TRUE WEST

SAM SHEPARD’s first New York plays, COWBOYS and THE ROCK GARDEN, were produced by Theatre Genesis in 1963. For several seasons, he worked with Off-Off-Broadway theatre groups including La MaMa and Caffe Cino. Eleven of his plays won Obie Awards, including CHICAGO, THE TOOTH OF CRIME, and CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS. Other award-winning plays include FOOL FOR LOVE, TRUE WEST, A LIE OF THE MIND, and BURIED CHILD, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1979. In 1986, Shepard was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received the Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy in 1992. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame two years later. As a screenwriter and director, he filmed FAR NORTH and SILENT TONGUE. As an actor, he appeared in numerous films, including THE RIGHT STUFF, DAYS OF HEAVEN, and RESURRECTION. His final works of prose, THE ONE INSIDE and SPY OF THE FIRST PERSON, were published the year he passed away, 2017.

Ensemble Theatre: THE CARETAKER, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. Sydney Theatre Company: MOJO, BLOOD WEDDING (translation by Iain Sinclair), OUR TOWN. Queensland Theatre Company: BRISBANE. Belvoir: THE SEED, KILLER JOE, BEYOND THE NECK, MY ARM. Melbourne Theatre Company: BERLIN, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, THE BEAST. Eternity Theatre: ALL MY SONS, GOOD WORKS. National Institute of Dramatic Art: LOST ILLUSIONS, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Sport for Jove: OF MICE AND MEN. 45 Downstairs: BOTTOMLESS, MILKED, BURN THIS. Awards: Iain has won four Canberra Critics Circle awards, A Matilda Award, three Sydney Theatre Awards and a Melbourne Green Room Award for best director. Previously Iain was assistant director to Max Stafford Clark and to Cate Blanchett and resident dramaturg at Playwriting Australia. Training: Masters degree from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and King’s College London, Head of Acting at 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne. His next production will be RED by John Logan in Melbourne.

Director credits: Ensemble Theatre, Assistant Director: ARIA. Griffin Theatre (Lysicrates Prize): NO NEED TO HIDE A LIGHT WHEN IT SHINES LIKE HERS. Old Fitz Theatre: CYPRUS AVENUE, THE LONESOME WEST. Seymour Centre: ARLINGTON. Acting credits: Bell Shakespeare: THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS, AS YOU LIKE IT, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. Belvoir Street Theatre: HEDDA GABLER. B Sharp: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, BEYOND THE NECK. Darlinghurst Theatre Company: ALL MY SONS, VENUS IN FUR. Griffin Theatre: JUMP FOR JORDAN. Perth Theatre Company: TENDER NAPALM, BLACKBIRD. Sport For Jove: OF MICE AND MEN. National Theatre of UK: WAR HORSE. Film: EVENT ZERO. Television: AMAZING GRACE, A PLACE TO CALL HOME, ALL SAINTS, BLUE HEELERS. Training: Ecole Philippe Gaulier (Paris). National Institute of Dramatic Art: BA Acting.

Ensemble Theatre: UNCLE VANYA, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED, AFTERPLAY. Sugary Rum Productions: THE INHERITANCE. Sydney Theatre Company: ON THE BEACH, DO NOT GO GENTLE, GRAND HORIZONS, BLACK IS THE NEW WHITE, HOW TO RULE THE WORLD, POWER PLAYS, MORNING SACRIFICE, MACBETH, MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Griffin Theatre: WICKED SISTERS, LIVE ACTS ON STAGE, AWAY. Bell Shakespeare: FAUSTUS (with Queensland Theatre), THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. Queensland Theatre: COMPOSING VENUS, SEASON’S GREETINGS. Parramatta Riverside: PARRAMATTA GIRLS, KING LEAR. State Theatre Company South Australia: THREE BIRDS ALIGHTING ON A FIELD, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? PRIVATE LIVES, THE THREEPENNY OPERA, AS YOU LIKE IT, TRAITORS, PERICLES. Film: FELONY, MARY, HEY HEY IT’S ESTHER BLUEBERGER. TV: MR INBETWEEN, RAKE, HOME AND AWAY. Member; SYDNEY PHILHARMONIA SYMPHONY CHORUS.

Iron Lung Theatre: WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING. Melbourne Shakespeare Company: HAMLET. Patalog Theatre Company: FAR AWAY. Pop-Up Globe: ROMEO AND JULIET, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre: A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, THE AMATEURS, HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING , THE ANTIPODES, DESERT 6.29pm. Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK): THE CHERRY ORCHARD, CYMBELINE. Film: THE LATCHER, THE SURROGATE, MR IRRELEVANT.Television: WARNIE, NEW GOLD MOUNTAIN, SPREADSHEET, NEIGHBOURS, OFFSPRING. Training: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (MA Classical Acting), Shakespeare & Company (USA), 16th Street Actors Studio. Awards: NOMINATED – Green Room Awards 2022 – Outstanding Performance.

Theatre: Ensemble Theatre: THE GREAT DIVIDE, A DOLL’S HOUSE, DIPLOMACY, THE ODD COUPLE. Bell Shakespeare: KING LEAR, MACBETH, HAMLET, JULIUS CAESAR, OTHELLO, RICHARD III. Good Time Theatrics: SNOWFLAKE; Monkey Baa Theatre: THURSDAY’S CHILD. Sport for Jove: THE HOLLOW CROWN, WAR OF THE ROSES, LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, THE CRUCIBLE, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, CYRANO DE BERGERAC, HAMLET, THE TEMPEST, TWELFTH NIGHT, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, MACBETH, THE LIBERTINE, AS YOU LIKE IT, ROMEO & JULIET, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Whitebox/Griffin Independent: UNHOLY GHOSTS. TV: PLAYING GRACIE DARLING, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, HOME AND AWAY, THE TWELVE, THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS, DIARY OF AN UBER DRIVER, HARROW, DOCTOR DOCTOR, FIGHTING SEASON, MARY: THE MAKING OF A PRINCESS. Film: JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION, BMX BANDITS.

Ensemble Theatre: Debut. GWB Entertainment: DEATH OF A SALESMAN. Moose Down Under/Rodney Rigby: COME FROM AWAY. Melbourne Theatre Company: ADMISSIONS, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, LAST MAN STANDING. Malthouse Theatre: CRIMINOLOGY, LOVE. Red Stitch Theatre: LAMB, RUBEN GUTHRIE. Tamarama Rock Surfers: ROBOT VS ART. The Production Company: CURTAINS. Film: UPGRADE (voice of ‘Stem’), THE DRESSMAKER, THE GREAT RAID, THE KILLER ELITE, ROMULUS MY FATHER, SLEEPING DOGS, BLUE CANARIES. Television: EAST OF EDEN, HIGH COUNTRY, THE NEWSREADER, SAFE HOME, GLITCH, NEWTON’S LAW, WENTWORTH, JACK IRISH, THE DOCTOR BLAKE MYSTERIES, WINNERS AND LOSERS, CITY HOMICIDE, RUSH, SATISFACTION, TANGLE. Telemovies: HAWKE, DANGEROUS REMEDY, UNDERGROUND: THE JULIAN ASSANGE STORY, DEADLINE: GALLIPOLI.

Ensemble Theatre: THE LOVER & THE DUMB WAITER, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER, CLYDE’S, HONOUR, KENNY, THE LAST WIFE, LUNA GALE, SHIRLEY VALENTINE, FRANKENSTEIN, CASANOVA. Brisbane Festival: BANANALAND (with Sydney Festival), MACBETH. Queensland Theatre: TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS (with Belvoir), THE ALMIGHTY SOMETIMES, BERNHARDT/HAMLET, MACBETH, ELIZABETH: ALMOST BY CHANCE A WOMAN, VENUS IN FUR, BOMBSHELLS, KELLY, HEAD FULL OF LOVE, FRACTIONS, THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED, AUSTRALIA DAY, THE PITCH, THE CHINA INCIDENT, THE REMOVALISTS, AN OAK TREE, MAN EQUALS MAN, WAITING FOR GODOT, EATING ICE CREAM, BECKETT X 3, RUBY MOON. Sydney Theatre Company: THE CRUCIBLE, SENECA’S THYESTES. Opera Queensland: THE MIKADO, THE MERRY WIDOW, SPACE ENCOUNTERS, THE MAGIC FLUTE. Pinchgut Opera: RINALDO. State Opera South Australia: LA BOHEME, SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL, LOVE BURNS, BOOJUM!. Victorian Opera: EUCALYPTUS.

Ensemble Theatre: TRIBES, THE BIG DRY, THE PLANT, NEVILLE’S ISLAND. Campbelltown Arts Centre: HIGH OCTANE, MIRAGE; Dance Makers Collective: ALL IN, THE RIVOLI, WOLVERINE. Darlinghurst Theatre Company: OVERFLOW, TORCH SONG TRILOGY, BROKEN. Griffin Theatre Company: FLAT EARTHERS, FAMILY VALUES, SPLINTER, REPLAY, DIVING FOR PEARLS. Hayes Theatre Company: RIDE THE CYCLONE, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, CARMEN ALIVE OR DEAD, RAZORHURST. National Theatre of Paramatta: THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (AUS/UK), LADY TABOULI, GIRL IN THE MACHINE, THE GIRL/THE WOMAN, THE SORRY MUM PROJECT, LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU GET HOME. Queensland Theatre Company: FAMILY VALUES. Sydney Theatre Company: CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, CONSTELLATIONS, AMERICAN SIGNS, A FOOL IN LOVE. Awards: APDG Award for best lighting design for a Live Performance or Event (CLEANSED), Best Lighting Design for an Mainstage Production 2023 (CONSTELLATIONS), Best Lighting Design for an Independent Production 2019 (METAMORPHOSES), Best Lighting Design for an Independent Production 2021 (SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE).

Ensemble Theatre: THE LOVER & THE DUMB WAITER, THE GREAT DIVIDE, MIDNIGHT MURDER AT HAMLINGTON HALL, MR BAILEY’S MINDER, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, RHINESTONE REX AND MISS MONICA, THE LAST FIVE YEARS, RICHARD III, FRANKENSTEIN and many more. Belvoir St Theatre: THE MAN FROM MUCKINUPIN. Circa: AURA, RECLAIMED PIANOS, ONE BEAUTIFUL THING, LANDSCAPE WITH MONSTERS. Hayes Theatre Co: HIGH SOCIETY. Merrigong Theatre Company: SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED, STRANGEWAYS CABARET, AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, THE SIRENS’ RETURN, THE OUTSIDE MAN, THE AUROBINDO PROJECT. Milk Crate Theatre: FEARLESS. Monkey Baa Theatre Company: THE PEASANT PRINCE, FOX. Sydney Theatre Company: WOMEN OF TROY. Cabaret: ELIANE MOREL, JACQUI DARK, THE STRANGE BEDFELLOWS, MITCHELL BUTEL, JENNY VULETIC, RUSS VICKERY. Ali & The Thieves: LEONARD COHEN KOANS, THE ROYAL SEED, LOU REED IN THE BARDO. Awards: Sydney Theatre Award Best Score and Sound Design (FRANKENSTEIN), Green Room Award Best Musical Direction (STRANGE BEDFELLOWS).

Ensemble Theatre: THE QUEEN’S NANNY TOUR,  THE HEARTBREAK CHOIR, COLDER THAN HERE, THE GREAT DIVIDE, TODD MCKENNEY: PETER ALLEN AND ME. Belvoir 25a: AN OX STAND ON MY TONGUE. Megan Bennetts: LOSING IT. Sport For Jove: THE PLAYER KINGS, VENUS & ADONIS, ROMEO & JULIET, TWELFTH NIGHT, MACBETH, RICHARD III, HENRY IV. Squabbalogic: HERRINGBONE. Assistant Stage Manager: Ensemble Theatre: UNCLE VANYA, MIDNIGHT MURDER AT HAMLINGTON HALL, ULSTER AMERICAN. Bell Shakespeare: THE LOVERS. Belvoir Street Theatre: TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS, SCENES FROM THE CLIMATE ERA. Opera Australia: LA TRAVIATA. Red Line Productions & Sydney Opera House: AMADEUS. Company Manager: Bar’d Work: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Film: 17 MINUTES, DISARMED, LIFE AFTER MAN, KAIROS, LONG STORY SHORT, PSEUDOMONAS, RITUAL, THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR THE BOTH OF US. Music Video: AMALIA, IN HEART’S WAKE & RAYN.

As assistant stage manager: Ensemble Theatre: ARIA. As production assistant: Ensemble Theatre: HEARTBREAK CHOIR, MCGUFFIN PARK, COLDER THAN HERE, THE QUEEN’S NANNY, UNCLE VANYA, MASTER CLASS, MR BAILEY’S MINDER. New Ghosts Theatre Company: FRAME NARRATIVE. As designer: Flight Path Theatre: VARIOUS CHARACTERS, THE ESCAPE ROOM. As assistant director: New Theatre: ATLANTIS.

Ensemble Theatre: ARIA, UNCLE VANYA, MASTER CLASS, ULSTER AMERICAN, SWITZERLAND, ALONE IT STANDS, THE GREAT DIVIDE, THE MEMORY OF WATER, SUMMER OF HAROLD, MR BAILEY’S MINDER, BENEFACTORS, RHINESTONE REX AND MISS MONICA, THE CARETAKER, PHOTOGRAPH 51, THE ONE, OUTDATED, CRUNCH TIME, BABY DOLL, FOLK, LUNA GALE,
and many more. Bell Shakespeare: HENRY V, THE WINTER’S TALE,  MACBETH. Belvoir St Theatre: FANGIRLS. New Theatricals: DARKNESS. National Institute of Dramatic Art: THE GOVERNMENT
INSPECTOR, STAY HAPPY KEEP SMILING, THE TEMPEST, WOYCECK, A LIE OF THE MIND, PORT, THE THREESOME. Pinchgut Opera: THE FAIRY QUEEN, JULIUS CAESAR, RINALDO, MÉDÉE, PLATÉE and many more. Sydney Festival: BETTY BLOKKBUSTER RE-IMAGINED. Australian Chamber Orchestra: THE NUTCRACKER.