Lachlan Philpott

Fresh Perspectives: Lachlan Philpott is the second in a series of extended interviews with Australia’s leading playwrights and theatremakers.  Over the next 12 months, join us as we talk character, story, dialogue, process and pathways with some of the top writers and thinkers of the Australian stage.

Lachlan is one of our tutors for  the 2012 Fresh Ink National Studio tutors. Read his blogpiece for us, A Sense Of Place, this year’s theme for the Studio, here.


In this two-part in-depth interview, Lachlan talks about his start in theatre, what inspires him to write, his process and practice as a playwright, the importance of place in his work and his contemporary classic Silent Disco.


BIOGRAPHY

Lachlan Philpott is a Sydney-based writer, dramaturg, teacher and director.

His first play, Bison, has had sell-out seasons in Adelaide, Belfast, London, Melbourne and Sydney. His other plays include Bustown, Catapult, Colder (Winner of the R.E Ross Trust Award in 2007), Due Monday, Silent Disco (Winner, Griffin Award for Outstanding New Australian play 2009, Winning Finalist GAP PROJECT Aurora Theatre Co. USA, 2010, shortlisted Best New Australian Work, The Helpmann Awards, 2011) Truck Stop and The Trouble with Harry.

Lachlan has worked extensively as a writer with Amnesty International. He was also writer in Residence at Red Stitch Theatre, Melbourne in 2006 and Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney in 2010.

Lachlan is currently developing the screenplay of Silent Disco, funded by Screen Australia. Lachlan has directed theatre at Australian Theatre for Young People (atyp) and was Artistic Director of Tantrum Theatre, Newcastle between 2003 and 2006.

Lachlan co-founded wreckedAllprods with collaborator Alyson Campbell in 2000 and they have regularly produced work in Australia and the UK. Lachlan has taught extensively, highlights including initiating an indigenous writing course for aboriginal students in inner-city Sydney and teaching script writing in Kenya, the UK and the Netherlands. He was the Literary Associate at atyp between 2007 and 2010, where he directed Fresh ink, atyp‘s emerging writers’ program.