Having met on the set of the 2015 Churchie and Somerville House production of Alice in Wonderland, Old Boys Xandy Blue (2015) and Thomas Eastwood (2016) are now staging their own production of Sir Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Under their theatre collective, The Island of Misfit Players, Xandy and Thomas are in preparation for their inaugural performance at the Metro Arts Theatre in West End, Brisbane from Wednesday 16 to Sunday 20 October 2024. In the months of preparation leading up to the show’s run, they have been developing the script, building set pieces, designing costuming, all with a can-do attitude.

Since graduating from Churchie, the pair of ex-drama captains went down differing avenues. Xandy studied creative industries and later digital communications, both at QUT and forayed into the advertising industry, whilst Thomas travelled to New York City to study at the internationally renowned William Esper Studio where he was classically trained in the Meisner acting technique. However, back in 2020 before graduation from their respective tertiary studies, they began discussions of the play and its possible production in Brisbane, initially pitching it as a backyard theatre show. Since, equipped with their studies and careers, they are now showcasing it to the city of Brisbane as a full-scale production. 

Joined by their stage manager and assistant director, a young up-and-coming theatre all-rounder Zara Chandler, the trio have been able to cohesively lay the groundwork for their creative collective. Their direction: to bring together individuals to breathe new life into timeless writing, starting with Stoppard’s comedic classic based on Shakespeare’s tragic Hamlet.

Helped along by so many family and friends, Xandy and Tom are all too keen for the final product to be enjoyed. In particular, thanks must be given to Old Boys Henry Friend (2016) and John Taylor (1959) who have provided monumental support with their expertise in production development and construction respectively.

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