Bio
DIRECTOR | DRAMATURG
STAGE | SCREEN
Santa Simić is an award-winning theatre director, dramaturg, and creative producer, currently based in Meanjin on the unceded lands of the Turrbal and Jagera people. She has over a decade of experience as a theatre director and creative producer in Australia. Recent directorial credits include IRL (La Boite, 2023), Naked & Screaming (La Boite, 2021), Caesar (La Boite, 2021), and Lysa & The Freeborn Dames (La Boite, 2018). With the independent company Bodysnatchers, which she co-founded with playwright Mark Rogers in 2010, she has directed Rogers’ Plastic (2017), Soothsayers (2012), and Blood Pressure (Sydney, 2012), as well as multiple seasons of Kirby Medway’s Encounter in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne.
As La Boite’s Creative Producer (2017-21), she led the programming team in delivering the company’s suite of Artist Development Programs. She also programmed and delivered the company’s annual HWY festival of new work for five consecutive years. She was Director in Residence at La Boite Theatre Company from 2021-22 and Creative Producer from 2017-2021. She has also held positions at the Australia Council for the Arts (International Projects) and Australia’s leading organisation for interdisciplinary arts, Performance Space.
Most recently, Sanja held the position of Development Executive at Unless Pictures (2021-23). She was also the Curator of the 2023 Australian Performing Arts Forum.
- Best Director, Naked & Screaming, Matilda Awards 2022 (Winner)
- Best Director, CAESAR, Matilda Awards 2022 (Nominated)
- Best Mainstage Production, Naked & Screaming, Matilda Awards 2022 (Winner)
- Best Female Actor in a Leading Role, Naked & Screaming, Matilda Awards 2022 (Winner)
- Best Male Actor in a Leading Role, Naked & Screaming, Matilda Awards 2022 (Nominated)
- Best Sound Design, Naked & Screaming, Matilda Awards 2022 (Nominated)
- Best Set & Costume Design,Naked & Screaming, Matilda Awards 2022 (Nominated)
Reviews
"Emotionally gripping and brilliantly performed"
- Limelight on Naked & Screaming, 2021
"This play is a must see. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"
- ArtsHub on Naked & Screaming, 2021
"It's confronting, but satisfying"
- Courier Mail on Naked & Screaming, 2021
"It was enthralling in so many ways..."
- Stage Whispers on CAESAR, 2021
"...A clever and entertaining clap-back that is fresh and funny"
- Blue Curtains on CAESAR, 2021
"Directed by Sanja Simić and performed by five brilliant in-their-own-right actors, Caesar cuts deep with razor sharp wit and self-awareness"
- Absolute Theatre on CAESAR, 2021
"As a script, the text is edgy and persuasive; and as a production, led by director Sanja Simic, it’s poignant and moving"
- Absolaute Theatre on Lysa & The Freeborn Dames, 2018
"Sanja Simić’s direction is clear and uncluttered. This is a play with big and small themes beautifully intertwined. And it’s Funny AF."
- The Conversation on Lysa & The Freeborn Dames, 2018
"Sanja Simic directed this exuberance, keeping energies alive and actors in character. She and her team are to be congratulated for a magnificent effort."
- West Ender [IRL, 2023]
"Director Sanja Simić sets a fast pace where the action rarely slows down."
- Arts Hub [IRL, 2023]
"Under the capable direction of Matilda Award-winning Sanja Simić, the production shines."
- Must Do Brisbane [IRL, 2023]
"Sanja Simić directed this exuberance, keeping energies alive and actors in character. She and her team are to be congratulated for a magnificent effort."
- Westender [IRL, 2023]
"Director Sanja Simić sets a fast pace where the action rarely slows down."
- ArtsHub [IRL, 2023]
"Collaborating closely, Treston and Simić have crafted a playful yet meaningful journey, exploring themes of romantic yearning, queerness, and the ways we present ourselves to the world."
- Stage Whispers [IRL, 2023]
"In less adept hands, IRL may have turned into an uncontrollable whirlwind, but clever and incisive directing from Sanja Simić means this frenzy of a production is both very serious and very funny."
- Yen-Rong Wong (yenrongwong.com)