Sarah Giles

Director

Sarah Giles is an award-winning opera and theatre director.  Sarah has directed productions for Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, State Theatre of South Australia, Malthouse Theatre, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Victorian Opera and Sydney Chamber Opera.

In 2022, Sarah directed the acclaimed production of La Traviata for Opera Queensland, which transferred to State Opera of South Australia and West Australian Opera.  Her world premiere production of Lorelei for Victorian Opera, was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Direction of an Opera, five Green Room Awards including Best Direction of an Opera, and won the Green Room Award for Best New Australian Work and Best Design. Lorelei was remounted at Victorian Opera and toured to Opera Queensland.

Her smash hit production of Dario Fo’s No Pay? No Way! for Sydney Theatre Company was met with rave reviews and packed houses. Her highly successful, Helpmann Award nominated production of Mrs Warren’s Profession had return seasons at Sydney Theatre Company. Her award-winning production of The Popular Mechanicals with State Theatre Company of South Australia and Sydney Theatre Company had return seasons and subsequently toured nationally.  Sarah’s production of Accidental Death Of An Anarchist for Sydney Theatre Company was nominated for two Sydney Theatre Awards. Sarah won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Direction of an Independent Production for The Ugly One at Griffin.

Theatre directing credits include: for Sydney Theatre Company, No Pay? No Way!, Accidental Death Of An Anarchist, The Popular Mechanicals (with State Theatre Company of South Australia, national tour), Perplex, Mrs Warren’s Profession, Marriage Blanc, Money Shots, Ruby Moon; for Melbourne Theatre Company, The Truth, Straight White Men; for Malthouse Theatre, SS Metaphor, Blaque Showgirls; for Griffin Independent, The Ugly One, The Pigeons; for Red Stitch, That Face; for New Theatre, The Herbal Bed; for Theatre Forward, The Bear; for NIDA, The Farm; The Bald Soprano, Face To The Wall; for WAAPA, Vernon God Little; and for La Mama, The Maids.

Opera directing credits include: for Victorian Opera, LORELEI; and for Sydney Chamber Opera and Sydney Festival, O MENSCH!; PAS À PAS – NULLE PART; and INTO THE LITTLE HILL.  Other works include: KREUTZER VS KREUTZER for the Australian Chamber Orchestra performed with Janáček’s and Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonatas.

Sarah was Resident Director at Sydney Theatre Company in 2013, the Richard Wherrett Fellow at Sydney Theatre Company in 2011, and Affiliate Director in Residence at Griffin Theatre in 2009.  She is a recipient of the Mike Walsh Fellowship and the Gloria Fellowship which she used to take part in the Lincoln Centre Director’s lab and attend the Theatretreffen in Berlin. In 2018, Sarah was awarded a Malthouse Theatre Tower Residency to develop new work.

Sarah also works as a dramaturg, writer and adaptor. She was dramaturg (as well as director) on Lorelei (Victorian Opera), and co-adaptor of Accidental Death Of An Anarchist (Sydney Theatre Company).

A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Directing, Sarah also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne with a double major in History and Italian.