Born and raised in Perth Western Australia, Matthew Marshall is a graduate of the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) Production & Design course in 2000.
With 20 years of experience Matt has worked for all the major performing arts companies and festivals in Australia including multiple shows for Adelaide Festival, Bell Shakespeare Company, Belvoir, Black Swan State Theatre Company, City of Sydney, Crown Casino Melbourne & Perth, Darwin Festival, Ensemble Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Sydney Festival, Sydney Mardi Gras, Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney Opera House, Marrugeku, Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, Perth International Arts Festival, Pinchgut Opera, West Australian Opera & WOMADelaide.
Matt’s work has been seen on the international stage at Kampnagel Festival, Oper Leipzig & Festpiele Ludwigshafen in Germany. The Roundhouse Theatre & Southbank Centre in London. The Famous Spiegeltent & Magic Mirrors at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. In Europe dances pieces LE DERNIER APPEL & GUDIRR GUDIRR (Marrugeku) at Le Manège & L’Espal -Scène Nationale in France, Concertgebouw Belgium, Teatro Central Seville, Spain & the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre in Noumea, New Caledonia.
Matt has been nominated for his work twice by The Helpmann Awards for Best Lighting Design (2012, 2017) and has received multiple nominations for Best Lighting Design from the Australian Production Design Guild.
Recent designs include MARY STUART (Perth Festival), THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (State Opera of South Australia), THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (New Zealand Opera), WHALE FALL (Perth Festival), CHILDREN OF THE SEA (Perth Festival), JAMES GALEA’S BEST TRICK EVER (Sydney Opera House), AS ONE – BALLET AT THE QUARRY (West Australian Ballet), CITY OF LIGHTS (Perth Festival), THE OTHER PLACE starring Kate Walsh (Fremantle Theatre Company), Tim Minchin’s THE ABSENCE OF YOU music video, TWO CREWS (Sydney & Adelaide Festivals), CINDERELLA (Seattle Opera), TURN OF THE SCREW (New Zealand Opera), a new full length ballet TCHAIKOVSKY (Tulsa Ballet), LA BOHÉME the outdoor Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour (Opera Australia), AMERICAN IDIOT Australian National Tour (Shake & Stir/QPAC), ATHALIA (Pinchgut Opera), ASKUNGEN (Royal Swedish Opera), THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (Seattle Opera), CARMEN (Oper Leipzig), CLUB SWIZZLE (Roundhouse London), LA CENERENTOLA (Oper Leipzig, San Diego Opera). Matt’s dazzling design for VELVET (Organised Pandemonium) now sails the high seas on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Jewel & Breakaway ships and has opened a second incarnation VELVET REWIRED in the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent at Adelaide Fringe 2020.
Design highlights include HOME – the opening event of Perth International Arts Festival 2016, THIS IS OUR YOUTH starring film stars Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin and Emily Barclay (Sydney Opera House Presents), John Adams and Peter Sellars opera A FLOWERING TREE (Perth International Arts Festival), BAND OF MAGICIANS (Tropicana Casino Las Vegas) and BILLY ELLIOT opening the new ASB Waterfront Theatre (Auckland Theatre Company).
Event lighting designs include BEAT BOX a light show installation at Dream World on the Gold Coast (Dreamworld/JB Worldwide Events) with Vivid Sydney creative director Ignatius Jones, THE DOMAIN (Sydney Festival 2015) including Triple J’s 40th Birthday BEAT THE DRUM celebration, ART & ABOUT (City of Sydney) transforming Martin Place in Sydney into a 1/4 acre block party, 130 YEARS OF BVLGARI (Rizer Events) a showcase of $38M worth of jewellery in private residence “Carthona” at Darling Point as well as numerous product launches, gala dinners, awards nights and VIP functions.
Matt’s opera production of CINDERELLA (Opera Queensland) with long time collaborator Lindy Hume has played around the world including Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and the USA. It performs in repertory at Oper Leipzig and the Royal Swedish Opera.
Matt is also a mentor to Lighting Design students at both of Australia’s premier arts training institutions – NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts) and WAAPA (West Australian Academy of Performing Arts) as well as a judge for the Australian Production & Design Guild Awards from 2017 – 2022.
Upcoming designs include a new dance work EQUATIONS OF A FALLING BODY (Perth Festival/Performing Lines WA), the handover of Me-Mal (former Goat Island) in Sydney Harbour back to the traditional owners VIGIL: AWAKENING (Sydney Festival), a new opera THE UNRULY TOURISTS (New Zealand Opera/Auckland Arts Festival) and remounting NIMROD written by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah (Sharjah Performing Arts Academy).
