The soon to depart Artistic Director of Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre, Matthew Lutton, has been appointed Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival.

He takes the reins from Brett Sheehy, who put together the 2025 Festival after the sudden departure of Artistic Director Ruth Mackenzie was announced in August 2024.

Matthew Lutton. Photo © Adelaide Festival

Lutton will helm Adelaide Festival from 2026–2028 after nine years at Malthouse, during which he led collaborations with international companies such as the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, the Lyric Hammersmith in London, and the Barbican. Lutton’s productions of Australian works such as Night on Bald Mountain, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Away and Cloudstreet were critically acclaimed.

Lutton also championed emerging and established voices, commissioning works from playwrights such as John Harvey, Nakkiah Lui, Declan Greene and Maxine Beneba Clarke, and fostering cross-disciplinary collaborations with organisations including Stephanie Lake Company and Victorian Opera.

Lutton’s directing credits include the first stage adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock, which was invited to Edinburgh and London; the international collaboration on the science fiction work Solaris; the Australian premiere of Tom Waits’ musical The Black Rider; Australia’s largest immersive theatre production during...