Ella Caldwell

Artistic Director/CEO

Ella Caldwell is an accomplished theatre director, dramaturg, actor, and cultural leader. Raised on the far south coast of New South Wales, Ella studied Creative Arts at the University of Melbourne before becoming a founding member of Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, where she has served as Artistic Director since 2014.

Red Stitch has become one of Australia’s most acclaimed small-to-medium theatre companies. During her tenure, Ella has overseen a period of significant cultural change and renewal, increased artist remuneration by over 400%, built national touring, and significantly grown the company’s audience and philanthropic support. Programming has been widely praised for its ambition and relevance, with a strong focus on intergenerational skills exchange, rigorous new writing, and contemporary international work.

Ella curates INK, Red Stitch’s new writing program, which has developed and premiered 20 full-length Australian plays, many of which have toured nationally and internationally. She also established PLAYlist, a biennial site-specific festival of theatre, music, and new writing. 

Ella has directed numerous critically acclaimed productions, including Monument by Emily Sheehan, Flake by Dan Lee and Chi Nguyen, Oil by Ella Hickson, The Antipodes by Annie Baker, and Fury by Joanna Murray-Smith AM. In 2024, she supported a landmark commercial transfer of Red Stitch’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? directed by Sarah Goodes to Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre, in partnership with GWB, AHP and Marriner, with a Sydney Theatre Company season to follow.

Ella is recognised for her strategic leadership and commitment to artist development. She has consistently demonstrated the ability to foster collaborative, inclusive and high-performing creative environments.