Helen Ekundayo
Helen Ekundayo
Actor, Director
Helen started dancing when she was 5 years old, and has never stopped. This love of dance led to her career in podiatry. She began acting and singing as a teenager, and has performed with many companies around Brisbane in musical theatre, dance performances and plays as well as some screen appearances. Helen is also a director , choreographer and dance teacher. Together with her husband and children, Helen loves travel and shoes, and of course, all things theatre.
Biography
Helen has trained in dance since childhood - classical ballet, contemporary , tap and jazz, while also dabbling in ballroom and hip hop. She studied drama at high school and began acting and singing then .Over the years Helen has performed with the Ignations Musical Society, Ocean Theatre, Mercury Theatre, Villanova Players, Sunnybank Theatre, HeartBeast, Ad Astra Theatre in musical theatre and plays, and has acted in student short films and appeared onscreen as a background extra.
Helen had fun as a voice actor as one of the title characters in a sci fi podcast “Angel and May” for three seasons. . She choreographed the 2017 “Wizard of Oz” production and the 2021 “Beauty and the Beast” production, both for San Sisto College. Her recent directing credits include Co-director (and choreographer) of “High Society” for Villanova Players in 2018, director of “Shadowlands” for Villanova Players in 2019 and director and choreographer of “Summer Rain” for Villanova Players in November 2021. Helen is an accomplished dancer, choreographer and dance teacher and currently teaches contemporary and beginner jazz for adults.
Ad Astra Plays
Upcoming Plays
Past Plays
Other Theatre/Podcasts/Netflix/Film
March 2022 - Don Pedro, “Much Ado About Nothing”, St Luke’s Theatre, director Matthew Hobbs
July 2021 - Natasha Stepanovna, “The Proposal”, Villanova Players Theatre Company, director Viv Braybrook
August -October 2020 – Veronica Novak, “God of Carnage”, Ad Astra Theatre Company – director Jacqueline Kerr
February/March 2020 – Suzannah Brompton, “Falling From Grace”, Villanova Players, director Elizabeth Morris
2019 – 2021 – Alex Lucy Angel. “Angel and May” podcast season 1, 2 and 3 - producer/director Mel Blizzard
July 2019 – multiple roles, “Tally Hall” Radio stage play, Sunnybank Theatre Group, director Chris O’Leary
May 2019 – The Captain, “Smacnifico Presents” Commedia, Anywhere Festival, Director Shane McLennan
February/March 2019 – Mrs Weston, “Emma”, Villanova Players, Director Mary Woodall
February/March 2018, Clairee Belcher, “Steel Magnolias”, Villanova Players, Director Elizabeth Morris
July 2017 - Liz, “Keeping Up Appearances” - Sunnybank Theatre Group - Director: Nathaniel Young
March 2017 - Sue, “Third Week in August” - Sunnybank Theatre Group - Director: Debe Dewey
November 2016 - Dancer/Singer , “Rough Crossing” - Villanova Players - Director: Fiona Kennedy/Jane Sizer
March 2016 - Trisha, “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” - Villanova Players - Director: Jacqeline Kerr/Elizabeth Morris
September 2015 - Natasha, “Let the Sunshine” - Villanova Players - Director: Andrew Heron
August 2015 - Goneril, “King Lear” - HeartBeast Theatre - Director: Jacqueline Kerr
Miss Stacy, Anne of Green Gables - Villanova Players - Director: Jill Cross
Milliner/Can Can Dancer, An Italian Straw Hat - Villanova Players - Director: Maria Plumb
Mavis, “Stepping Out” – Villanova Players – Director Alison Taggart
2018 Netflix TV series, “Tidelands” (background/extra)
2016 Mini Series, 'Hoges-The Paul Hogan Story' (background/extra)
September 2017, Star Casino TVC – (background/extra)
October 2017, Training Video, (Kate) - The HEARing CRC, Doctor Carly Meyer
Training
The Scene on Screen - Maha Wilson
Casting Workshop - Bud Hopes
Representation
Freelance
Reviews
Directed by Helen Ekundayo, Villanova Players production of Summer Rain felt right at home in the Ron Hurley Theatre in Seven Hills.
Marita Bellas Miles - Theatre Travels | Read full review
Helen Ekundayo (Veronica) and Tom Coyle (Michael) were quite the dynamic duo, playing off of each other with such ease.
Virag Dombay - Broadway World | Read full review
As Veronica, Helen Ekundayo is a smiling hostess, increasingly hostile as she attempts to prosecute her guests towards accountability for the violence enacted upon her son.
Meredith Walker - Blue Curtains | Read full review
Loren and Ekundayo as the elder sisters greatly impressed with both their performances and their handling of Shakespeare’s notorious language; their pronunciation is easy to understand and well-received without sounding contrived, and their power-crazed characters were delightful.
Bobbi-Lea Dionysius - AussieTheatre.com | Read full review
Ekundayo was a standout in the trio, with her convincing, considered and authentic portrayal of Suzannah, she inhabited the character through her physicality, presence, and presentation.
Isabel Davies - Theatre Haus | Read full review