How Simon Stone turns classical theatre into modern, intimate, and cinematic experiences
In short: Born in Switzerland and raised across Australia and England, director Simon Stone has become a global force in theatre and film. By reworking canonical plays through improvisation and a process known as over-writing, he creates intense, contemporary performances that confront audiences with the raw, often uncomfortable realities of the human experience.
Simon Stone’s artistic identity is deeply rooted in a childhood tragedy. At age 12, he witnessed the sudden death of his father, Stuart Stone, a biochemist. Unable to process the trauma through conventional conversation, Stone turned to literature and cinema for connection. He has described these mediums as essential 'conversation partners' that validated his experience, teaching him that he was not alone in his suffering. This early encounter with the 'absurdly dark' has become the foundation of his creative philosophy, driving his belief that theatre must be a space for polemic rather than compromise.
His methodology involves taking established works from the theatre canon and deconstructing them. Working closely with his cast, Stone often utilizes improvisation to generate an entirely new script, a practice sometimes called 'over-writing'. While the original play remains the skeleton, the resulting production feels cinematic and hyper-intimate. His breakthrough came with his 2011 production of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck at Belvoir, which became his calling card and toured internationally. He has since applied this approach to works by Euripides, Lorca, and Strindberg, often threading together multiple plays into a single modern scenario, as seen in his Ibsen House project.
Stone’s career spans theatre, opera, and film. He founded The Hayloft Project in 2007 and later served as a house director at Theater Basel. His work has reached prestigious stages, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the National Theatre in London. In film, his directorial feature debut, The Daughter (2015), earned him an AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Whether directing an opera like Cherubini’s Médée or a drama like The Dig, Stone maintains his commitment to the idea that 'without argument, there is no art,' ensuring his productions remain as provocative as they are polished.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Simon Stone
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