music

https://www.youtube.com/@EbonyBuckleOfficial

Follow Ebony on insta @ebonybuckleofficial

Nathin BUTLER - Actor, Producer, Musician

Actor, Producer, Director, Songwriter & Musician.
Compiled April 2024 (E&OE)

General
Full Name	Nathin Art Butler
Known as	Nathin
Born	1985
Townsville Grammar School
Attended	1999 - 2002
	Academics		Year 11 (2001) Prize for Drama and Academic Award
	Drama		Year 9 (1999) Into the Woods, TGS directed by Fiona Perry
			Year 11 (2001) The Threepenny Opera – TGS directed by Fiona Perry, Lead role playing MacHeath Misérables. Joseph.
			Year 12 (2002)
Sports	Athletics		Year 10 (2000) and Year 12 (2002) School Team
	Cross-Country		Year 10 (2000) School Team
	Basketball		Year 10 (2000) School Team Year 12 (2002) Open Basketball
	Rugby Union		Year 10 (2000) u/15 Team Year 12 (2002) 2^nd XV Rugby
Television Credits
	2007		Rain Shadow (Australian mini-series), playing Shane Maguire
	.		NCIS: Los Angeles as Kodiak
	2010		The Pacific (mini-series), as Young Private
			Hawaii 50 (TV series) as Nick Towne
	2011/6		Winners and Losers (TV series) as Luke MacKenzie
	2011/2		General Hospital (TV series), playing Ewen Keenan
Film Credits
		2008	Australia, as Carney Boy
		2008	Black Ballon, as Chris
		2009	The Cut, as Toddy Barton
		2009	X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as Male Nurse
		2013	Casual as Leon’s Friend
		2011	Broken Spirits - cinematographer
		2012	The Cage – producer & director
		2015	Black November as Jack Rowlands (and others) Director of Photography
		2016	Drone Wars as Rhys
		2016	Westworld, as Menacing Heavy
		2017	Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Jones
		2018	Along the Beds Edge Sitting as Toby and Producer
		2020	The American King as Douglas
Music Credits
		2013	Los Angeles Music Awards – Rising Star
Other
Nathin lives with his wife, Irina, and two children in Los Angeles. He comes from a musical family and started learning the guitar at age five. This was also the first year he appeared on stage. In high school he played in a punk band. Aged 17, Nathin was accepted into the prestigious Sydney based NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). As a musician and songwriter, Nathin is the lead singer in the band The Sugar. Video clip – Interview mentioning TGS https://www.facebook.com/TownsvilleGrammarSchool/videos/400314860593802/ Video clip – Demo reel https://www.imdb.com/video/vi4282696473/?playlistId=nm2530433&ref_=nm_pr_ov_vi Follow Nathin on Insta @nathinbutler

Harriet DYER - Actor, Writer, Producer

Actress, Writer, Producer
Compiled April 2024 (E&OE)

General
Full Name			Harriet Dyer
Known as			Harriet
Nickname			Harri
Born			17/10/1988
Townsville Grammar School
Attended			2001 - 2005
	Academics			Year 8 (2001) Prize for Performing Arts, Academic Award. Year 9 (2002) Magna Cum Laude, Hudson Shield (Jnr Debating), Cultural Award, Perry Award (commendation), Townsville Inter-School Debating (winners of Junior Division). Year 10 (2003) Magna Cum Laude, Academic Award, Writing Comp (Dist), Townsville & District Japanese Speaking Competition (2^nd), Cultural Award, Perry Award, Prize for Performing Arts. Year 11 (2004) Cum Laude, Australian Mathematics Competition (Dist), Cultural Award, JA Marsh Prize for Music, Academic Award. Year 12 (2005) Magna Cum-Laude, Cultural Award, Perry Award (short-list).
	Theatre			Year 8 – (2001) The Threepenny Opera as a Street Urchin, produced and directed by Fiona Perry.
				Year 10 – (2003) A Little Night Music as a frog, produced and directed by Fiona Perry.
				Year 12 (2005) Kiss Me Kate as Bianca/Lois, produced and directed by Fiona Perry.
	Music			Year 8 & 9 (2001 &2002) Symphony Orchestra.
				Year 8 – 12 (2001 – 2005) Grammar Singers
				Year ?? – Yr 12 (200? – 2005) Grammar Big Band
				Year 12 (2005) Music Capitan.
	Debating			Year 9 (2002) Year 9 Debating Team.
Television Credits
		2012		Micro-Nation (TV Mockumentary) as Emma Cosdosca
				A Moody Christmas as Airport Girl
		2013		Packer to the Rafters as Mandy
		2014 - 2017		Love Child (Australian Series) as Patricia ‘Patty’ Saunders
		2014		Janet King (Australian Series) as Maya Blackley
		2015/16 & 2018		No Activity (Australian Series) as April then Hazel
		2016		Black Comedy
				Rack as Star as Mannix
				Hide and Seek as Dakota Matherson
		2017 - 2019		The Other Guy as Stevie Nichols
		2017		Sexy Herpes as Becky
				The Letdown as Busy
				Kiki and Kitty as Cherise
		2019		The In Between as Cassie Bedford (NBC in USA)
		2021 - 2023		American Auto as Sadie Ryan (NBC in USA)
		2021		Wakefield as Genevieve
		2022		Summer Love as Steph
		2022 -			Colin from Accounts as Ashley, co-creator & co-writer
		2024			Colin from Accounts, season 2 is due to be release on 30 May 2024 after the world-wide success of season 1 (especially in the UK).
Film Credits
		2012			Meat the Parents (short film) as Sarah
					Pacific Cove (short film) as Amber
		2013			The Fragments as Harriet
		2015			Ruben Guthrie as Virginia
		2016			Downunder as Stacey
					Killing Ground as Samantha ‘Sam Shaw
					The Mother Situation (short film) as Katie
		2019			The Way we Weren’t as Miss Darling
		2020			Invisible Man As Emily Kass
Stage Credits
		2012			Suddenly Last Summer (National Arts School)
					Time Stands Still, lead role (Darlinghurst Theatre Company)
					Brisbane (Brisbane Theatre Company)
					Hay Fever (Sydney Theatre Company)
					Pygmalion (Sydney Theatre Company)
					A Flea in her Ear (Sydney Theatre Company)
					Machinal (Sydney Theatre Company)
					Travelling North (Sydney Theatre Company)
					Moliere’s, A School for Wives – lead role (Bell Shakespeare Company)
					Belvoir (Bell Shakespeare Company)
					Peter Pan (Bell Shakespeare Company) – off Broadway
Acting Awards
		2012			Sydney Theatre Award – most outstanding Performance in a Mainstream Production (for Machinal)
		2015			Logie, nominated for Most New Talent (Love Child) Nominated for Graham Kennedy awards for Most Outstanding Newcomer (Love Child) AACTA Awards, nominated for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a TV series (Love Child). Most Popular New Talent (Love Child)
		2016			Logie, nominated for Most Outstanding Support Actress (Love Child)
		2023			Logie, Won Most Outstanding Actress (Colin from Accounts)
		2024			AACTA Awards, Best Comedy, with Patrick Brammall
Other
Harriet was awarded a Gold Star (Tap Dancing) in 2005. Harriet was accepted in NIDA (National Academy of Dramatic Arts on graduating in 2006. She also completed a full-time acting course at the Actor’s Centre, graduating in 2011. Harriet’s sister, Madeline 12/03, is also an actress, comedy writer, director, and producer. Mark Dyer, Harriet’s father, was involved with NQOMT and performed in Coral Society Musicals, performing is in her DNA. Patrick Brammall, her husband, is also her co-writer and the co-creator of Colin from Accounts. The two adopted their newborn daughter in 2021. Follow Harriet on Insta @harri_harri

Wade FORSTER - Musician

Country Music Singer Songwriter, Rodeo Cowboy
Compiled April 2024 E&OE

Written by Chris Wilson, TGS Archivist and former Head of Boarding

It has been all over the news and social media, but the achievements of recent Past Grammarian Wade Forster deserve special mention.

Wade's first contact with Townsville Grammar School was in 2010 at the Julia Creek Camp Draft. He confidently strode up to me (I was then the Head of Boarding), stuck out this hand, and, with a smile on his face and a glint in his eye, stated in his western twang, “G’day Sir, my name is Wade Forster and I am coming to board with you at Townsville Grammar next year”. Wade was always a cheeky boarder, never too far from trouble, but always the first to put up his hand and accept the consequences of his actions (and all too often, the behaviour of others). His last action, when he was due to graduate, was to head to the Design and Technology Centre and spend his time constructing a coffee table for the rec room in McConachy House.

Wade was born and raised in outback Queensland on country music and a cowboy lifestyle. On leaving School, Wade worked as a cowboy and started to travel around Australia to pursue his passion for rodeo. In 2017 he left the family property near Winton and enrolled in a refrigeration apprenticeship in Mount Isa. One lonely night he bought himself a $50 guitar and started to teach himself to play. The rest is history.

Wade began singing at rodeos and in 2021 he released a cover of ‘Oneida’ on Facebook. He released his debut album, ‘The Beginning’ in 2022. Wade enrolled in and graduated from the Academy of Country Music. In 2023 he was honoured to play at the opening of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and in 2024, the 25-year-old was nominated as one of 10 finalists in the Toyota Star Maker competition. On 21 January 2024, he was crowned as the 44^th Toyota Star Maker, following in the footsteps of country music household names such as Lee Kernaghan, James Blundell, Keith Urban, Gina Jeffreys, Beccy Cole, and many others. At the time of writing, Wade’s single, Rodeo Romeo, had reached #1 on the 2TM Country Music Chart.

You can listen to Wade Spotify or YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s77Mub3mIrc

Follow Wade on insta @wadeforstermusic

Remy HII - Actor, Musician, Photographer

Actor, Musician, Photographer
Compiled May 2024 (E&OE)

General
Full Name	Remy Hii
Known as	Remy
AKA	Remy Hii
Born	24 July 1986, Kota Kinabula, Malaysia
Townsville Grammar School
Attended	1997 - 2001
	Academics		Year 7 (1999) Academic Award.
	Music & Cultural Involvement		Year 9 (2001) Grammar Voices Vox Vocal Ensamble Big Band Jazz Ensamble Sax Trio Debating Team
Television Credits
	2009		East of Everything
			H2O: Just Add Water as bass Guitarist
	2013		Betterman as Van Tuong Nguyen
	2013 & 2014		Neighbours as Hudson Walsh
	2014 - 2016		Marco Polo as Prince Jingham
	2017		Sisters as Sam
	2018 & 2019		Harrow as Simon Van Reyk
	2019		Jane the Novella as Luen
	2021		Aftertaste as Ben Zhao
			Arcane as Enforcer/Sheriff Marcus
	2023		Wellmania as Dalbert Tan
Film Credits
		2009	Beyond Blood (short film) as Gabriel Troung
			Maligayang Pasko (short film)
		2010	Origami (short film) as boy
		2011	Kiss (short film) as Tom
		2012	Treading Water (short film) as Tom
		2013	Mirrors (short film) as Manny
		2017	2:22 as Benny
		2018	Crazy Rich Asians as Alistair Cheng
		2019	Spider-Man: Far from Home as Brad Davis
		2021	The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star as Peter Maxwell
		2022	The Party Job as Ben
			Blaze as Psychiatric Nurse
		2023	Scarygirl (voice actor) as Bunniguru
			China Rich Girlfriend as Alistair
			The Sloth Lane (voice actor) as Platy
Stage Credits
		2007	The Estimator (Queensland Theatre Company)
		2016	The Golden Age (Sydney Theatre Company)
Acting Awards
		2014	Logie, Most Outstanding Newcomer
			AACTA Award nominated for Best Lead actor in a TV Drama.
Other
Remy is of Chinese/Malaysian (father) and English (mother) descent, Remy’s mother, Kathleen, taught at TGS from 1997 – 2001. Remy was accepted into, and attended, NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts) graduating in 2011. Whilst at NIDA, Remy played in RAPIDS, an indie-rock band along with fellow actors Angus McLaren and Jamie Timony, In preparation for his role in Marco Polo, Remy had to undergo rigorous physical training, including martial arts, archery, and horse riding (performing his own stunts). Although Remy loves acting, his passion lies ‘behind the lens’. He has a serious collection of (20+) film cameras. His pride and joy is a Hasselblad 500C/M. Remy is also a budding home chef, a gamer and writer. Follow Remy on Insta @remyhii

James RAGGATT - Actor

Born: 10 February 1992

TGS: Graduated 2009

NIDA: Graduated NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in 2015 and granted a BBM youth scholarship in drama to travel to the UK in 2016 to gather experience.

Films: Represssion (2011), The Horrific Murder of Grigori Rasputin (2017), Come into the Garden (2018)

TheatreiNQ: James was one of the first young actors to be trained under TheatreiNQ, helping to inspire the Bridge Project’s inception. He first acted with the company in their inaugural production, Richard III in 2010. After moving to Sydney and studying at NIDA, James returned to Townsville in 2016 to act in TheatreiNQ’s HAMLET, and again in 2020 for The Blood of Kings.

While living in Sydney, James found success for himself in the theatre as not only an actor, but a writer and director as well. He most recently directed and acted in Stacks On Theatre’s production of Alan Bennet's The Wind in the Willows, in which he worked with a number of TheatreiNQ Bridge Project alumni. He had the following to say about the experience:

The Wind in the Willows marked James’ fifth stint as a director or assistant director. His previous directorial works also include Youth and Destination (2018). This is one of several plays he has written himself, but is thus far the only one yet to see the stage. While James finds enrichment through all stages of theatre creation, writing is a particular challenge to him.

Read the whole interview here:

https://www.theatreinq.com/post/james-raggatt-the-bigger-picture

Natalie WEIR - Dancer, Choreographer

Choreographer, Dancer, Ballerina & Artistic Director - Australian Ballet
Compiled May 2024 (E&OE)

General
Full Name	Natalie Weir
Known as	Natalie
Born	1967
Townsville Grammar School
Attended	1979 – 1982
	Theatre		Year 10 (1981) Seven Deadly Sins playing List. Ballet of Hope dancer and Choreographer. Year 11 (1982) School: I want to get out as one of twelve unnamed students.
	Debating		Year 8 (1979) Junior Debating Team Year 11 (1982) Senior Debating Team
	Dance		Year 9 (1980) Year 9 Dance Duo
	Choirs		Year 9 (1980) Year 9 Singing Group Year 10 (1981) School Choir Year 11 (1982) Senior Chior
Chorography & Artistic Director Credits
		1994 -	Queensland Ballet – Resident Choreographer.
		1998	Dark Lullaby (The Australian Ballet)
		1999	Jigsaw (Expressions Dance Company)
		2000 -	Australian Ballet – Resident Choreographer
		2000	Mirror Mirror (The Australian Ballet) In a Whisper (Houston Ballet)
		2001	Carmina Burana (The Australian Ballet) Steppenwolfe (Houston Ballet)
		2003	Turnandot (Hong Kong Ballet) Madame Butterfly (Hong Kong Ballet) Dark Lullaby (Singapore dance Theatre). Heaven (American Ballet Theatre) Ethan Stiefel (American Ballet Theatre)
		2004	The Host (Houston Ballet)
		2007	Jigsaw (Expressions Dance Company)
			Icarus (Tanzcompagnie Giessen)
			Jabula (American Ballet Theatre & Royal Ballet School))
			Wuthering Heights (Queensland Ballet)
			Petroushka (Queensland Ballet)
			In Her Footsteps (Tasdance)
			Lacrimosa (West Australia Ballet)
			Orpheus (Queensland Ballet)
		2009 - 2018	Artistic Director (Australian Expressions Dance Company (now Australian Dance Collective).
		2021	Synergy Session (Queensland Ballet) Bespoke (Queensland Ballet)
Awards
		2001	Choo San Goh Award for Steppenwolfe. Australian Council Fellowship.
			Australian Dance nominations and awards.
		2011	2 x Helpmann awards (Choreography) including ‘Best Australian Choreographer'.
Other
Natalie is a direct descendant of Thankful Willmett, one of the driving forces behind the formation of Townsville Grammar School in the 1880s. W Willmett, one of Thankful's sons, was one of the 23 initial enrolments in 1888. Natalie began her dance career at the age of five, in Townsville, with Ann Roberts School of Dance, and performed with her ballet company (now Dance North). Attended Kelvin Grove College (now QUT) where she earned an Associate Diploma in Performing Arts. She studied under Maggi Sietsma before moving to Sietsma Expressions Dance Company as a founding member. She was offered her first choreography commission at the age of 18. Natalie is internationally renowned for her physical partner work. Her organic movement style and her touching insight into humanity. She has choreographed well over 150 pieces and is perhaps Australia’s most lauded choreographers. She is in demand both locally and overseas.