JIM SHARMAN AO
Director / Writer
The stage and screen work of Australian director and writer, Jim Sharman, spans decades and eighty productions. including a trio of international and era-defining musicals HAIR (Sydney, Tokyo, Boston), JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Australia, UK), THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW (UK, USA, Australia). Jim co-wrote the screen adaptation and directed the international cult movie hit, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
Jim has directed countless premieres by writers as diverse as LOUIS NOWRA, STEPHEN SEWELL, DOROTHY HEWETT and SAM SHEPARD and staged radical interpretations of classics by SHAKESPEARE, STRINDBERG, LORCA, and BRECHT.
Jim notably revived and premiered the stage work of PATRICK WHITE, including THE SEASON AT SARSAPARILLA, A CHEERY SOUL, BIG TOYS, NETHERWOOD, the movie THE NIGHT THE PROWLER and RICHARD MEALE’s opera of VOSS from DAVID MALOUF’s libretto based on WHITE’s novel. Jim’s other opera productions included BRITTEN’s DEATH IN VENICE, BRECHT-WEILL’s THREEPENNY OPERA, STRAVINSKY’s RAKES PROGRESS and MOZART’s DON GIOVANNI and COSI FAN TUTTE.
A NIDA graduate and Churchill Scholar, Jim was Artistic Director of the influential LIGHTHOUSE Theatre Company and the 1982 ADELAIDE FESTIVAL OF ARTS, bringing PINA BAUSCH to Australia. Jim’s memoir BLOOD & TINSEL charting the cultural progression from sideshows to opera houses, was published by MUP in 2008. He is the recipient of a HELPMANN AWARD for Best Director for THREE FURIES: A PORTRAIT OF FRANCIS BACON, the JC WILLIAMSON 2017 CENTENARY & SYDNEY THEATRE CIRCLE 2024 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS. In 2024, Jim established the NIDA FUTURE AWARD to progress the arts and in 2025 was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the performing arts.
My life is fuelled by curiosity about the world, its people, places and rituals, which I’ve often expressed on stage, screen and in writing.
Enjoy scrolling through this website to discover a small glimpse into that world. A short Q&A is available in Explore.
Enjoy! JS
