Paul Dellit OAM Discusses the 2025 MATILDA AWARDS

In 2025, Queensland theatre did not simply hold its ground, it surged forward. Across mainstages, black box spaces, community halls and regional venues, artists demonstrated a boldness of voice and a clarity of intention that spoke to a sector in confident motion.

From intimate 50 seat rooms in Fortitude Valley to large scale productions at QPAC, and from Brisbane to Gympie, Logan, the Gold Coast and beyond, the breadth of work presented this year revealed a dynamic, decentralised and increasingly self assured performing arts landscape.

As Lead Judge of the Matilda Awards, Paul Dellit OAM oversaw close to 100 productions across the state. What emerged from that extraordinary cross section was not a single defining trend, but rather a sense of momentum and diversity. Independent companies stood shoulder to shoulder with major institutions. Regional stories carried the same artistic weight as metropolitan premieres. New writing, hybrid forms and emerging voices pushed boundaries, while established artists continued to refine craft with care and precision.

As Lead Judge, you oversaw nearly 100 productions across Queensland this year. What stayed with you most after seeing such a wide cross section of work?

What’s stayed with me most is not just what artists chose to say, but how they chose to say it. This year we moved between vastly different conditions, from a 50-seat garage space in Fortitude Valley one night, to the QPAC Playhouse the next, and then out to regional centres where the audience knows the artists personally.

Across nearly 100 productions, the prevailing feeling was momentum. Queensland theatre isn’t doing just one “thing” it continues to be very inventive. You can see theatre makers pushing form and yet still landing work that is emotional and memorable.
Both scale and craft are required to carry a production in a big theatre, but the independent sector keeps you close to the realities of theatre. The spirit of community was always on display everywhere, and it’s certainly what I carried home.

The nominations reflect strong representation from independent and regional companies. What does that tell you about where Queensland theatre is heading right now?

It tells me Queensland theatre is becoming more evenly distributed, more confident, and that excellence doesn’t only belong to Brisbane or within one budget category. When you see nominations flowing strongly from independent and regional companies, it’s a sign that artists and audiences are building something sustainable and distinctive on their own.

In 2025, our judges travelled to places that included Gympie, Nambour, Caloundra, Ipswich, Logan, the Gold Coast and Mount Tambourine, and what we all encountered wasn’t only “regional theatre” as a category but theatre with clarity of voice, and a strong local connection. For example, the work coming out of Gympie’s Perseverance Street Theatre Company or the Gold Coast’s Shock Therapy Arts, speaks to a sector that is both outward-looking and yet grounded in community.

To me, that’s a very healthy sign. It suggests a Queensland arena where artists are able to take risks, develop new audiences, and grow careers across the state. But it also reflects the appetite of Queensland audiences and that they want work that’s relevant, no matter where it’s made.

When you are judging work across vastly different scales, from 50 seat venues to major mainstages, how do you hold those productions in conversation with one another fairly?

The leveller is always: What is the work trying to do, and then does it do it? Scale and bigger budgets can be very seductive, but that isn’t the only true measure of impact. A small room can deliver an extraordinary experience if the storytelling is truthful and the relationship with the audience is real. Likewise, a major mainstage production can be incredibly breathtaking when the production uses its resources to service the story, and not just merely as decoration.

It takes a lot of discipline and collaboration to sustain work in an 800-seat theatre space. But judging fairly means we can’t hold every show to the same aesthetic, the judging panel have to hold them to the same seriousness of purpose. We always look at the originality, emotional truth, direction, cast, design and performance choices, and how well all of these elements align with the production’s original intention.

Both Queensland Theatre Company’s first-class production of A FEW GOOD MEN; and the independent offering CROW’S NEST by The Velvet Collective & The Travelling Rose Theatre, both had similar performance qualities and outcomes, but were delivered with vastly different budgets.

The Matilda Awards’ judging panel also benefits from having multiple eyes on works across the year. The panel of twelve regularly meet together and discuss the productions we’ve seen, agree – or disagree – on outcomes, but always keep returning to the same basic question: What stayed with us, and why? That’s where fairness always lives, in having an open respect for different kinds of excellence.

Were there any recurring themes, questions, or creative impulses you noticed emerging across the work this year?

Yes – there were quite a few impulses that kept recurring, and they felt very “Queensland, in the best possible way of course, by being direct, curious, and unafraid of complexity. One was a strong drive toward new work, i.e. stories being written here, developed here, and performed with a sense of truth and immediacy. But there was also a familiar interest in community and belonging, as in who gets heard, who gets left out, and how we live alongside the difference. Particularly with Belloo Creative’s production of BACK TO BILO; and Perseverance Street Theatre Company’s PIRATES, COWBOYS & ALIENS.

We also saw theatre makers leaning into hybrid forms, physical theatre influences, bold design choices, music and movement integrated in ways that were an essential part of the overall storytelling. And there was a noticeable surge in youthful energy and emerging voices – work that didn’t wait for permission but was executed with confidence.

Perhaps most encouraging was the sense that the sector is asking big questions, with a willingness to be entertaining, provocative, and experimental, sometimes all in the same night. That breadth is a certain sign that theatre in Queensland is in good health.

The Matilda Awards often highlight both excellence and risk. How do you, as a judging panel, value ambition and experimentation alongside polish and craft?

As a collective we value them both and certainly don’t see them as opposites. Risk without craft can often feel unfocused, and craft without risk can often feel too safe. So, I guess the sweet spot is when ambition is matched by clarity of intention, when a production takes a genuine leap forward and you can feel the care and intelligence that supports that leap.

As a panel, we will usually ask: Was the experiment purposeful? Did it open up something for the audience? Did it deepen the story, the form, or the overall experience? Sometimes the most exciting work has very rough edges, but those edges can be a sign that an artist or company is pushing into new territory, rather than merely repeating what they already know works. That kind of thinking often takes artistic courage.

Ultimately theatre is made by people taking personal and creative risks, often with precarious resources. When we recognise a risk well taken – especially when serves the audience and the art – we’re recognising the motivation of the whole sector.

Many nominees this year are telling distinctly Queensland stories. How important is local specificity when assessing artistic impact?

I think with any State, that local specificity is enormously important, not just because we’re looking for “Queensland-ness” as a badge, but because the most impactful theatre is often the most familiar. When a story is grounded in a real place – with contradictions, humour, and history – it tends to travel a lot further. The local story becomes the doorway to something much more universal.

Queensland stories have always carried their own rhythms and realities: our geography, our communities, our politics, our climate, and our cultural mix all shape how people live and how our stories are told. When artists express honesty, a work gains authority, and it feels a little more lived rather than something imported.

That being said we’re still looking at artistic impact. Local specificity matters when it’s based on a real-life event that’s integrated into a strong piece of theatre – not just referenced, but embodied.

The Gold Matilda recognises sustained contribution rather than a single work. What does longevity and impact look like to you in today’s performing arts landscape?

Longevity today isn’t simply “being around a long time.” It’s so much more. It’s a sustained contribution in a landscape that is everchanging – economically, culturally, and artistically. Impact is an artist or leader who has helped build the conditions for others to thrive, hrough mentoring, creating opportunities, strengthening organisations, nurturing new work, and ultimately growing audiences.

The people who endure in this sector are often those who keep learning – who stay curious, collaborate well, and remain open to new forms and new voices.

For me, longevity is inseparable from care. Our industry has always been held together by people who quietly support one another – practically, emotionally, and creatively. The Gold Matilda honours that kind of sustained, sector-shaping contribution, and I think more than ever that’s very meaningful right now.

8) How has being Lead Judge shaped or challenged your own perspective on theatre and performance in Queensland?

Taking over as Lead Judge, from my predecessor Sue Rider, during the second half of 2025 definitely expanded my perspective. Even with four decades in the industry, this role reminds me just how much is happening. Seeing a variety of regional productions has certainly challenged any assumptions you have about where “the best” work comes from. There is no doubt that excellence is everywhere, and it’s often being made under conditions that require extraordinary creativity.

It has also sharpened my sense of responsibility in how we talk about theatre. As Lead Judge, you’re constantly balancing enthusiasm with rigor, celebration with fairness, and visibility with respect for the process. You become very conscious of how recognition lands – what it can validate and mean to artists who continue to work incredibly hard.

However, on a personal level, it has renewed my optimism. At the moment Queensland theatre feels so full of life, energy, momentum, with plenty of variety. There’s an incredibly strong independent sector, with a willingness to tell new Queensland stories, and a cohort of emerging theatre makers who are truly on the rise. Being Lead Judge didn’t just show me the work – it reminded me why we do it. Passion!