Jules Billington
Jules Billington is a non-binary theatre maker living on Gadigal land. They work as a director, actor, and performance & movement coach in theatre and film, with a special passion for nurturing emerging artists.
A NIDA graduate, Jules has worked as an actor, director, and performance and movement coach in the Australian theatre and film industry for twenty years.
Their directing credits include: Australian Premier of The Swell by Isley Lynn at The Old Fitz Theatre produced by Akimbo & co (2024); New Australian work EVOL by Joanna Erskine, devised by Jules and the first year actors for the Sydney Actors School (2023). They are currently in pre-production for the world premier of People Will Think You Don’t Love Me, an award winning script by Joanna Erskine for KXT on Broadway produced by Little Trojan. Jules was also the Associate Director on A Midsummer Nights Dream (2024) for Bell Shakespeare, directed by Peter Evans.
Jules is a regular director of Bell Shakespeare’s “The Players” - the company’s Theatre In Education program that perform nation wide with a repertoire of three shows: two for varying high school ages, as well as a primary school show.
Jules was the Drama Coach on the internationally acclaimed childrens’ television show First Day (ABC & Hulu) assisting newcomer actress Evie Macdonald and twenty others (with multiple youth cast from the trans community) in shaping their performances. The show received the Rose d’Or Award and won at the International Children’s Emmys.
Jules has extensive training in physical theatre, having been part of Zen Zen Zo’s inaugural Internship in 2003, and then continuing to study and perform with New York based SITI Company in their adaption of The Bacchae, as part of the 2018 Summer Intensive. Jules is an Associate Artist with Chopt Logic, and regularly teaches workshops in Viewpoints, Composition and Devising, Laban and Suzuki. They are currently teaching movement (Suzuki Method) at the Actors Centre Australia. Jules was also the Movement Coordinator on Fierce, a Red Line Production at the Old Fitz Theatre directed by Janine Watson (2019).
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For a list of work Jules has acted in, download their Acting CV here.
Testimonials
Will Bartow, Such Sweet Sorrow,
Bell Shakespeare 'The Players'
"Jules Billington is a supportive, prepared, rigorous, and inspiring director. They are excellent at their job and I would highly recommend any actor to take part in a process with Jules, and any company would be lucky to have them involved.
​Being directed by Jules felt deeply inspiring as they encouraged a love for story, and an attention to detail in the content, that supported us as actors to delve deeper into our choices with confidence.
They created a space that was safe and supportive where I felt heard, and able to bring up any concern/creative thought. After being in many rooms where this is not the case, I can truly acknowledge the care, preparation and love that they put into the rehearsal process. ​
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Jules brings an embodied understanding of text to the process. ​Their love of actors is palpable, and their ability to direct multiple actors with different processes is truly a thing to behold. When navigating a room of actors with different experiences, I witnessed Jules switch between different entry-points and techniques and language choices seamlessly, all whilst always deeply respecting the artists they were working with."