Spare Parts Puppet Theatre has announced the appointment of Mr Iain Grandage AM as its new Artistic Director, following an extensive international search led by REA arts + culture. Selected from an outstanding field of candidates, Grandage will commence in the role in January 2027.
Chair of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Dr David Mofflin, said Grandage’s appointment marked a period of bold ambition for the company.
“For decades, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre has been celebrated for imaginative puppetry and storytelling that resonates with generations of audiences. Iain’s appointment signals our unashamed drive to not only continue to create exceptional works of puppetry, but to take that work to audiences far and wide.
Iain’s artistry, and his remarkable ability to facilitate opportunities for artists from around Australia and the globe to share stories and bring forth new perspectives, is unparalleled. We are filled with anticipation as we think about the future of contemporary puppetry with Iain leading the charge.”
Grandage said his connection to puppet-centred storytelling ran deep, fuelled in no small part by helping create works for Spare Parts Puppet Theatre over the past three decades.
“I carry with me an irrepressible belief in the artform and its huge potential,” he said. “Puppets can live as shining creatures of the imagination and deeply human representations at the same time. They are a canvas upon which to project our emotions, or a gateway by which audiences are invited into the perspectives of others.
“I so look forward to being part of a creative collective who honour Spare Parts Puppet Theatre’s remarkable traditions and forge new pathways from here in Western Australia to the rest of the nation and the world.
One of Australia’s most celebrated composers and arts leaders, Grandage brings more than 30 years of performing arts experience to the role. His career has been recognised with seven Helpmann Awards for compositions for theatre (Cloud Street, The Secret River), dance (When Time Stops), opera—with Kate Miller-Heidke (The Rabbits), silent film—with Rahayu Supanggah (Satan Jawa)—and as music director for Meow Meow’s Little Match Girl and The Secret River.
In 2025, Grandage was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). He was the 2023 West Australian of the Year for Culture & the Arts, holds an Honorary Doctorate from UWA and is a recipient of the prestigious Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award.
Grandage has a long and creative history with Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, from composing for Midnight Gang in 2003 with legendary puppeteer and director Noriko Nishimoto, to The Whale in 2024—the company’s newest large-scale marionette event work.
He has previously served as Artistic Director of the Perth Festival (2020-2025), Artistic Director of Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, on the Board of Tourism WA, and is currently on the Board of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Western Australian Government’s newly formed Creative Industries Taskforce.
Grandage will continue his current working relationship with the Melbourne Recital Centre, but in a newly formed role of Chief Curator, alongside his role as Artistic Director of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre from January 2027.
A NEW ARTISTIC MODEL
As one of Australia’s most beloved theatre companies for young audiences and the nation’s leading puppet theatre, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre is building an enriched artistic leadership model, bringing together creative collaborators across key disciplines within puppetry.
Joining the Artistic Director will be several creative collaborators, to be appointed prior to Grandage’s commencement in 2027. These new creative positions will centre puppetry expertise across design, performance practice and creative learning. As Artistic Director, Grandage will serve as the unifying creative force—shaping vision, connecting artists and leading the company’s next chapter, particularly as it establishes itself in its new purpose-built venue at the Claremont Showgrounds.
Executive Director of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Ms Katie Henebery, said the appointment of Grandage sees the company evolve toward an enriched artistic leadership structure that continues to centre puppetry.
“This is a strategic appointment for Spare Parts Puppet Theatre,” she said. “Iain brings exceptional vision, artistic leadership and the collaborative capacity needed to lead a contemporary puppetry company with serious purpose. His appointment sits within a broader creative model, with puppetry experts supporting him and championing puppetry as the beating heart of the company.
We are confident Iain can unify that model, ignite some magic and mischief, and position Spare Parts strongly for its next phase—particularly with a new venue on the horizon and all of the opportunities that will bring.”
All media enquiries to
Grant Watson media@sppt.com.au
High resolution images available upon request.
ABOUT IAIN GRANDAGE
Iain Grandage is currently Director of Programming at Melbourne Recital Centre and will remain as Chief Curator alongside his role as Artistic Director at Spare Parts Puppet Theatre.
He recently completed a five-year tenure as Artistic Director of Perth Festival, where he was celebrated for bringing a sweeping sense of place to the festivals he curated, with a strong commitment to Noongar artists and stories alongside events of scale such as Highway to Hell. Previously, he has been Artistic Director of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, curated the fine music program for the Adelaide Festival (Chamber Landscapes), and served as Composer-in-Residence with the WA Symphony Orchestra. He was the 2023 West Australian of the Year for Culture & the Arts, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from UWA, and received the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award. He currently serves on the Board of Tourism WA and the WA Symphony Orchestra.
He has conducted orchestras in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and across Australia for projects with artists including Gurrumul, Kate Miller-Heidke, Meow Meow and Tim Minchin. As a music director, he has won Helpmann Awards for his work on Meow Meow’s Little Match Girl and Sydney Theatre Company’s The Secret River, and was music director and arranger for Opera Australia’s critically acclaimed The Rabbits by Kate Miller-Heidke and Lally Katz. He has also conducted and presented for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s education program and is a highly regarded communicator on music and the arts.
Grandage’s concert works have been performed across Australia and internationally. Highlights include the Victorian Opera production of his opera The Riders, based on the Tim Winton novel, and Towards First Light, created for the Centenary of ANZAC Day in 2016 with text by Kate Mulvany. He was also composer for the Tim Minchin-led DreamWorks animated feature Larrikins, working alongside Hans Zimmer, and has collaborated with Steve Pigram, Mark Atkins and Richard Tognetti on the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s multimedia work The Reef, as well as with the late Barry Humphries and Meow Meow on Weimar Cabaret.
