Griffin Theatre Company announces new Artistic Director

Griffin Theatre this week announced that Lee Lewis will assume the role of Artistic Director in January next year, following current director Sam Strong’s move to the Melbourne Theatre Company.

Currently Associate Director at Griffin, Lee Lewis is one of Australia’s leading directors. She’s worked for numerous main stage companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Bell Shakespeare, and Griffin. She has also directed independent theatre across Sydney.

“Lee Lewis is the perfect person to take over Griffin at this stage of its development. She has a deep personal passion for Griffin’s mission to be the voice and heart of Australian writing in the theatre,” said Griffin Chair Michael Bradley.

“She is also a brilliant director and nurturer of new work. Griffin has enjoyed wonderful success in recent years and is rapidly becoming recognised as a critically important Australian cultural institution. Lee’s appointment marks the beginning of the next exciting phase for the company, its artists and its audience.”

Lewis trained as an actor at Columbia University in the United States and as a director at NIDA. She worked on Broadway and off-Broadway productions before her success in Australia, where she is regarded as a leading voice for cultural diversity on Australian main stages, as well as becoming a leading voice for the representation of female directors and playwrights.

Griffin will announce Sam Strong’s third and final Griffin season on tonight (Monday 3 September) while Lewis turns her attention to programming 2014 and beyond.

“I’m very excited to support that final year of programming from Sam, and it also gives me the time to put together 2014 without the pressure of having to come up with 2013 straight away”, Lewis told AussieTheatre.

“The company is in such a good state both financially and artistically but I really want to start looking at how we become financially sustainable and what sort of cultural philanthropy needs to be developed with our audiences to make sure they’re investing in there ALWAYS being a Griffin Theatre.”

Details of the 2013 Griffin season will feature on AussieTheatre later this week.