Tonight, we will attempt to bake a cake live on stage.
A real cake – with ingredients, and measurements, and timing, and consequences. A cake that can collapse, burn, and like theatre itself, exists only for us in this room tonight.
Because a cake is never just a cake; it is everything that comes with the cake which makes it meaningful. Think about where cakes appear... at birthdays, weddings, office farewells, apologies, reconciliations. Cakes are edible acts of hope. Even a badly baked cake means someone tried.
We thought hard and deep about this. We also just wanted to bake a cake in a theatre and by some stroke of luck they let us.
As for tonight's cake? It might be a bit messy, and a bit shit, but at least it's ours. Enjoy the ride.
Bon appétit,
Alfred Kouris & Harry Stacey
With thanks to The Blake Beckett Trust
Creative Team
Alfred is a multi-disciplined director, actor, product designer and developer working across theatre, large scale live performances and whatever else he conjures up. He trained with a double degree in Finance and Arts at Monash University in Australia, and then in Fine Arts (Acting, 2021) at NIDA.
Most recently, he was the Creative Director's Assistant on the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. Following this, Alfred will head to Glasgow where he will work as the Director's Associate on the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.
Alongside his performance and directing work, Alfred built Linus, an app used by over 4,000 actors in over 46 countries to help actors around the world learn their lines faster.
Harry graduated with a Diploma of Acting from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2019 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 2022. Since graduating, he has appeared in Great White by Will O'Mahony (directed by Jessica Bell) at Flow Studios, All Boys by Xavier Hazard (directed by Mehhma Malhi) at KXT, and Amber by Nikita Waldron (directed by Mehhma Malhi) at the Old Fitz.
In addition to his theatre work, Harry has become an active member of the Sydney improv community, performing at Improv Theatre Sydney and in shows such as Scared Scriptless and Improv Comedy Cagefight, where his team came runners up in the Grand Final at the Sydney Comedy Festival.
Jasmine is an emerging stage and event manager working on Gadigal land. A recent graduate of NIDA, she completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts: Technical Theatre and Stage Management.
Recent credits include Assistant Stage Manager on Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (Belvoir St Theatre), Stage Manager on Sonder (Old Fitz), Assistant Event Coordinator for WAKE (Sydney Festival in partnership with THISISPOPBABY), and Stage Manager on Port (KXT).
Thomas Shepherd (Shep, He/Him) is a dedicated and technically skilled theatre practitioner.
Passionate about lighting, sound, stage mechanics and curious to explore theatrical rigging, he excels in practical problem-solving and thrives when working in a team. Shep particularly enjoyed working as Head Electrician on NIDA productions including A Very Expensive Poison and Alice, Mother of Cinema, and completed a secondment on MJ The Musical with renowned Production Electrician Dale Mounsey.
Talia Benatar is a Sydney-based actor, director, and producer. She recently directed Watch Me Sleep in New York as part of the NYC Frigid Festival. She is the co-founder of Irregular Programming, with whom she produced and assistant directed a sold-out season of 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.
As an assistant director, Talia has collaborated with Anthony Skuse on Gundog, Hedda Gabler, Breaking the Code, and Ladybird Ladybird, and IRL with Eugene Lynch.
Her producing credits include Asst. Producing The Cherry Orchard (Old Fitz Theatre), Till the Stars Come Down, and Hedda Gabler for Secret House. As an actor, her recent credits include Masha in The Seagull (KXT), Dottie in The Cherry Orchard (Old Fitz Theatre), and Brooke in Motel (Sydney Fringe).
Our greatest of thanks go to the following people, without whom this show (and this cake) would not be possible