Deirdre Khoo - Chinese name, Li Ern 勵恩.
Professional Career: 2021 - currentDeirdre has traversed through stage & screen, building an impressive career upon graduation, with her most notable credits being Janet Weiss in the 50th Anniversary Tour of the Rocky Horror Show, Anne Boleyn in SIX Australia, Lucy Grant in Bright Star, and Jess in Old Vic's A Christmas Carol.
Her screen credits include feature film Somnambulance (Eartha, dir. Will Shrueder), short films Trading Cards (Ava, dir. Melinda Thiele), Movie Night (Jamie, dir. Keisha Slocomb), Lavender (Ally, dir. Brenton Potter), Washeteria (Laura, dir. January Jones) and TV pilot Midnight Memories (Iris Rose, dir. Bek Vilardo). Other theatre credits include Bright Star (Lucy Grant, dir. Damien Ryan & Miranda Middleton), ONCE (Ex-girlfriend, u/s Girl, Reza & Baruska, dir. Richard Carroll), and A Christmas Carol (Jess, u/s Belle & Little Fan, dir. Matthew Warchus), among many others. Constantly excited by new works in Australia, Deirdre was part of a the latest John Farnham Musical workshop conducted by Sydney Theatre Company & Michael Cassel Group. She also previously partook in a workshop and recording for an audio-experience album for RUTH: The Musical by Isaac Shatford, originating the role of Darla Ren under the direction of Hayden Tee. |
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Training & Early Career: 2015 - 2020
In 2016, Deirdre originated the role of Julia O'Brien in a new Australian musical, 2084, with music by Nick Choo and book & lyrics by Sarah Courtis. She then collaborated with Nick again on his next project in 2017. 4-in-50: A Musical Marathon premiered at Perth's Fringe World Arts Festival, which was nominated for a theatre award.
Deirdre trained as part of WAAPA's Music Theatre class of 2020, and graduated with skills in both MT and film & television.
Deirdre trained as part of WAAPA's Music Theatre class of 2020, and graduated with skills in both MT and film & television.
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Early Life: 1998 - 2015Dee was born & raised in a tiny hot-box country called Singapore. She moved to Australia (Perth) in 2015, where she's stayed & built her career since.
She's an Aries sun, Gemini moon & Cancer rising (not that she understands any of it). She's also an Earth Tiger zodiac. Take that however you may. |
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Other than performing, Deirdre also previously acted as the Assistant Director to Jason Langley in VCA's production of The Hello Girls in 2021, and has also been teaching singing, acting & audition technique since 2018. She also recently produced the short film Movie Night, which is currently in production.
Other credits include: Allison Vernon-Williams in Cry-Baby, Maggie Winslow/Vocal Captain in A Chorus Line (dir. Crispin Taylor), Rosie in Mamma Mia! (dir. Shaun Rennie), Pepper in Maki Morita's Trash Pop Butterflies, Dance Dance Paradise (dir. Amelia Burke), Scotty in Merrily We Roll Along (dir. Brent Hill), Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream (dir. Nicola Bowman), ensemble in Strictly Ballroom (dir. Crispin Taylor), Oathtaker in the Wonderful World of Dissocia (dir. Michael McCall). In 2026, Deirdre was part of the ensemble that was nominated for Best Ensemble at the Sydney Theatre Awards for the musical Bright Star. Deirdre was also a semi-finalist of the inaugural Artists of Colour (AOC) Initiative award and has a Greenroom Award Nomination through Vidya Makan's I Need You To See Me music video. She is also a member of the MEAA. |
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