Directing is a very fine art which is beautifully captured in this photo as Simon Phillips makes a point to NIDA graduating actors as they prepare their production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream.
I was given the opportunity to have a chat with Simon during a break in rehearsals. Simon’s most recent job was the highly acclaimed production of Opera Australia’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour’s production of Phantom Of The Opera.
He spoke of how excited he was to work with such talented members of the next generation of theatremakers. It is important to note that the NIDA productions not only involve graduating actors but also graduating students in all the theatre disciplines covered at NIDA.
Simon talked about how whilst he finds the world of theatre very exciting it is also very unpredictable. ‘Shows that you expect to do well, for example, Love Never Dies, failed at the box office. Theatre is very hard to predict. One has to be very brave to be a producer.
Did he have an thoughts on what shows are likely to succeed?
“It is a prerequisite that a show have a subject matter that has a broad appeal to audiences.
“I will give you an example with one of my shows, LADIES IN BLACK. The show was an adaptation of The Women in Black a post World War 2 Australian novel by Madeleine St John. The novel revolved around the high-fashion floor of a fictional, high-end Sydney department store named F.G. Goode’s (heavily inspired by the real-life David Jones). The “ladies in black” were the saleswomen who work there, bound by the strict dress code of the era, navigating the complex social hierarchy of the shop floor while selling high fashion to the public.
“Australians were interested in this slice of Australian history, and the world that was presented. Hence, the musical that I directed with music by Tim Finn, then the movie by Bruce Beresford, then the ABC TV series.”
Another reflection that Simon shared was the whilst putting together a production always keeping in mind the audience. I know that this sounds obvious but.
“You can work very hard on a show, prepare diligently, believe that everything is working well, and then when the show is finally performed in front of an audience, something don’t work, the audience don’t get the joke, they are not really connecting. This is why previews are so important, and through the whole process you always have to think, how is this likely to sit with the audience.”
Time was up. Simon went back to rehearsals. I felt that I had became a wiser student of theatre, more aware of the unpredictability of theatremaking, and still very much fascinated by it.
NIDA’s winter season of four graduating student productions begins with the opening night of A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream on the 5th June and is playing until the 13th June 2026. Also included in the season are Keziah Warner’s Possessions, Joey Contreras’s In Pieces, and Angus Cerini’s The Bleeding Tree.
https://www.nida.edu.au/news-and-events/student-productions/
Sydney Arts Guide has ten double passes to give away to the opening night of A Midsummer’s Night Dream at NIDA on the 5th June 2026. Email editor.sydneyartsguide@gmail.com with NIDA PROMOTION in the subject heading. Winners will be advised by email.
