One final bow: Veteran actor and director retires after 50 years

Wayne Rees started acting classes at Cairns Little Theatre in his early 20s to help overcome his “shyness”. 50 years on, he has just performed with the Theatre for the very last time.

Mr Rees has entertained thousands of Cairns locals over the past five decades. Picture: Brendan Radke

In his early 20s, Wayne Rees started acting classes at Cairns Little Theatre to help overcome his “shyness”.

On March 1, he took his final bow after 50 years of acting and directing at the company.

Born and bred in Cairns, Mr Rees began acting workshops taught by Kevin Shorey, the current vice president of Cairns Little Theatre.

“I was always a very shy kid at school,” Mr Rees said.

“(Acting) just appealed to me and it was fun, but it was also scary. I started going to classes and they’d say ‘get up and do this’, and my guts would churn.

“But, I’d get up and do it. I kept at it and I just got better and better and doing more and more plays.

“So they taught me to act, and through acting I learnt to do all these sort of things and not be afraid.”

“I used to do carols by candlelight with 10,000 people and it didn’t worry me,” Mr Rees said of the confidence he gained through acting. Picture: Brendan Radke

After a few years at Cairns Little Theatre, Mr Rees moved to Brisbane and earned a place in the Queensland Theatre Company, where he toured Queensland performing for primary school children before taking on a managerial role.

“There was no work for actors,” Mr Rees said.

“So I became a tour manager with the Queensland Arts Council.”

He then toured Queensland again in this managerial role, overseeing a variety of tours including ballet and music tours, both local and international.

After four years in Brisbane he returned to Cairns, where he worked as an accountant and helped run his father’s business, Rusty’s Markets.

“As soon as I got home I rejoined the theatre again and here I am, still here,” he said.

“I’ve lost track of the number of plays I’ve been in.”

He has also been a marriage celebrant for the past 30 years, a role he said had been assisted by the confidence he developed through performing.

“Now, as a marriage celebrant I can get up and do anything,” he said.

Wayne Rees pictured with the Cairns Municipal Band in 2021 during the run of Brassed Off, which he directed. Picture: Brendan Radke

Mr Rees said he always loved performing at the Rondo Theatre, which is owned by Cairns Little Theatre, due to its format as a theatre-in-the-round.

“It engages the audience so much,” he said.

“You’re so close to the action that it’s happening right in front of you. You feel a part of it.

“I’ve done shows where people are tortured on stage and the audience freaks out because they think it’s really being tortured. You can’t pick your nose or do anything without everyone seeing it. There’s no escaping … which is great.”

Mr Rees has also directed multiple plays, and his wife Noelene has been actively involved in the theatre alongside him, as an actor, director and costume designer.

He decided it was time to retire in 2021, but returned for one final run at the Rondo in 2025, for the play Charley’s Aunt.

It was directed by Kevin Shorey, who first taught him acting over 50 years ago and has since become a dear friend and collaborator.

“I can’t say no to Kevin,” Mr Rees said.

Mr Rees played Brasset the butler in Charley’s Aunt. Picture: Brendan Radke

But now, it’s time to hang up his boots for good.

“As I get older, it gets harder and harder to remember lines,” Mr Rees said.

“You can know your lines at home, you know your lines when you’re driving into the theatre, but as soon as you get on the stage in front of an audience, lots of times they disappear.”

Mr Rees said he wasn’t sure he’d miss performing because he planned to remain involved in the theatre in some way.

“I’m still around, just not on stage,” he said.

“I’ll sweep the stage and help paint the stage, but I won’t be on stage. I’ve been there, done that.”

However, he said he would miss the “bonding” experience of theatre.

“The people you meet along the way are beautiful,” Mr Rees said.

“You know, when you’re in a play, you’re like in a family.

“You get to know the people really well. Some of them will disappear after the show’s finished and go their separate ways – Cairns has got a roving population of people coming and going. But it’s always lovely when you reconnect, because you remember those great times you had.”

“I don’t know what’s next,” Mr Rees said of his new chapter.

“That’s what’s exciting about life. You just never know what’s coming up next.

“Something new and exciting – it’s just around the corner.”

Originally published as One final bow: Veteran actor and director retires after 50 years