Exit interview: Chris Bendall, Critical Stages Touring

Chris Bendall reflects on nine years at Critical Stages as he shifts his focus from national to local, with a new role at Bondi Pavilion.

27 Feb 2023 8:55

Richard Watts

Performing Arts

Chris Bendall is moving from Critical Stages Touring to the Bondi Pavillion. Photo: Supplied.

After nine years of focusing on the national arts ecology and the logistics of touring performers around the country, Chris Bendall has stepped down as Director and CEO of Critical Stages Touring.

Bendall’s new role is as Artistic Director of Bondi Pavilion, which reopened its doors in September following a $38 million restoration and conservation project.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's former 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 early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts