PRESS
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“Kip Williams has revolutionised the stage with his use of cine-theatre.”
THE GUARDIAN
“I’m unsure if I will ever see a more perfectly executed use of digital visual art forms on stage. The Picture of Dorian Gray takes the art form to a different level... [it] should be seen as a pinacle of success... a lot of which can be attributed to its director and adapter Kip Williams’ vision for the play.”
THE STAGE
“The future of theatre.”
THE ECONOMIST (on The Picture of Dorian Gray)
“Kip Williams, the adapter and direcrtor, has devised a vehicle so remarkable for Snook - so dazzlingly, technologically ambitious you’ll think at times you’re gazing into theatre’s future.” THE WASHINGTON POST
GUARDIAN PROFILE, Nov 2022:
“Williams has been busy upending just about all expectations an audience may have around what a live theatre production can look like. Starting with an innovative staging of Tennessee Williams’s Suddenly Last Summer in the Sydney Opera House in 2015, Williams has refined and extended the use of live video in theatre, to the point where he is its leading exponent, experimenter and champion.”
THE AUSTRALIAN PROFILE, June 2023:
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/wish/interview-with-director-kip-williams/news-story/13c91eaad5f38cbb8cd46f7fcb93f1b1
“Kip Williams is a born theatre animal with big ideas and a taste for Gothic horror. Now the artistic director of STC is taking those grand ideas global.”
THE AUSTRALIAN: 50 Australian Inventors Changing The World, August 2023:
“In fact, the 36-year-old NIDA graduate is now seen as the pioneer of convention-busting cine-theatre shows that are reinventing theatre and have played to capacity audiences around the country.”
On THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY:
GUARDIAN ★★★★★
TELEGRAPH ★★★★★
FINANCIAL TIMES ★★★★★
SUNDAY TIMES ★★★★★
DAILY MAIL ★★★★★
INEWS ★★★★★
BROADWAY WORLD UK ★★★★★
THE AGE ★★★★★
TIME OUT SYDNEY ★★★★★
TIME OUT MELBOURNE ★★★★★
GUARDIAN AU ★★★★★
ARTSHUB ★★★★★
LIMELIGHT ★★★★★
“A triumph.” - THE NEW YORK TIMES
“The future of theatre.” - THE ECONOMIST
“Kip Williams, the adapter and direcrtor, has devised a vehicle so remarkable for Snook - so dazzlingly, technologically ambitious you’ll think at times you’re gazing into theatre’s future.” - THE WASHINGTON POST
“Beauitful, brilliant, maniacally unmissable.”
★★★★★ THE GUARDIAN
“A virtuoso performance in an astronishing piece of theatre.”
★★★★★ THE FINANCIAL TIMES
“Sarah Snook triumphs in this gamechaning piece of theatre.”
★★★★★ THE TELEGRAPH
“As brilliant in its conception as it is mesmerising in its execution.”
★★★★★ THE DAILY MAIL
“A dizzyingly beautiful tour de force. It is ambitious, exuberant and whip-smart; it is an embrace of theatre’s past, present and future.”
★★★★★ GUARDIAN AU
“It is in possession of that most rare thing: the transformative, ineffable thing that happens when a show sidles up to you and says directly to your heart: I see you, I know you. This production also says: don’t you love me for it? And we do.”
★★★★★ GUARDIAN
“A dazzling masterpiece. It’s tour de force theatre you must not miss.”
★★★★★ THE AGE
“A reinvention of theatre.”
★★★★★ TIME OUT MELBOURNE
“Sometimes a night in the theatre can, like a drug, rearrange the chemistry of one's brain. This was such a night.”
SYNDEY MORNING HERALD
“Ingenious… a theatrical coup to rival the best of Robert Lepage or Complicite.”
SYNDEY MORNING HERALD
Not only is this Williams' finest work as an adaptor and director, it is Norvill's as an actor ... [The creative team] have brought Wilde's extraordinary tale to throbbing, violent, beautiful, disturbing and magical life.”
SYNDEY MORNING HERALD
“Norvill produces some of the most virtuosic theatre I have ever witnessed, on stage or screen ... A performance that will surely be remembered as one of the greatest ever seen on an Australian stage.”
★★★★★ TIME OUT SYDNEY
“With his audaciously complex treatment of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Williams has surpassed his own benchmark once more. Spectacularly so.”
★★★★★ TIME OUT SYDNEY
“The Picture of Dorian Gray is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on stage. It dazzles and constantly surprises. It captures Wilde’s wit and wickedly astute insights, and presents them in exhilarating fashion for contemporary audiences. Genius.”
★★★★★ LIMELIGHT
“A once in a lifetime event.”
★★★★★ ARTS HUB
“Astonishing”
THE AUSTRALIAN
On THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (Adelaide Festival):
THE AU REVIEW ★★★★★
GLAM ADELAIDE ★★★★★
COLLAGE ADELAIDE ★★★★★
HI FI WAY ★★★★★
“Sheer Brilliance... A grand theatrical experience.”
ADELAIDE ADVERTISOR
“An overwhelming and unforgettable experience, not to be missed.”
IN DAILY
“A moder-day theatrical magnum opus... it is contemporary theatre at its finest”
HI FI WAY
“Kip Williams production of The Picture of Dorian Gray is nothing short of genius.”
CANBERRA CRITICS CIRCLE
“One of the fastest standing ovations in Adelaide Festival history.”
RACHEL HEALY in THE ADVERTISER
“Occasionally, theatre leaves me breathless and awestruck, and this Sydney Theatre Company production, adapted and directed by Kip Williams from one of Oscar Wilde’s best known 1891 works, is one such example.”
STAGE WHISPERS
“Incredibly groundbreaking and mind bending use of technology creates dimensions, effects and opportunities that coincidentally allow this Victorian written tale to be sharply relevant to today, and indeed, tomorrow. The vision that Williams brings as both writer and director is one of dazzling originality that challenges how theatre has been, and can be, envisaged.”
STAGE WHISPERS
On STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE (Sydney + Perth Festival + Adelaide Festival):
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD ★★★★★
TIME OUT SYDNEY ★★★★★
WEST AUSTRALIAN ★★★★★
HIFI WAY ★★★★★
GLAM ADELAIDE ★★★★★
QUEER REVIEW ★★★★★
OUT IN PERTH ★★★★★
LIMELIGHT ★★★★½
SUZY WRONG ★★★★½
THE AU REVIEW ★★★★½
“We sit spellbound...a reaction of wonderment to the mind-boggling virtuosity"
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD ★★★★★
“Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a triumph; a literary classic made fresh by some of the most talented theatre makers in the county, working at the top of their game and in full command of their talents. For this production, five stars is not a generous score – it’s the least it deserves”
TIME OUT SYDNEY ★★★★★
“An epic theatrical experience... Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde left theopening night His Majesty’s Theatre audience awestruck and reacting in the best possible way — a standing ovation.”
WEST AUSTRALIAN ★★★★★
"Awe-inspiring... a performance that leaves you captivated beyond words."
OUT IN PERTH ★★★★★
"Another…tour de force from an auteur director."
LIMELIGHT ★★★★½
"A marvel of technical and human achievement..."
ADELAIDE ADVERTISER
"A production that transcends theatre as it is traditionally known... nothing short of astonishing."
HIFI WAY ★★★★★
"Superbly executed, utterly captivating, and leaves us breathless by the end... it’s a privilege to be in an audience to share this experience."
STAGE WHISPERS
"It is theatre at its best."
GLAM ADELAIDE ★★★★★
“It takes two outstanding actors (Matthew Backer and Ewen Leslie), and a troupe of 13 talented technicians, together with the penetrating insights of writer and director Kip Williams, to build this combination into a remarkable and exceptional piece of theatre.”
AUSTRALIAN STAGE
On THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI:
“Kip Williams' production has the goods – compelling, innovative and utterly relevant. It is irresistible”
★★★★½ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
“Nothing short of astonishing”
★★★★★ TIME OUT
“With this production, Williams has pioneered a synergy between cinema and stage that I've rarely seen bettered; a production that is at once epic and intimate, operatic and graphic, graceful and gritty”
★★★★★ THE MUSIC
"In an era of alternative facts, this cinematically inclined production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui will win Brecht new fans with young audiences, encouraging them to see theatre as having an inherently political potential. And that is exactly as Brecht would have wanted it."
★★★★½ DAILY REVIEW
“(A) rollercoaster ride of laughter, horror and recognition. It’s concise, gripping and great.”
★★★★★ STAGE NOISE
"a stunning production that leaves you winded. The interplay of live performance and video is superbly done, intensifying the visceral impact of the production"
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
On AN INDEX OF METALS:
“This production of Fausto Romitelli’s An Index of Metals is thrilling and visionary, a Gesamtkunstwerk — total work of art — that delivers a knockout punch.”
THE AUSTRALIAN
“A brilliant tour de force… This is audacious, arresting and original work of the sort we have come to expect from these artists even as they retain the capacity to surprise.”
★★★★★ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
On HARP IN THE SOUTH, PART ONE & PART TWO:
"The Australian theatrical canon has a new epic."
★★★★★ TIME OUT
“Brilliant, memorable, epic, intimate, hilarious, tragic, unsentimental, humane, loving, vicious, tender, sickening, romantic, inspiring, redemptive. The Harp in the South … is all of this and more.”
★★★★★ STAGE NOISE
"These plays will make your blood sing – they are utterly sublime."
★★★★½ LIMELIGHT
"A mighty achievement, one that will likely be talked about in the same awed tones as Cloudstreet in years to come."
★★★★ AUDREY JOURNAL
“...exhilarating and witty, replete with irresistible drama, and brimming with inspiration…Director Kip Williams’ vision is exquisite,”
SUZY WRONG
“This epic adaptation of Ruth Park’s famous trilogy of novels about love and life in the slums of Surry Hills is a triumph.”
STAGE WHISPERS
“This moving production has been beautifully cast and choreographed — emotionally, comically and physically by director Kip Williams who as STC’s artistic director also had the vision to program it. He is moving from strength to strength this year.”
THE AUSTRALIAN
On LORD OF THE FLIES:
“This production will make you rethink everything that came before. I can’t think of a recent play I have thought about so much in the days after the curtain came down. That alone is another credit to Williams.”
THE AUSTRALIAN
“Absorbing… Terrific… Williams’s choice of a racially and gender-diverse group of 11 adult actors thumbs its nose at the white male systems of power and control.”
★★★★ THE GUARDIAN
“Kip Williams has delivered a powerful warning about the dangers inherent in political structures, us-and-them dichotomies and the manufacturing of fear.”
★★★★ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
On CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF:
“Kip Williams’s production of this 20th Century classic shows what a master he is at capturing complexity”
THE AUSTRALIAN
"It’s passionate, it’s vivid, it’s raw. It’s essential theatre."
★★★★½ THE MUSIC
“There is a lot that is sublime in director Kip Williams’ vision. Oppressive aspects of Western values, rooted in white patriarchy, is the undercurrent disquiet that drives the action. The production manifests a sense of hopelessness appropriate to the playwright’s pessimism, one that is masochistically gratifying ... but also undeniably thought-provoking.”
SUZY WRONG
On CHIMERICA:
“Electrifying!”
★★★★ THE GUARDIAN
"This production is a triumph!”
THE AUSTRALIAN
“As beautiful as it is engrossing… Quite simply breathtaking.”
★★★★½ AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW
On A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM:
“Mesmerising…Kip Williams’ brooding, sinister Dream is another coup for the STC’s Artistic Director.”
★★★★½ TIME OUT
“Williams is a master-mind of the artfully dystopian world, stripped of sentiment and all its modishness.”
STAGE WHISPERS
“Thrilling… a production constantly inviting you to lean forward and wonder what the company might pull out next.”
★★★★ DAILY REVIEW
On MISS JULIE:
“Kip Williams is a directorial mastermind”
LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE
"Williams’s electric staging of Strindberg classic is visually beautiful to behold”
★★★★ THE GUARDIAN
“The most striking augmentation of stage by screen since Ivo van Hove's adaptation of Cassavetes' Opening Night”
THE AGE
“A taut, absorbing and bold adaptation of Strindberg’s clasic.”
★★★★½ ARTS HUB
On MACBETH:
“…We have Weaving, who has found the role of his career. And he has done so with Williams, who should now be confirmed as a major directing talent. Together their vision is often startling but always shows the play full respect. It’s a thrilling combination”
★★★★ THE GUARDIAN
"This is a production that’s at once spectacular, gripping and almost brutally understated"
★★★★½ DAILY REVIEW
On ROMEO & JULIET:
“This is the gritty, post-millennial, rockin’ reboot vision of Romeo And Juliet we had to have”
DAILY TELEGRAPH
“This production of Romeo And Juliet moves and touches like few other”
★★★★ AUSTRALIAN THEATRE REVIEW
On ON THE BEACH:
TIME OUT SYDNEY ★★★★★
ARTSHUB ★★★★★
THE AU REVIEW ★★★★★
GUARDIAN ★★★★
SUZY WRONG ★★★★
“Williams’ elegant, achingly beautiful production places people first, showcasing the vulnerability of bodies reaching for each other on an often spare stage.”
GUARDIAN ★★★★
“With Williams at the helm, a simple shift of light can take a scene from being funny and relatable, to eerie and surreal. It is safe to say that we are watching the work of genius.”
ARTS HUB ★★★★★
“On The Beach is beautiful.”
TIME OUT SYDNEY ★★★★★
“Australian Theatre at its finest.”
ARTS HUB ★★★★★
“Pure theatre magic.”
SYNDEY MORNING HERALD
On LOVE AND INFORMATION:
"Love and Information is a thoroughly original work and a tour de force of theatrical skill. But – impressed as we are – we leave the theatre not only starstruck by the craft and skill but also moved by the new understanding we have of our own lives"
★★★★★ ARTS HUB
"A dazzling piece of theatre in honour of one of the masters of contemporary drama. Everyone should see it."
THE SATURDAY PAPER
"The production has the sparkle of constant ingenuity, and moves seamlessly from the comic to the beautiful to moments of unbearable poignancy."
ABC ARTS
"...it is what theatre ought to be. Everything in Love and Information has energy, imagination and theatrical muscle."
★★★★ ½ DAILY REVIEW
'It's intellectually and emotionally probing theatre that feels utterly fresh.'
★★★★ THE AGE
"See this play. It will change you."
★★★★ ½ HERALD SUN
"The result is mind-altering, invigorating, uplifting and ultimately one of the most theatrical and thrilling experiences one is likely to have this or any year. Don’t miss it."
STAGE NOISE
On JULIUS CAESAR:
“Williams has established himself as a technological innovator in theatre.”
★★★★ THE GUARDIAN
"Brings Shakespeare’s revered historical tragedy right up to the very minute.”
★★★★ TIME OUT
"Pretty damned thrilling, pretty damned relevant.”
★★★★ AUDREY JOURNAL
“A theatrical experience remarkably bold in its inventiveness, and thrilling in its capacity to make the story feel so immediate and involving.”
SUZY WRONG
“Walk into the Wharf Theatre and be ready to be amazed.”
SYDNEY ARTS GUIDE
