IAIN SINCLAIR
Head of Acting
“Iain is one of the most forensic directors I have worked with. His knowledge of American literature is vast and he gets to the heart of what is at play. He is an inspiration.”
– Darren Gilshenan, Award-Winning Actor, Director, Writer & Teacher.”
BACKGROUND
Iain Sinclair is well recognised as one of Australia’s finest directors of actors in performance consistently helping them generate empowered, sophisticated and dignified work.
With a distinguished career marked by a deep engagement with text and a commitment to powerful storytelling, Iain has directed a diverse range of productions for many of Australia's leading theatre companies. His work is characterized by its intellectual rigor, emotional depth, and ability to resonate with contemporary audiences.
After graduating from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and King’s College London where he specialised in directing actors and developmental dramaturgy Iain has had a rich and successful career alternating between bold new plays and the classics. He has directed for numerous mid level professional companies and also consistently works outside of the mainstream paradigm creating top level independent productions.
Actors working alongside Iain are regularly nominated for Best Actor awards here and overseas. In 2017 alone 10 actors under Iain’s direction won Best Actor awards 3 in Los Angeles and 7 in Australia alongside a compelling 34 total award nominations and 4 wins for Best Play.
Before accepting Kim’s invitation to join 16th Street Iain was the Senior Dramaturg at Playwriting Australia and a prolific Theatre Director in Sydney. Early in his career, Iain was AD to Cate Blanchett when she was Artistic Director at Sydney Theatre Company and AD to Max Stafford Clark when he was artistic director at Out of Joint in the UK. He has been a visiting artist and teacher at major institutes like NIDA, VCA and La Salle College.
Iain's directing credits include notable productions such as Thornton Wilder’s Our Town and Arthur Miller’s All My Sons for Sydney Theatre Company, Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge for both STC and Melbourne Theatre Company, a staging that garnered critical acclaim and was described by one reviewer as "a triumph." More recently, he directed the Australian premiere of Milked by Simon Longman at fortyfivedownstairs, and a dynamic production of Shakespeare's Hamlet for Melbourne Shakespeare Company.
His extensive directing work also includes productions for companies such as Ensembles Theatre, Belvoir, Queensland Theatre, Griffith Theatre and The Old Fitz Theatre to name a few.
Beyond his directing, Iain's expertise as a dramaturg has been invaluable in the development of new Australian writing and the insightful interpretation of classic plays. His passion for the craft of acting is deeply ingrained in his teaching philosophy at 16th Street, where he creates an environment that encourages rigorous exploration and artistic growth. Iain Sinclair's impact on the Australian theatre landscape, both through his professional practice and his dedication to actor training, is profound and ongoing.
PHILOSOPHY
Iain uses a process dedicated to empowering actors through story. He applies bold new thinking from the fields of social science, interpersonal neurobiology and story theory and hammers them into practicality based soundly on the principles Konstantin Stanislavski explored. He helps the actor find the engine of any scene and then he gives them the keys and lets them drive it on their own.
“When the actor honours the writer through story, they awaken their innate ability to fight for a cause, they are liberated from the fools errand of chasing emotion and in replacement, they are gifted the ancient and honourable task of stepping into the public arena to fight for what matters.
Actors who find the engine of a scene find their dignity through purpose, they find courage because of desire, they are liberated from doubt through discipline, they become psychologically resilient through catharsis and they step into substance through the ancient ceremony of struggle.
Actors engaged in story are at the centre of their artform.
When actors stand without fear at the centre of their artform the ancient gods look on and we are fused together again”.