Kip Williams is a multi-award-winning director and writer for theatre, opera and screen, renowned for pioneering cine-theatre.
His acclaimed gothic trilogy – The Picture of Dorian Gray, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Dracula – has reached more than 400,000 people worldwide and earned international praise. After a sold-out West End season, The Picture of Dorian Gray opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in 2025, starring Sarah Snook, who won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The production received six Tony nominations, including Best Direction of a Play for Williams, and won the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.
Williams’ opera work has been widely acclaimed across Australia, with productions for Opera Australia, Sydney Chamber Opera and Victorian Opera. A longtime collaborator of SCO Artistic Director Jack Symonds, he directed the first theatrical staging of An Index of Metals. In 2024, he directed the world premiere of Gilgamesh, the first English-language operatic adaptation of The Epic of Gilgamesh. In 2026, he makes his UK opera debut directing Angel’s Bone at Aviva Studios for English National Opera.
Williams was appointed the youngest Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company at age 30, serving eight years as Artistic Director and Co-CEO, directing 24 productions, championing new Australian writing and leading the company to record box office success.
Updated 3rd March 2026
