The curtain came down on Mel Brooks’ The Producers at London’s Garrick Theatre on Saturday, September 19 and I was lucky enough to be in the house to watch Australia’s own Trevor Ashley take his final bow as Roger De Bris.
It capped almost two years in the role for the Sydney-born performer (and full disclosure: one of my greatest friends), from the production’s first preview at the Menier Chocolate Factory in December 2024 through its transfer to the West End in 2025.
And what a run it’s been. Earlier this year, Ashley was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical at the 2026 Olivier Awards – London theatre’s highest honour.
“The nomination is completely surreal. I cried, I just sat there sobbing,” he told QNews at the time.
“This was always my dream ... I was a little boy from Arncliffe, Rockdale, Bexley, it is insane.”
Having now seen him do it, I can tell you: the nomination was no fluke.
The role
For the uninitiated, Roger De Bris is the gloriously flamboyant and gloriously terrible Broadway director hired by washed-up producer Max Bialystock (Andy Nyman) and nervy accountant Leo Bloom (Marc Antolin) for one reason: they need a guaranteed flop.
It’s a part that could easily be played as one big wink. Ashley plays it as a star turn.
BroadwayWorld’s critic said Ashley “oozes blissful camp theatricality” and called his big number, Keep It Gay, “an absolute riot of characters and colour”. I couldn’t agree more.
Then there’s the second act, when Roger steps in at the last minute to play Hitler himself in Springtime for Hitler the show-within-a-show that’s meant to close on opening night and instead becomes a smash.
Ashley has called Springtime his favourite moment in the show, telling West End Best Friend it’s “such a hoot to perform and see everyone’s reactions throughout the number”.
Closing night
Patrick Marber’s production, choreographed by Lorin Latarro, was stacked with talent from top to bottom, with Raj Ghatak as Carmen Ghia, Harry Morrison as Franz Liebkind and Joanna Woodward as Ulla.
It picked up four Olivier nominations, including Best Musical Revival and Best Actor in a Musical nods for both Nyman and Antolin.
Ashley lost out on the night to Tom Edden for Paddington The Musical but in my book, just being in that category was the win. And based on the audience’s reaction on Saturday night I can safely say that I’m not the only one that thought he was robbed.
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Ashley himself has described the show as “possibly one of the greatest theatrical experiences of my life”, according to West End Best Friend. Watching him on closing night, it was hard not to feel the same.
From Priscilla to Piccadilly
Australian audiences have known what Ashley can do for years.
He played Miss Understanding more than 600 times in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical, stepped into Edna Turnblad’s heels for Hairspray in 2010 and played King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar in 2017.
He has also earned two Helpmann Award nominations – for best cabaret performer, and for best supporting actor in a musical for Les Misérables.
As he told QNews after his Olivier nod: “The Brits can see what I can do. It doesn’t feel real.”
Having sat in that theatre and watched a packed London crowd with an extraordinary standing ovation for a boy from Sydney’s south, I can promise you – it’s very real.
So what’s next for Trevor Ashley. Something tells me he’ll be very busy for years to come.