Richard Watts

Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts

Richard Watts's Latest Articles

'Night Visions' promotional image.

Illuminate Adelaide reveals centrepiece work Night Visions in first 2025 program tease

A sensory journey through Adelaide Botanic Garden created almost entirely by Australian artists will be the centrepiece of Illuminate Adelaide…

Nominees for MICF 2025 Most Outstanding Show and Best Newcomer. Front Row (L-R): Rosie Dempsey, Olga Koch, Ahir Shar, Lou Wall and Anisa Nandaula. Middle Row (L-R) Nicola Dempsey, Brett Blake, Greg Larsen, Scout Boxhall and Garry Starr. Back Row (L-R): George Fouracres, Robyn Reynolds, Meg Jäger, Kura Forrester, Rapha Manajem and Ethan Cavanagh.
News

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2025 award nominees announced

Nine shows are in the running for MICF’s Most Outstanding Show award this year; nominations for Best Newcomer were also…

Crying with laughter at the Brisbane Comedy Festival.
Features

Laugh your cares away at Brisbane Comedy Festival 2025

Like a swarm of LOLcusts, the country’s best comedians – and local talents aplenty – are about to descend on…

On the move.
News

On the move: latest arts sector appointments

Our weekly round-up of appointments and departures in the Australian arts sector.

Miss Ellaneous (Ben Graetz) as Miss Tina at Moogahlin Performing Arts’ ‘Koori Gras: Black Nulla’. Graezt is in character as Tina Turner, resplendant in an 80s-style wig and shimmering, beaded sleveless dress, and is photographed mid-song, arms outstretched and singing into a microphone. A sequined version of the Aboriginal flag in split bands of black and red, bisected by a golden circle, hangs behind her.
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Simply the best: ‘TINA – A Tropical Love Story’ celebrates the late, great Tina Turner

Everyone has their own Tina story, says First Nations performer Ben Graetz, who’s sharing his – and sharing the spotlight…

L-R: Dancer, musician, composer, songman, didgeridoo player, cultural consultant and educator, Uncle Matthew Doyle and Sydney Festival's Blak Out curator and Creative Artist in Residence Jacob (Jake) Nash.
News

Sydney Festival seeks Creative Producer – First Nations, as Jake Nash prepares to move on

Sydney Festival’s Creative Artist in Residence Jacob (Jake) Nash will depart after the 2026 Blak Out program; a new role…

One of the plays being staged as rehearsed readings for the La Boite Encores program: 2015’s visceral ‘Prize Fighter’ by Future D. Fidel. The image shows a young Congolese man wearing boxing shorts and boxing gloves as he throws a punch with his left hand.
Features

La Boite Encores brings the 100-year-old company’s past to vivid life

Brisbane’s La Boite Theatre has announced the titles of 10 plays selected for its 10-week Encores play reading series.

REMIX London. A gathering of arts, government, technology and media professionals sit watching a well dressed male speaker at a podium on a brightly lit stage. A large banner behind the speaker features the REMIX logo and the logos of the event's many sponsors and supporters.
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From Coachella to the Sunshine Coast: exploring the impact of Desert X at REMIX Academy

Jenny Gil, Executive Director of the outdoor sculpture biennale Desert X, is flying from California to Australia to discuss her…

A close-up photo of waves crashing on a beach, illustrating ArtsHub's weekly On the move column, a wrap-up of arts sector appointments and departures.
News

On the move: latest arts sector appointments

Our weekly round-up of appointments and departures in the Australian arts sector – and, sometimes, further afield.

'Garry Starr: Classic Penguins' at The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Adelaide Fringe 2025. A photoshopped image of a fair-skinned man with curly black hair and a neat beard wearing an orange-coloured Elizabethan ruff. His arms from the elbows down, and his body from the waist down, have been photoshopped to appear like a penguin. He leans on his left flipper and sits on his left penguin hip, his orange penguin feet and right flipper raised.
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Comedy review: Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, Beckett Theatre, MICF 2025

Brilliant, in-your-face clowning that leans heavily into the concept of enthusiastic consent.

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