Craig Ilott is an award-winning Australian director. A graduate of QUT and NIDA he started his career in Sydney’s independent theatre industry, founding his own company, Albedo Theatre, which created a number of award-winning productions including THE DECAMERON, DEALER’S CHOICE and EDMOND.
In 2006 Craig won a Green Room Award – Best Direction of a Musical, for the Australian production of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, which was also awarded Best Musical at the Sydney Theatre Awards. He went on to direct LOVE SONG for Melbourne Theatre Company, THE PIG IRON PEOPLE for Sydney Theatre Company and THE PILLOWMAN for Company B Belvoir, which was nominated for six Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Director and Best Production.
In 2010 he was commissioned by Sydney Festival and Spiegeltent International to create SMOKE & MIRRORS. The production had sell-out seasons at two Sydney Festivals, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Melbourne Arts Centre and the Auckland Festival. SMOKE & MIRRORS went on to win three Helpmann Awards including Best New Australian Work. Craig then went on to direct the highly acclaimed production of LA CLIQUE ROYALE for The Famous Spiegeltent at the Edinburgh Festival and was appointed Creative Director for PACHA SYDNEY @ THE IVY, the flagship Merivale Group venue, directing site specific performance and entertainment. He also co-founded Lunar Hare Productions, a company dedicated to the creation of new work, including B-GIRL which had had its World Premiere at the Sydney Opera House.
Recent credits include Greenday’s AMERICAN IDIOT (National tour), VELVET for Organised Pandemonium at Edinburgh, Brisbane and Adelaide Festivals (which won BankSA Pick of the Fringe Award) and sold out seasons Australia wide; DIAMONDS ARE FOR TREVOR for Arts Centre Melbourne, LA BOHEME for Opera Queensland, BAND OF MAGICIANS for the Sydney Festival and toured Melbourne, New Zealand before a season on the Las Vegas strip, LEMONY SNICKET’S THE COMPOSER IS DEAD for the Sydney Opera House and THE VIRGIN BRIDE for Frontier Touring in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin.
In January 2019 Craig directed the world premiere of his latest production PIGALLE for Organised Pandemonium, which opened at the Sydney Festival, in June he directed Adelaide Cabaret Festival opening night and then opened a new production of LA CLIQUE in Leicester Square, London. In 2020 he directed BETTY BLOKKBUSTER REIMAGINED for Redline Productions and Sydney Festival before premiering VELVET: REWIRED at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. In 2022 he directed and co-created the Adelaide Festival Centre commissioned L’HOTEL for Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
Craig recently directed AMADEUS, starring Michael Sheen, for Redline Productions at the Sydney Opera House.
