 Ashley made his humble amateur theatre debut at university in 2008, where he joined an improvised comedy theatre troupe (“Off the Cuff”); and was involved in “A Series of One Act Plays” (BATS Theatre Company). But it was later that year when he played Roy in “Cosi” with Purely Pensive Productions (Sept 08) that he discovered an avid love of character acting. Since then, he has thrived on throwing himself headlong into quirky, physical characters.
He received a Lyrebird Nomination (Best Actor in a Comedy) when he played the drunk and disorderly Father O’Shea in “Dimboola” (BATS, November 2008); and went on to star in “Coming Soon… The End!” at the 2009 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Since then, he has enjoyed several leading roles in highly-acclaimed musical productions; such as the role of Sir Robin in “Spamalot” (PLOS Productions); Garry LeJeune in “Noises Off” (Catchment Players of Darebin); The Poet in “Kismet” (Babirra Music Theatre); Curly in “Oklahoma!” (Nova Music Theatre); and Lawrence in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (MUMCo). The latter earned him a commendation for Best Actor in a Leading Role from the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria.
In his other life, Ashley works as a physiotherapist at two separate medical clinics. His working history includes a short stint at the Royal Children's Hospital, where he did a short clinical placement in the neurology department. He loves the contrast and the creative release that performing brings to his life; and loves the fact that his position with Tony Bones enables him to entertain and interact with kids while doing so.
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