By arts editor HELEN MUSA

One of Canberra’s busiest young theatre directors, Lachlan Houen, is leaving the capital for Melbourne after several years in which he has become a familiar figure both onstage and behind the scenes.

Since first attracting attention with his co-direction of Anne Washburn’s genre-bending Mr Burns, A Post-Electric Play at the Australian National University in 2023, Houen has built an impressive portfolio as a director, lighting designer, producer and arts administrator.

Originally from Geelong, he arrived in Canberra to study English at ANU, intending theatre to remain “a cool hobby”. Although he missed out on the university’s now-defunct drama program, he immersed himself in student productions through the ANU theatre society NUTS.

“I fell in love with the theatre and with bringing a show to life,” he says.

After acting in several productions, Houen moved into directing, staging The Laramie Project and An Ideal Husband before co-directing Mr Burns. He later co-directed Canberra Rep’s Lord of the Flies and made his ACT Hub directing debut with Mojo.

Away from directing, he joined the Canberra Theatre Centre’s Emerge program under Christopher Samuel Carroll and worked on Joanna Richards’ You Can’t Tell Anyone for Canberra Youth Theatre.

To support himself, he worked in arts marketing and publicity, first with ACT Hub and more recently with the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, while also developing a reputation as a lighting designer. His work on The Inheritance earned him the 2025 Ovations Award for Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Design.

Last year he established Off the Ledge Theatre with the aim of producing bold contemporary plays, particularly by Australian writers, and calls himself, “Austcentric.” The company’s first production, The Almighty Sometimes, was presented through The Q’s Q The Locals program.

Since then he has negotiated support from Canberra Theatre Centre, whose promotional services and good location helped attract audiences beyond the independent theatre community for his first production there, Grace Chapple’s Never Closer, in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

“I like what we’re doing. I like going to a larger base,” he says.

His final Canberra production before leaving will be Benjamin Nichol’s Kerosene, a one-woman play starring Winsome Ogilvie.

Houen describes the move to Melbourne as both a homecoming and a leap into the unknown.

“I’ve cherished my time in Canberra, but it’s now time for the next step,” he says.

He will initially stay with family in Geelong while looking for work and a place to live in Melbourne. Although he never worked professionally in theatre in Victoria before moving to Canberra, he says many former Canberra artists have already made the move south and he is looking forward to joining them as he tries to get a foot in the door.

Kerosene, directed by Lachlan Houen. Courtyard Studio, July 16-19.

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