MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY by Anne Washburn
LIGHTING JAR THEATRE at Fortyfive Downstairs - Two Sold Out Seasons
WINNER - BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION, 2020 Green Room Theatre Awards
"The Best Show in Town" – The Australian
"Stand-Out Independent Production of the Year" - Richard Watts on RRR
"If you only see one play, this or any other year, if you can get a ticket - beg, borrow or steal - get to Mr Burns..." - Peter Green on 3MBS
“…a theatrical hybrid like nothing you’ve seen before.” – ★★★★ The Age
“…superbly and surprisingly rendered…intelligently directed and performed.” - Witness Performance
“a remarkable piece of theatre…entertains and resonates long after leaving the venue...as must-see as a work of art can get..." ★★★★★ - Australian Arts Review
NOMINATED for 6 GREEN ROOM AWARDS 2020 - Best Director, Best Set & Costume Design [Sophie Woodward], Best Lighting Design [Richard Vabre], Best Ensemble and Best Performance [Dylan Watson]
ENTER OPHELIA written by Candace Miles, Madelaine Nunn & Anna Rodway - Devised by John Kachoyan, Amanda LaBonte, Sophie Lampel, Candace Miles, Madelaine Nunn & Anna Rodway (World Premiere)
ESSENTIAL THEATRE and THREE BIRDS THEATRE at La Mama and Victorian/ACT Tour 2019
“…striking, heightened, sharply choreographed…Ophelia will never be quite the same again.” ★★★★ - The Age
“This sharp production, skilfully manoeuvred by director John Kachoyan…turns this notable play on its head in an entertaining and fantastical fashion.” - ★★★★ Theatre Press
“A clever and energetic feminist reinterpretation…a fresh, intelligent, playful take of remarkable economy.” - ArtsHub
“John Kachoyan, the director and dramaturg, is masterful in weaving his superb cast seamlessly into a sumptuous atmospheric cornucopia of literature and art.” ★★★★ - Stage Whispers
“…monumental, gestural and ritualistic…a triumph’ ~ The Plus Ones
SNORE by Max Posner (Australian Premiere)
Victorian College of the Arts - Presented by Acting Company 2020 and Production Department
In 2011, a tight-knit group of socially conscious college graduates strive to remain whole as the green pastures of their liberal arts educations are paved over. Set over the course of six birthday parties in one year, Snore maps the deterioration of their friendships, and their good intentions, as they come of age into a murky new world.
THE RIVER by Jez Butterworth (Australian Premiere)
RED STITCH ACTORS THEATRE - Red Stitch @ Home
“Mysterious, dreamlike and so intimate it feels like voyeurism, The River, is an experience not easily shaken off after the final bow...one of the high points in Melbourne’s theatrical year” ★★★★1/2 – Arts Hub
“Absorbing, mesmerising…an assembly of hypnotic tension.” ★★★★ – Theatre People
“Intriguing & intimate dramatic puzzle...Kachoyan directs sensitively, without fanfare...” ★★★★ - The Age
“Kachoyan is a director of great sensitivity and sensibility...deep, mysterious and mesmerising” ★★★★★ - Stage Whispers
NOMINATED GREEN ROOM AWARDS for SET & COSTUME DESIGN (Chloe Greaves) and SOUND DESIGN (Christopher De Groot)
ELEGY by Douglas Rintoul (Australian Premiere)
LAB KELPIE at GasWorks Arts Park for Midsumma 2015 and 2018 Victorian Tour
“an innovative and empathetic director...Kachoyan’s direction is quite breathtaking... Rarely is a vision so perfectly realised...” ★★★★★ - StageWhispers
“A deeply affecting and sensitively realised account.” ★★★★½ - Limelight Magazine
“A disconcertingly powerful work.” ★★★★ - The Age
“Finely polished, extremely accomplished and deeply moving.” ★★★★ - Arts Hub
LUCKY by Tobias Manderson-Galvin (World Premiere)
MKA : Theatre Of New Writing & MTC’s NEON FESTIVAL at Lawler Studio, Southbank Theatre
“...a razor sharp, dark, brooding piece of theatre...the refined direction of John Kachoyan nothing short of visionary.” ★★★★ - Australian Arts Review
“a fascinating exploration into the Australian gothic...a great example of how we need to continue to nurture and support new talent in all areas of theatre-making." - Beat Magazine
THE TENDER LAND by Aaron Copland (Australian Premiere)
LYRIC OPERA MELBOURNE at Chapel Off Chapel
“The direction was excellent…a great night at the theatre.” ★★★★★ - Stage Whispers
“Kachoyan produces a compelling account…beautiful work” ★★★★ - The Age
“…well worth seeing…another of the many wise choices of director John Kachoyan…” ★★★★ - TheatreAlive
DOGMEAT by Tobias Manderson-Galvin
MKA: Theatre Of New Writing at PICA as part of Summer Nights, Perth Fringe 2014
“The play has built a formidable reputation, and this savage, purgative production directed by John Kachoyan shows why...Kachoyan and his fine cast gives it a clarity and precision that lets the writer's words breathe...” ★★★★1/2 - The West Australian
“In the great tradition of knockabout Australian theatre...darkly comic, ugly, cynical, anarchic, violent, sexually-charged and in-your-face...It could be anywhere, anytime; but implicitly, like all strong theatre, it’s here, now...a thrilling and quintessentially theatrical experience...” - Daily Review
NOMINATED ‘BEST THEATRE’ and ‘ARTS EDITORS AWARD’ PERTH FRINGE WORLD
Drake The Amazing and La Dispute by Andy Hyman (Australian & World Premiere
Owl Farm at Old Red Lion/Soho Upstairs/Edinburgh Fringe (UK Premiere of La Dispute)
Michaela Kalowski/Darlinghurst Theatre at Darlinghurst Theatre, Sydney 2011 (World Premiere and Australian Premiere)
“enlivened performances directed very well, with a sense of meticulous detail by the director John Kachoyan…the hand of control and insight in the acting technique needed for this kind of work, made me curious to see Mr Kachoyan’s directorial work again.” ~ KJ’s Theatre Blog
UNRESTLESS by Ben Ellis (World Premiere)
OLD VIC Coming Up Festival at Old Vic Tunnels, London 2011 (World Premiere)
“...a multi-layered, hard hitting triumph...directed with deft care by John Kachoyan...The Royal Court, the Almeida and the National should sit up and take note." ★★★★★ - Fringe Review
THE CAPTIVE by Ben Ellis (World Premiere)
Presented by FINBOROUGH THEATRE, IronBark and SnapDragon Productions at Finborough Theatre (World Premiere)
“...next door to incredible...moments of nail-biting, trigger-finger tension... an epic story” ★★★★★ - Reviewsgate