Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the limit-login-attempts-reloaded domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/andrejew/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114

Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the wordpress-seo domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/andrejew/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114
André Jewson // Actor

I’m an Australian actor telling stories with versatility, a big heart and a playful spirit.

 

Based in London, working globally.

Photograph: Jessie Lu

// Download

// Introduction

Hi!I’m André — a theatrically trained actor with a love of great stories and vibrant characters. I graduated from the VCA School of Drama in 2005 and in 2010 my sense of adventure and hunger to develop my skills led me to Paris, France where I trained for two years with master theatre teacher Philippe Gaulier. Since then I have appeared on stage, film and television in Australia and around the world.

Until very recently I featured as Zazu in Disney’s The Lion King, and was seen on stages all across Oceania, Asia and Europe, from New Zealand to the Philippines to South Korea, Zürich and Abu Dhabi.

Closer to home, I’ve worked for Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre, and a lot in the independent sector — from La Mama to BSharp to Griffin Stablemates. Voice work includes ABCTV documentary Revealing Gallipoli and online monodrama The Empty Cage.

Mountain is a new work close to my heart, a solo show conceived and created across continents before and during the global pandemic. Co-created with my collaborator Kit Brookman, Mountain premiered at Geelong Arts Centre in Australia in 2022, co-produced by Performing Lines, Sweet Reason and Geelong Arts Centre.

Based in London since 2024, I am represented worldwide by Carey Dodd Associates, an innovative leading London agency representing actors and creatives across the industry.

I love theatre. I love good stories. And I love connecting with people.

When I’m not at the beach or playing piano, I like to teach myself something new, read a decent book, build websites (argh!), cook or watch top-notch films and TV. I’m never too far away from a wintry mulled wine or an excellent coffee or a dinner party with dear friends. And I’m forever searching for the perfect lemon meringue pie.

I am very proud to be a founding board member of The Melanie Jewson Foundation. I also serve as the foundation’s Marketing & Fundraising Manager. A small but mighty charity, the MJF was launched in 2012 in memory of my beautiful sister Mel and is dedicated to advancing health and education in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu.

Photograph: Lachlan Woods

// Summary

Victorian College of the Arts

2003 — 2005

The Lion King

2013 — 2022

Ecole Philippe Gaulier

2010 — 2012

Freelance Actor

2005 — present

// Recent

Disney’s The Lion King

Sydney // Brisbane // Melbourne // Perth // Manila // Singapore // Daegu // Seoul // Busan // Taipei // Bangkok // Hong Kong // Auckland // Abu Dhabi // Birmingham // Dublin // Zürich

 

What a fussbudget.

Part Basil Fawlty, part Niles from The Nanny, Zazu’s pomposity, acerbic wit and high status clowning are a favourite with audiences around the world.

The audience experiences the character both through the intricate puppetry and the physical presence of the actor, exemplifying what director Julie Taymor calls the “double event”.

I understudied Zazu on the Australian tour of the show, and have made the role my own since premiering in the 20th Anniversary Production and first International Tour in Manila, Philippines in May 2018.

Photograph: Zhang Kaihua

// Recent

Disney’s The Lion King

Sydney // Brisbane // Melbourne // Perth // Manila // Singapore // Daegu // Seoul // Busan // Taipei // Bangkok // Hong Kong // Auckland // Abu Dhabi // Birmingham // Dublin // Zürich

What a fussbudget.

Part Basil Fawlty, part Niles from The Nanny, Zazu’s pomposity, acerbic wit and high status clowning are a favourite with audiences around the world.

The audience experiences the character both through the intricate puppetry and the physical presence of the actor, exemplifying what director Julie Taymor calls the “double event”.

I understudied Zazu on the Australian tour of the show, and have made the role my own since premiering in the 20th Anniversary Production and first International Tour in Manila, Philippines in May 2018.

Photograph: Zhang Kaihua

// Recent

“I’m changing, I know. I’m changing into whatever I’m going to be without you.

“I don’t want to.”

MOUNTAIN // JUNE 2022

Mountain is the story of a man in pieces. This new solo work follows a bereft young man, set adrift following the death of a loved one. 

Writer/director Kit Brookman and I developed this quirky, poetic play across continents before and during the global pandemic. We premiered at Geelong Arts Centre in June 2022 to capacity audiences and reached an interstate and international viewership through Australian Digital Concert Hall’s online broadcast program.

Shifting perspectives from the deeply personal to the epic, Mountain is a determined search for hope amidst utter devastation. It is a hymn to the transformative power of grief; to the wonder of the unknown.

Co-produced by Sweet Reason, Performing Lines, Geelong Arts Centre, The Art House Wyong and Goulburn Performing Arts Centre, Mountain is currently available for national touring through Performing Lines.

“With whip-smart writing and a solid directorial hand from Kit Brookman and a carefully nuanced performance from André Jewson, Geelong Arts Centre has showcased an exemplary piece of work in Mountain.”

ROHAN SHEARN, AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW

Photographs: Sarah Walker

// Reviews

“André Jewson shines as the revolting Dad. His spittle-flecked screed is one of the highlights of the show.”

Cameron Woodhead, The Age

“...nothing short of an astonishing tour de force. Jewson’s versatility is exquisitely demonstrated...”

Patricia Di Risio, Stage Whispers

“Scene stealers like Ntsepa Pitjeng as Rafiki and André Jewson as Zazu were a delight to watch…”

Melalin Mahavongtrakul, Bangkok Post

“Jewson's frenetic performance a high point of the night...”

Alison Croggon, Theatrenotes

// Reels

Screen Actor

// Showreel
E

// Connect

// Highlights

Hotel 2023

Hotel 2023

Return Singapore Season

Wild Rice Theatre Co. // directed by Ivan Heng & Glen Goi

An immersive, multi-generational epic, Hotel explores the notions of empire, nationhood, migration and identity against the backdrop of a shrinking world. Spanning a century and performed over close to five hours in nine languages, this ground-breaking theatrical event highlights the eclectic energies born from the collisions between the old and the new, East and West, tradition and modernity.

After a successful premiere season at the 2015 Singapore International Festival of Arts and multiple remounts since, this fresh new 2023 production was the first time Wild Rice staged Hotel within its very own Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre.

Mountain 2022

Mountain 2022

World Premiere

Performing Lines/Sweet Reason/Geelong Arts Centre // directed by Kit Brookman

Mountain is the story of a man in pieces. Adrift in grief, the man becomes fixated by the idea of hiking up a mountain. But even on the simplest of journeys it can be difficult to find the way back…

The man’s journey up the mountain opens precipitously outward, to encompass not just his own voice, but the voice of the mountain, the wind, of a planet crying out for what it’s losing and what it’s already lost.

Shifting perspectives from the deeply personal to the epic, this new solo work by writer/director Kit Brookman and performer André Jewson is a determined search for hope amidst utter devastation.

Mountain is a hymn to the transformative power of grief, to the wonder of the unknown.

Photographs: Sarah Walker

Le Vide 2019

Le Vide 2019

Sydney Fringe Festival

Steps & Holes Theatre Co. // directed by Kate Walder

Le Vide or “the empty’“ is an exploration of the space that opens up after a sudden, unexpected force hits our lives. What happens when we’re knocked off our feet and there is nothing to hold onto? Must we admit our vulnerability, our fragility and become the tragic hero of our story? Do we enter the darkness in search of the shadow, so that we can rescue ourselves and eventually find the light?

Explored through the poetry of T S Eliot, Ted Hughes and classical archetypes, Le Vide is a journey into the dark, chaotic and beautiful world of the unknown.

Photographs: Emily Elise

Thérèse Raquin 2017

Thérèse Raquin 2017

National Tour

Critical Stages // directed by Gary Abrahams // role of Camille

Thérèse lives a life of servitude, married to her sickly cousin in a loveless, arranged marriage. But her melancholy is marred by the arrival of Laurent, her husband’s friend, with whom she begins a passionate, feverish affair.

A remount of a critically acclaimed independent production that was nominated for six Green Room Awards across categories of design, direction and performance.

Photographs: Jeff Busby

As Told By The Boys Who Fed Me Apples 2017

As Told By The Boys Who Fed Me Apples 2017

Return Melbourne Season

La Mama // directed by Greg Carroll // role of Major/Vet/Private

“The performance in the extremely demanding role played by André Jewson (Soldier) was nothing short of an astonishing tour de force. Jewson’s versatility is exquisitely demonstrated in the range of emotions he displayed and the physical feats he performed.” – Stage Whispers

This unique, poetic piece of theatre captures the brutality of war and the heroism of the soldiers and horses who served.

Photographs: Matthew Myers

The Lion King 2013 – 2016

The Lion King 2013 – 2016

Australian National Tour

Disney Australia // directed by Julie Taymor // role of Ed, understudy Scar & Zazu

The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Based on Disney’s 1994 animated feature film and winner of six Tony Awards®, The Lion King’s archetypal coming-of-age tale of hope and redemption is a favourite the world over.

Having played over 100 cities in 20 countries on every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King’s worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history.

Backstage photograph: Michael O’Donnell // Production photograph: Deen van Meer ©Disney

Heaven 2013

Heaven 2013

Premiere Melbourne Season

La Mama // directed by Kit Brookman // role of Max

I feel kind of okay – I actually feel like I should be more fucked up about it than I am, y’know?

When Angela Farnsworth is run over by a bakery van and killed after walking home from school one day, the world starts to look very different to Max. Death seems just around the corner, and whatever it is that comes after becomes a terrifying mystery. 

So, despite the scepticism of his friends, Max decides to ask the only person he knows who might be able to shed some light on the whole mystery of the universe.

Summoning the dead can have unforeseen consequences.

A bittersweet comedy about death, growing up, and the perils of becoming an amateur medium.

Photographs: Margaret Swan

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This