Caleb Lewis

Lewis' father was a diver, whose job at one time was to retrieve bodies from the Yarra River in Melbourne. He later worked on an oil rig near Dubai, where Lewis visited him when he was 22.

Lewis studied drama and playwriting at the Flinders University Drama Centre{{cite web | last=Smith | first=Matthew | title=New State Theatre Company play Cathedral dives into issues of grief and depression | date=13 May 2022 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-14/play-cathedral-explores-dark-hole-of-grief-and-diving/101061372 | website=ABC News| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation| access-date=9 June 2022}}{{cite web | title=Flinders Drama Centre Graduates | website=Flinders Drama Centre Graduates | url=https://www.flindersdramacentregraduates.com/ | access-date=9 June 2022}} earning a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Hons){{cite web | title=Bio | website= Caleb Lewis | url=https://www.caleb-lewis.com/bio | access-date=9 June 2022}} in 2001.{{cite web | title=Class of 2001 | website=Flinders Drama Centre | url=https://www.flindersdramacentregraduates.com/2001.html | access-date=9 June 2022}} After this he was mentored by Australian dramatist Nick Enright.

In 2004 Lewis' collection of short plays Songs for the Deaf was produced by FreshTrack Productions for the Adelaide Fringe Festival. He began a two-year residency with the Griffin Theatre Company, culminating in the world premiere of Nailed.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Lewis has completed commissions for Jigsaw Theatre Company in the Australian Capital Territory and Riverland Youth Theatre Company in South Australia. His short film The Half Windsor opened in Sydney in May 2007.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

After receiving funding from the Australia Council's theatre and literature boards, his play The Sea Bride won the Theatrelab Emerging Playwright Award, earning a two-week workshop with playwright Edward Albee.{{cite web|url=http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/drama_centre/ |title=Drama Centre: Graduate profiles |publisher=Flinders University |access-date=7 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201011848/http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/drama_centre/ |archivedate=1 December 2008 }}{{cite journal | title=War at a distance |first=Jonathan |last=Bollen| journal =RealTime |issue=82 |date= December 2007 – January 2008 |page= 33 | url=https://www.realtime.org.au/war-at-a-distance/ | access-date=9 June 2022}}

His play Dogfall opened in Adelaide at the Bakehouse Theatre to good reviews in November 2007, and Edward Albee called the play "wonderful". It was shortlisted for the 2008 Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.australianstage.com.au/news/sydney/2008-philip-parsons-memorial-lecture-2037.html|title=The Philip Parsons Young Playwright's Award 2008|publisher=Australian Stage Online|accessdate=7 December 2008}}

In January 2008, Songs for the Deaf toured to Hong Kong. Men, Love and the Monkeyboy was short-listed for the 2007 Griffin Award and is the winner of the 2008 Mitch Matthews award.{{cite web|url=http://www.pdproductions.org.au/html/mitch.html|title=The Mitch Mathews Award|publisher=pdproductions.org.au|accessdate=7 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303181708/http://pdproductions.org.au/html/mitch.html|archive-date=3 March 2019|url-status=dead}} Men, Love and the Monkeyboy enjoyed successful seasons at the Darlinghurst Theatre and the Riverside Theatre Parramatta in 2008.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Rust and Bone, based on Craig Davidson's short story collection of the same name, premiered in Sydney in 2013, earning favourable reviews.[http://www.griffintheatre.com.au/whats-on/rust-and-bone Rust and Bone at Griffin Theatre Company]

Lewis began to work on creating immersive theatre pieces and game-based stories. His work If There Was a Colour Darker Than Black I’d Wear It won the 2013 Ruby Award for Innovation.{{cite web |title=Caleb Lewis |url=https://mollisonkeightley.com/artists/caleb-lewis/ |website=Mollison Keightley Management |accessdate=7 October 2020}}

In 2016 he developed an app called The City, which allows the player to explore the lives of four homeless characters.{{cite web |title=Watch an interview with playwright Caleb Lewis |url=https://www.blasttheory.co.uk/news-item/watch-an-interview-with-playwright-caleb-lewis/ |website=Blast Theory |date=7 September 2016 |accessdate=7 October 2020}}

In 2019 he developed A Little History Play for the Batch Festival at Griffin Theatre Company. This was an interactive piece where the audience guided the action in the play, and their decisions then carried over to the play's next performance.{{cite web |title=5 Questions with Caleb Lewis |url=https://griffintheatre.com.au/blog/5-questions-with-caleb-lewis/ |website=Griffin Theatre Company |date=4 April 2019 |accessdate=7 October 2020}}

Cathedral, commissioned by the State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA) and staged by the in May 2022, attracted good reviews, with one reviewer calling it the highlight of STCSA's season. The play centres around a cave diver diving in a cave near Mount Gambier, and explores themes of depression, drawn from the playwright's own experience of the condition. Lewis wrote in the program notes that it also reflected on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's personal lives. One reviewer said it was about helplessness, hope and salvation. Nathan O'Keefe took the central role in the one-hander, and it was directed by Shannon Rush.{{cite web | last=Barnes | first=Adrian | title=Theatre Review: Cathedral (World Premiere) | website=Glam Adelaide | date=11 May 2022 | url=https://glamadelaide.com.au/theatre-review-cathedral-world-premiere/ | access-date=9 June 2022}}

{{as of|May 2022}} Lewis is based in Queensland.

• 2003: Recipient of the Independent Arts Foundation Literature Scholarship to research the play Krissy Pho in Vietnam{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}
• 2003: Winner of the Naked Theatre Company's Write Now competition for RocketBaby{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}
• 2004: Nailed, shortlisted for the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award
• 2007: Men, Love and the Monkeyboy, shortlisted for the Griffin Award
• 2008: Dogfall, shortlisted for the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award
• 2008: Men, Love and the Monkeyboy, winner of the Mitch Matthews Award
• 2008: Inaugural winner of the Australian Writers Guild's 2008 Interactive Media AWGIE for his work on Otzi – The Story of the Iceman{{cite web|url=http://www.awg.com.au/artman/publish/article_573.shtml |title=2008 Awgie Award Winners |publisher=Australian Writers' Guild |accessdate=7 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204062726/http://www.awg.com.au/artman/publish/article_573.shtml |archivedate=4 December 2008 }}
• 2009: Death in Bowengabbie nominated for best stage production at the 2009 Adelaide Fringe Festival, winning a commendation for best writing{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}
• 2010: Inaugural winner of Sally Burton's Richard Burton Award for New Plays, for Clinchfield{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}
• 2010: Lewis turned down the prestigious Philip Parsons Award, in protest against the lack of gender diversity in the company's 2010 season{{cite web | last=Fulton | first=Adam | title=Playwright opts for credibility over cash | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=15 March 2010 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/playwright-opts-for-credibility-over-cash-20100315-gdtw41.html | access-date=25 April 2022}}
• 2013: South Australian Ruby Award for Innovation, for If There Was a Colour Darker Than Black I’d Wear It.
• 2023: Cathedral, shortlisted for Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting, New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards{{Cite web |date=2023-02-08 |title=Cathedral |url=https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/nick-enright-prize-playwriting/2023-shortlisted-cathedral |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=State Library of NSW}}

Lewis is a partner of the Hunter Institute for Mental Health.

• The River at the End of the Road{{Cite web|url=https://hothousetheatre.com.au/season-2018/the-river-at-the-end-of-the-road/|title=The River at the End of the Road – HotHouse Theatre|language=en|access-date=2019-12-02}}
• Destroyer of Worlds{{Cite web|url=https://glamadelaide.com.au/fringe-review-destroyer-of-worlds/|title=Fringe Review: Destroyer of Worlds|date=2015-02-17|website=Glam Adelaide|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-12-02}}
• The Honey Bees{{Cite web|url=https://redstitch.net/gallery/the-honey-bees/|title=The Honey Bees| website=Red Stitch |language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-02}}
• Maggie Stone{{Cite web|url=https://www.currency.com.au/books/drama/maggie-stone/|title=Maggie Stone|website=Currency Press|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-02}}
• Nailed{{Cite web|url=https://australianplays.org/script/ASC-934| title=Nailed| website=Australian Plays| language=en| access-date=2019-12-02}}
• Dogfall{{Cite web|url=https://www.realtime.org.au/moving-and-shaking/|title=moving and shaking|date=30 November 2007 |access-date=2019-12-02}}
• Death in Bowengabbie,{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/review-death-in-bowengabbie-old-fitzroy-theatre/news-story/43f1516df4d21e25e9b10a98aed39fcb|title=Review: Death in Bowengabbie|date=2010-03-19| website=Daily Telegraph |language=en|access-date=2019-12-02}}
• Rust and Bone{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.crikey.com.au/curtaincall/2013/01/21/review-rust-and-bone-griffin-theatre-sydney/|title=Review: Rust And Bone, Griffin Theatre, Sydney |website= Crikey!|access-date=2019-12-02}} *Aleksander and the Robot Maid{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/friendship-forged-against-the-odds-in-robot-world-20110704-1gywf.html|title=Friendship forged against the odds in robot world|last=Blake|first=Jason|date=2011-07-04| website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=2019-12-02}}
• In a Dark Dark Wood{{Cite web|url=https://barkinggecko.com.au/play/in-a-dark-dark-wood/|title=In a Dark Dark Wood|website=Barking Gecko Theatre|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-12-02}}
• Clinchfield{{Cite web|url=https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/circus-elephant-tale-judged-jumbo-effort-ng-ya-195161|title=Circus elephant tale judged jumbo effort|date=2010-10-14|website=The West Australian |access-date=2019-12-02}} (winner of the inaugural Richard Burton Award for new plays){{citation needed|date=April 2022}}
• Cathedral, produced at the Space Theatre in the Adelaide Festival Centre in May 2022 by the State Theatre Company of South Australia{{cite web | title=Theatre review: Cathedral |first=Murray|last= Bramwell| website=InDaily | date=10 May 2022 | url=https://indaily.com.au/inreview/theatre/2022/05/11/theatre-review-cathedral/ | access-date=9 June 2022}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|https://www.caleb-lewis.com/}}
• [https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/247337 Caleb Lewis] on AusStage

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Category:Australian dramatists and playwrights

Category:Flinders University alumni

Category:Living people

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)