State Theatre Company South Australia Artistic Director Mitchell Butel will complete his six- year tenure in Adelaide on a high note in November 2024, leaving the company with a string of acclaimed and award-winning hits, box office successes and new audiences.
Following his departure, Mitchell will take up the position of Artistic Director at Sydney Theatre Company.
Butel says: “It has been an immense privilege and delight to have helped lead this magnificent Company alongside my visionary dear friend, Executive Director Julian Hobba, our inspiring and wise Chair, Joe Thorp, and to have been supported by the herculean work and care of a devoted Board and Foundation, a phenomenally gifted and passionate staff and artistic community and an array of government, corporate and philanthropic colleagues who believe so strongly in the transformative power of theatre. I have loved creating new works with brilliant, daring and diverse artists from South Australia and beyond and seeing those works dazzle audiences while helping to lead the Company into a period of increased national touring, innovative and extensive collaborations and organisational growth and security.”
Since commencing in late 2018, Butel has led State Theatre Company South Australia to the forefront of Australian theatre-making. His tenure has been marked by commissions and productions of bold new South Australian and Australian works including The Questions, Welcome to Your New Life, The Dictionary of Lost Words (the highest selling Dunstan Playhouse show in the Company’s history), Chalkface, Antigone, Cathedral, Euphoria, Hibernation and The Boy Who Talked To Dogs. Mitchell has directed or performed in an array of box office and critical hits for the Company including Ripcord, Hibernation, The Normal Heart, Girls & Boys, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill and Candide. During his tenure, the Company also presented the highest overall selling show in its history with Girl From The North Country.
Butel helped steer the company through Covid to become the first major Australian theatre company to reopen amid 2020 lockdowns with Gaslight in August of that year. During lockdown, Butel conceived and oversaw, with ActNow Theatre, DECAMERON 2.0, a digital project which employed over 100 diverse writers, directors, actors and crew from across the state. DECAMERON 2.0 was one of the largest and most acclaimed works from theatre-makers globally in response to the pandemic, generating around 10 hours of new Australian writing and digital performance.
Board Chair Joe Thorp says, “Mitchell brought warmth and vim to the company with original theatre productions, bold new talent and many successes during his tenure. He is highly regarded by the Board and every stakeholder in the company, not only for his artistic vision and success which includes strong growth in subscribers and audience generally with three of our highest selling shows in our 50 year history, but also for his great care for artists and collaborators. We will miss him, but we are delighted for this next chapter in his career and wish him well.”
Executive Director Julian Hobba says, “Mitchell will be greatly missed as Artistic Director of State Theatre Company South Australia, for many reasons. He goes with the great respect of our staff, Board and the whole community of the Company, including artists, audiences, industry and supporters. He is an exceptional artist, a beloved member of the local theatre community and an outstanding colleague and leader. His appointment to be Artistic Director at Sydney Theatre Company is a source of pride and happiness for the Company and we wish him every possible success.”
Butel says, “I am excited to be joining new colleagues at Sydney Theatre Company, the Company that was my training ground as a young actor and am eager to develop more collaborations between Sydney and Adelaide of projects like The Dictionary of Lost Words. Sydney may be my birthplace but the great love I have for Adelaide and State Theatre Company South Australia will be the lighthouse for the next part of my journey. To have been part of its history and legacy is a deep honour and I cannot wait to share with SA audiences the cracker shows we have programmed for my final season in 2025.”
The four-time Helpmann Award winner (including for the State Theatre Company South Australia/Belvoir production of Mr Burns, a Post-Electric Play), has acted in and directed more than 150 professional theatre productions. He made his State Theatre Company South Australia debut in 1998 in Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, directed by former Artistic Director Rosalba Clemente. In 2024, he directed and starred in Candide co-presented with
State Opera of South Australia for the Company, and directed the world premiere of The Questions, a new Australian rom-com musical, to rave reviews.
Butel will launch the State Theatre Company South Australia 2025 Season on 31 October.
