David Berthold is the Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer of La Boite Theatre Company. He took up the position in November 2008. He is one of Australia's most prominent theatre directors and has successfully led several arts organisations. He was Artistic Director of Sydney's Griffin Theatre Company (2003-2006), transforming it into Australia's leading new writing theatre and one of the nation's most visible and successful arts companies; Artistic Director of the Australian Theatre for Young People (1999-2003), building the company into Australia's flagship theatre for young people - and the world's largest - with many national and international collaborations; Associate Director of Sydney Theatre Company (1994-99), Australia's premier theatre company; and Artistic Associate of the Queensland Theatre Company (1991-94). He was the Festival Director of World Interplay 2007, the world's largest festival of young playwrights.
He has directed major productions of Australian plays by Elaine Acworth, Nick Enright, Daniel Keene, Caleb Lewis, Tony McNamara, Tommy Murphy, Louis Nowra, Debra Oswald, Hannie Rayson, Stephen Sewell, Alan Seymour, Katherine Thomson, Karin Mainwaring, Ian Wilding and David Williamson as well as plays by Aristophanes, Jim Cartwright, William Congreve, Brad Fraser, Neil LaBute, Christopher Marlowe, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, Philip Ridley, Shakespeare, Sam Shepard and Leo Tolstoy for companies including Griffin, ATYP, STC, Melbourne Theatre Company, Company B at Belvoir Street, 2000 Olympic Arts Festival, Sydney Festival, Sydney Opera House, Playbox Theatre, Black Swan, NIDA, QUT, La Boite, Opera Queensland, Auckland Theatre Company, the Royal National Theatre London, and Theater an der Parkaue Berlin.
His recent productions include Tommy Murphy's multi-award winning adaptation of Timothy Conigrave's memoir Holding the Man (with seasons for Griffin Theatre Company, Sydney Opera House, Company B Belvoir, Melbourne Theatre Company, Brisbane Powerhouse), the premiere of Louis Nowra's Boyce Trilogy for Griffin Theatre Company - The Woman with Dogs' Eyes (2004), The Marvellous Boy (2005) and The Emperor of Sydney (2006) - Debra Oswald's The Peach Season for Griffin, Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things for the 2008 NIDA graduating year, Tommy Murphy's Saturn's Return for Sydney Theatre Company (2008 and in a revised version in 2009), Hamlet for La Boite, and Holding the Man in London's West End.
