Caleb Lewis is an Australian playwright and game designer. He is known for his play ''

Dogfall ''Dogfall'' is an Australian play written by South Australian playwright Caleb Lewis, first produced in November 2007. Set in World War I, this absurdist play has an anti-war theme. Plot and themes The play is set in 1916, during the Somme. A ...

'', first produced in 2007 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Early life and education

Lewis' father was a diver, whose job at one time was to retrieve bodies from the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stre ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He later worked on an

oil rig {{about, , the mnemonic OIL RIG, Redox An oil rig is any kind of apparatus constructed for oil drilling. Kinds of oil rig include: * Drilling rig, an apparatus for on-land oil drilling * Drillship, a floating apparatus for offshore oil drilling * ...

near

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, where Lewis visited him when he was 22. Lewis studied drama and playwriting at the

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

Drama Centre earning a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Hons) in 2001. After this he was mentored by Australian dramatist

Nick Enright Nicholas Paul Enright AM (22 December 1950 – 30 March 2003) was an Australian dramatist, playwright and theatre director. Early life Enright was born on 22 December 1950 to a prosperous professional Catholic family in East Maitland, New Sou ...

Career

In 2004 Lewis' collection of short plays ''Songs for the Deaf'' was produced by FreshTrack Productions for the

Adelaide Fringe Festival The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...

. He began a two-year residency with the

Griffin Theatre Company Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Green. Artistic direct ...

, culminating in the world premiere of ''Nailed''. Lewis has completed commissions for Jigsaw Theatre Company in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

and Riverland Youth Theatre Company in South Australia. His short film ''The Half Windsor'' opened in Sydney in May 2007. After receiving funding from the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

's theatre and literature boards, his play ''The Sea Bride'' won the Theatrelab Emerging Playwright Award, earning a two-week workshop with playwright

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1966) ...

. His play ''

'' opened in Adelaide at the Bakehouse Theatre to good reviews in November 2007, and Edward Albee called the play "wonderful".. It was shortlisted for the 2008

Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award The NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights, formerly the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award, is an Australian annual award for early-career playwrights in New South Wales, offered by Belvoir St Theatre and Arts NSW from 199 ...

. In January 2008, ''Songs for the Deaf'' toured to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. ''Men, Love and the Monkeyboy'' was short-listed for the 2007 Griffin Award and is the winner of the 2008 Mitch Matthews award. ''Men, Love and the Monkeyboy'' enjoyed successful seasons at the

Darlinghurst Theatre Darlinghurst Theatre is an independent theatre company based at the Eternity Playhouse in Darlinghurst, New South Wales. Glenn Terry established the company in 1993 initially as an inner-city drama school. Darlinghurst Theatre productions were ...

and the

Riverside Theatre Parramatta Riverside Theatres is a multi-venue performing arts centre located in the Central business district, CBD of Parramatta in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1988, its venues include the 761-seat proscenium arch ...

in 2008. ''Rust and Bone'', based on

Craig Davidson Craig Davidson (born 1975) is a Canadian author of short stories and novels, who has published work under both his own name and the pen names Patrick Lestewka and Nick Cutter. His style has been compared to that of Chuck Palahniuk. Early life B ...

's short story collection of the same name, premiered in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 2013, earning favourable reviews. Lewis began to work on creating

immersive theatre Immersive theater differentiates itself from traditional theater by removing the stage and immersing audiences within the performance itself. Often, this is accomplished by using a specific location ('' site-specific''), allowing audiences to conv ...

pieces and game-based stories. His work ''If There Was a Colour Darker Than Black I’d Wear It'' won the 2013 Ruby Award for Innovation. In 2016 he developed an app called ''The City'', which allows the player to explore the lives of four homeless characters. In 2019 he developed ''A Little History Play'' for the Batch Festival at

. This was an interactive piece where the audience guided the action in the play, and their decisions then carried over to the play's next performance. ''Cathedral'', commissioned by the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

(STCSA) and staged by the in May 2022, attracted good reviews, with one reviewer calling it the highlight of STCSA's season. The play centres around a

cave diver Cave-diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. It may be done as an extreme sport, a way of exploring flooded caves for scientific investigation, or for the search for and recovery of divers or, as in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, other ...

diving in a cave near

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

, and explores themes of depression, drawn from the playwright's own experience of the condition. Lewis wrote in the program notes that it also reflected on the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

on people's personal lives. One reviewer said it was about helplessness, hope and salvation. Nathan O'Keefe took the central role in the one-hander, and it was directed by Shannon Rush. Lewis is based in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Recognition and awards

*2003: Recipient of the Independent Arts Foundation Literature Scholarship to research the play ''Krissy Pho in Vietnam'' *2003: Winner of the Naked Theatre Company's Write Now competition for ''RocketBaby'' *2004: ''Nailed'', shortlisted for the

*2007: ''Men, Love and the Monkeyboy'' shortlisted for the Griffin Award *2008: ''Dogfall'' shortlisted for the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award *2008: ''Men, Love and the Monkeyboy'', winner of the Mitch Matthews Award *2008: Inaugural winner of the

Australian Writers Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962. The AWG is a member of the Australian Council of ...

's 2008 Interactive Media

AWGIE The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previo ...

for his work on ''Otzi – The Story of the Iceman'' *2009: ''Death in Bowengabbie'' nominated for best stage production at the 2009

, winning a commendation for best writing *2010: Inaugural winner of

Sally Burton Sally Hay Burton (born Sally Anne Hay; 21 January 1948) is a British author and theatre producer. She was the fourth wife and widow of actor Richard Burton. Personal life Burton was born Sally Anne Hay in Braintree, Essex, the daughter of jou ...

's Richard Burton Award for New Plays, for ''Clinchfield'' *2010: Lewis turned down the prestigious Philip Parsons Award, in protest against the lack of

gender diversity Gender diversity is equitable or fair representation of people of different genders. It most commonly refers to an equitable ratio of men and women, but may also include people of non-binary genders. Gender diversity on corporate boards has bee ...

in the company's 2010 season *2013: South Australian Ruby Award for Innovation, for ''If There Was a Colour Darker Than Black I’d Wear It'' won the 2013 Ruby Award for Innovation. *2023: ''Cathedral'', shortlisted for Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting,

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

Other roles

Lewis is a partner of the Hunter Institute for Mental Health.

Selected works

*''The River at the End of the Road'' *''Destroyer of Worlds'' *''The Honey Bees'' *''Maggie Stone'' *''Nailed'' *''

'' *''Death in Bowengabbie'', *''Rust and Bone'' *''Aleksander and the Robot Maid'' *''In a Dark Dark Wood'' *''Clinchfield'' (winner of the inaugural

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

Award for new plays) *''Cathedral'', produced at the Space Theatre in the

Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

in May 2022 by the

References

External links

*
Caleb Lewis
on ''

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Caleb Australian dramatists and playwrights Flinders University alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)