OUR TEAM

OUR STORY

Fourth Wall Theatre Company was founded in October 2019 by Melbourne artists who had worked together in 2017 on The Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith. Keen to create high quality theatre that excites, challenges and inspires, they formed their company with the intent of producing plays that create conversations about issues that matter. Join us, follow us on our journey.

NATASHA BOYD

Artistic Director

Natasha Boyd got hooked on performing after appearing in The Tempest when she was 12 years old. Since then, her thirty-plus years of theatre experience have seen her act, direct, stage manage, write, choreograph, set design, review, adjudicate and co-write a bunch of musicals, one acts and full length plays at Gasworks, La Mama, and other stages across Victoria.

Natasha has been fortunate to work with many brilliant teams, and receive a number of award nominations and wins along the way, including Victorian Drama League (VDL) Best Director and Production wins for In the Next Room or the Vibrator play by Sarah Ruhl (Brighton 2018), VDL Best Production win and Director nomination for Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon (STAG, 2014), and nominations for VDL Best Production and Direction for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee (STAG 2017) and Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling (Mount Players 2013). She was proud to direct the non-professional premieres (Australian or Victorian) of Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale (HTC 2018), True Minds by Joanna Murray-Smith (HTC 2014), God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza (TMP 2011), and Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute (Gasworks 2017) amongst others. Natasha’s passion for Australian short works saw her tour Victorian play festivals, picking up nominations and wins for production and direction for Slut by Patricia Cornelius (2018), Mothers by Joanna Norland (Australian premiere 2010), What is the Matter with Mary Jane? by Wendy Harmer, based on the book by Sancia Robinson (2009), and 10,000 Cigarettes by Alex Broun (2009).

Natasha has reviewed professional and indie shows for Theatrepeople since 2009 and has been a play selection committee member for Williamstown Little Theatre since 2017. Natasha has adjudicated various Victorian One Act Play festivals (South Gippsland 2019, Mansfield 2018 and Macedon 2017). She also enjoyed an 18 month stint as a weekly radio announcer for Highlands FM in 2006/7.

Natasha is immensely excited to be fulfilling a long-held dream to once again operate a theatre company (having done so previously whilst at the University of Melbourne in the early 1990s) and loves that Fourth Wall Theatre Company will focus on plays that ignite conversation, with artists she admires and is energised by.   

SUSIE SPARKES

Company Director

Susie Sparkes discovered acting in her fifties and has been involved in stage and screen full time since 2017. She has trained at NIDA in both screen and theatre techniques, developed screen work with director David Swann and is currently under the tutelage of Casting Director Greg Apps. Her recent theatre work includes The Other Place (Before Shot Productions, Theatre Works, 2019), Madwomen Monologues (Baggage Productions, Butterfly Club, 2018), Worth (Melbourne Fringe, 2018), The Wisdom of Eve (Lilydale 2019) and The Female of the Species (Peridot 2017). A keen writer of short plays and monologues, Susie also co-wrote, staged and performed in Raisin Toast (1812 Bakery Theatre, 2019). Her stage work has received critical acclaim from reviewers including Cameron Woodhead of The Age and Darby Turnbull of Theatre People (The Other Place) as well as receiving a Best Supporting Actress Award at the 2019 Lyrebird Awards for The Wisdom of Eve and Lyrebird nominations for Best Actress (The Female of the Species 2017) and Best Supporting Actress (Gulls 2018).

Susie has written and directed several short films and numerous monologues. Her short films 'I Can Manage', 'Covid Cabin Fever' and ‘My Perfection’ have won awards in Australia and around the globe. Susie’s extensive short film roles have ranged from playing vulnerable characters with progressive dementia in Tropfest entry I Can Manage (Sparkes Productions, 2019) and Fade (Swinburne, 2018), sarcastic alpha characters in Alternatives (Spilting Films, 2018) and Tropfest entry The Princess of the Peninsula (Sparkes Productions, 2018), through to evil, sinister characters in King Night (VCA, 2017) and Deadline (JMC, 2017). Along with her dog George she created a YouTube series for children entitled 'Stories With Susie & George' in response to school closures during the Covid19 pandemic. Her corporate work includes training films for DHHA about Occupational Violence and Aggression, Rostered On (Netflix series 2), Superwog (series 1), Million Dollar Murders, All of Me as well as TVCs for Specsavers, Holden and Visit Victoria.

Susie is a passionate supporter of the arts, particularly theatre, and is thrilled to be working with like-minded artists who want to connect with our community by creating high quality and thought-provoking productions.