Anthea Williams is an award-winning theatre and film director and a Churchill Fellow.
Anthea’s short film Safety Net was part of the official selection for the Sydney Film Festival, was shortlisted for the New Zealand International Film Festival’s Best Short Award and will receive its North American premier at Slamdance in 2021. A feature of this concept is currently in development with funding from Screen NSW.
Anthea develops both theatre and screenplays and has worked in development at Causeway Films, Screen Australia, Belvoir and London’s Bush Theatre.
Anthea was awarded Best Director of a Mainstage Production at the Sydney Theatre Awards 2017 for Hir. This production won several other awards including Best Mainstage Production.
From 2011 to 2017 she was Associate Director – New Work at Belvoir. For Belvoir she directed Winyanboga Yurringa (Andrea James), Hir (Taylor Mac), Kill the Messenger (Nakkiah Lui) Forget Me Not (Tom Holloway), Cinderella and Old Man (Matthew Whittet)
Anthea is also an award-winning cabaret director. Since Ali Died (Griffin) won Best Cabaret at the Sydney Theatre Awards 2018 and Mother’s Ruin: A Cabaret about Gin which Anthea co-wrote and directed has toured Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
From 2007 to 2011 Anthea was Associate Director bushfutures at London’s Bush Theatre, where her directing credits include Two Cigarettes, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover at Christmas, Turf, suddenlossofdignity.com, and the musical The Great British Country Fete.
Anthea’s other directing credits include Things I Could Never Tell Steven (The National Theatre of Parramatta), Sleeplessness (PYT Fairfield), The Pink Hammer (The Court Theatre, NZ), The Humans (Mophead and Red Line at the Old Fitz), Flight Paths (National Theatre of Parramatta), The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (NIDA) #KillAllMen (NIDA), The Real You (SmackBang, NZ), and Quiet (Fontanel – 45 Downstairs).
Anthea writer about disability and representation and is the host of 2RPH’s radio show and podcast, Activated Arts.
Anthea is a graduate of the University of New South Wales where she majored in Theatre and Film and the Victorian College of the Arts where she studied directing.
