Neil Armfield AO: Theatre in the blood

One of this country’s pre-eminent directors, Neil Armfield has a list of credits which is vast, spanning original works and revived classics, directing shows across the world, including on the West End and on Broadway. He’s also of course no stranger to opera, having directed several productions for Opera Australia, as well as for some of the world’s other great opera houses including Covent Garden and the English National Opera. A founder and former artistic director of Belvoir Street, he has been a key figure in the shape of Australian theatre for nearly five decades.  His current project is directing a revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, a production which ran in Melbourne last year when Limelight magazine called it “outstanding" and The Guardian said Tony award winner “Anthony LaPaglia leads an electric, devastating tragedy”.  Neil speaks about why this piece of mid-20th Century American theatre is so iconic and relevant in today's world. We hear about his life in the theatre, which began with directing his school play in his final year of high school, to working with some of the greats in both Australia and internationally in the subsequent decades. Death of a Salesman plays at Sydney's Theatre Royal from 17 May. Watershed, which Neil directed as part of the Adelaide Festival in 2022, will be presented by Opera Australia in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House from 14-16 June. Hamlet, which Neil directed for Glyndebourne in 2017 and has since been performed by many opera houses around the world including The Met in New York, will be presented by Opera Australia in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House from 20 July - 5 August.