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ON Nosferatu - Director (Malthouse)
"⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2...A delightful, funny and grotesque (in the most glorious sense of the word) pastiche of colour, movement, text and imagery. It’s also a whole heap of fun that pays homage to obvious film tropes while harking back to centuries-old theatrical storytelling traditions. What we fear is what we manifest. How we avoid succumbing to the things that go bump in the night is the reason for our survival."
- Christine Davey, ArtsHub
"Nosferatu exudes sultry intoxication to a breath-taking degree...Equal parts schlock horror, hilarious camp and surprising social commentary, Nosferatu reinvents the age-old vampire tale for a modern, and most importantly, Australian audience."
- James Robertson, Beat Magazine
"The build is slow and delicious as Orlok’s reign of terror continues: it’s the kind of grip-your-seat suspense that makes live theatre so exciting"
-Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
"The whole team behind Nosferatu should be extremely proud with what they have been able to produce. A tale that is hundreds of years old, re-written with an Australian modernised twist...you will not be disappointed."
-Lilithia Reviews
ON K-Box - Director (Malthouse)
"⭑⭑⭑⭑ K-Box is an extraordinary mainstage debut...genuinely funny, expertly cringe-worthy...The performances here are absolutely spot on; a four-person cast that expertly dance around each other with conviction and a deep understanding of their characters, directed with a beautifully light touch by Bridget Balodis..”
- Timeout Melbourne
⭑⭑⭑⭑ ...sharply funny and moving...a hyperractive domestic satire, Bridget Balodis’ poised direction, Romanie Harper’s flamboyant set and costume design, and Marco Cher-Gibard’s synthwave score all add zest to the production"
- Cameron Woodhead, The Age
"...often so real that it’s difficult to watch..K-BOX’s great strength is in unfurling the profound loneliness experienced and expressed by its characters."
-Giselle Au Nhien Nguyen, Guardian
“fierce, surprising, funny, and deeply affecting. The show has clearly been wrought with clear vision, great empathy, intelligence, and inevitable anger, all of which emanate to the viewer."
– Chris Hosking, Theatre People
MORAL PANIC - Darebin Arts
ON STAY WOKE - Director (Malthouse)
"⭑⭑⭑⭑...directed by the company's artist in residence Bridget Balodis, Stay Woke is a crowd-pleasing ripper...
Far from a deep dive on these issues, it’s a smart move by Thangaratnam to broach dismantling systems of oppression via comic relief in Stay Woke. In the sound hands of Balodis, the message cuts through, and the tight ensemble shines."
- Stephen A Russell, Timeout
"⭑⭑⭑⭑There’s no weak link. The ensemble is perfectly poised."
- Cameron Woodhead, The Age
"⭑⭑⭑⭑ perhaps Stay Woke’s greatest success is that it addresses the lack of diversity in Australian theatrical discourse in the best way possible. There are two characters of Sri Lankan heritage but both are talking about issues other than race."
- Satara Uthayakumaran, ArtsHub
ON moral panic - Director (darebin arts)
"To get straight to it – Moral Panic is powerful, brilliant, must-see theatre.
The production from Double Water Signs, directed by Bridget Balodis, and written by Rachel Perks, is fierce, surprising, funny, and deeply affecting. The show has clearly been wrought with clear vision, great empathy, intelligence, and inevitable anger, all of which emanate to the viewer."
– Chris Hosking, Theatre People
"This chaotic middle wreaked havoc on my body - at times there seemed to be an infectious roaring as darkness and shame spilled across the stage; at others, I felt my eyes watering, my breathing interrupted. Language is still always present, but disfigured, or reconfigured, or undone - never quite one thing. Things don’t have to be understood to be felt...Everything is queered - unmoored from easy definition, swarming, loose. It’s a kind of wobbly utopia."
– Georgia Symons, Independent
"Feminist parable, supernatural quest and queer coming-of-age story combine in this striking new play with an offbeat edge."
– Cameron Woodhead, The Age
"...directed with a deft and imaginative hand at Darebin Speakeasy by Bridget Balodis, is an intriguing counter-invocation to linguistic and legalistic misogyny. Drawing from the histories of witch burnings, Perks attempts to break open the structures of patriarchal language to make space for the multiple identities of queerness"
– Alison Croggon, Witness Performance
ON DESERT, 6.29PM - DIRECTOR (Red Stitch - 2017)
“A tragic but heartwarming ode to love in all its disguises.”
– The Australian
“Morgan Rose’s Desert 6:29pm, developed as part of the writers’ program at Red Stitch, feels totally of the moment…Director Bridget Balodis hits upon an understated but nuanced performance style. The actors create almost an entire shadow-script through body language – a joy to watch…Rose is a playwright with a very bright future, and this new Australian play sports hilarious, richly articulated performances.”
– The Age
“Casting and creative support, work in faultless tandem to produce a top-notch result…
Bridget Balodis directs with a keen eye…
Red Stitch have done it again. Don’t miss it.”
– Theatre People
"The entire cast is terrific which gives testimony to the strength of the script and the direction
…this is a must see”
– Stage Noise
if there are other shows of mine you’d like more info on, please get in touch
2025 - dramaturg - storked, by myfanwy hocking
2024 - dramaturg - girl at the bottom of the well by Henry Kelly
2023 - Director - Nosferatu by Keziah Warner, MALTHOUSE, Melbourne
2022 - Director - K-BOX by RA CHAPMAN, MALTHOUSE, Melbourne
2022 - Director - FAST FOOD by MORGAN ROSE, ReD STITCH, Melbourne
2022 - Director - stay woke by aran thhangaratnam, malthouse, Melbourne and darlinghurst
2021 - Director - HYDRA by Rachel Perks, darebin Arts, Melbourne
2021 - ASSISTANT Director - because the night by Kamarra Bell-Wykes, Ra Chapman, Matt Lutton - Malthouse, Melbourne
2020 - Director - Hello World by Natesha Somasundaram, malthouse (digital), Melbourne
2019 - Director - She is Vigilante by Various new writers, Theatreworks, Melbourne
2019 - Director - Mormon Girl by Jess Knight, Melbourne Fringe
2018 - Director - MORAL PANIC by Rachel Perks, Darebin Arts Speakeasy, Melbourne
2018 - Director - Tinker by Dan Giovannoni, Touring production for Regional Arts Victoria
2018 - Director (Development and reading) - Security by Michele Lee, Malthouse Tower Residency
2017 - Director - Desert, 6.29pm by Morgan Rose, Red Stitch, Melbourne
2016 - Director - GROUND CONTROL by Rachel Perks, Next Wave, Melbourne
2016 - Co-Director - Point of Origin by Tessa Allen and Krystalla Pearce, The Brick, Brooklyn
2015 - Director - Jurassica by Dan Giovannoni, Red Stitch, Melbourne
2014 - Assistant Director - Of Cows Women and War, 2014 La Mama Explorations, Melbourne
2014 - Director - Angry Sexx by Rachel Perks, 2014 Melbourne Fringe
2014 - Director/Producer - (development) - The Well Play by Alex Duncan Independent, Melbourne
2014 - Director/Producer - A Wake: Kids Killing Kids, 2014 Next Wave Festival, Melbourne
2013 - Devisor/Co-creator - Unfinished Business by NO SHOW, Crack Theatre Festival, Newcastle
2013 - Director - Kids Killing Kids, Melbourne Fringe and Q Theatre, Penrith
2013 - Director - The Seance by NO SHOW, La Boite, Brisbane
2013 - Devisor/Co-creator - Unfinished Business by NO SHOW, You Are Here Festival, Canberra
2013 - Director - Danny and The Deep Blue Sea by Patrick Shanley, 1000 Pound Bend, Melbourne
2013 - Game Designer and Director - Outside Line by NO SHOW, Federation Square, Melbourne
2012 - Co-Director - Shotgun Wedding by NO SHOW, 2012 Next Wave Festival, Melbourne
2012 - Assistant Director - The Histrionic, by Thomas Bernhard, The Malthouse/STC
2012 - Director - (development) - Underage House Party Play, MKA, Melbourne
2011 - Director - Trimda [Exile] by Janis Balodis, The Latvian Society of Melbourne
2010 - Director - Mud by Maria Irene Fornes, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
2009 - Director - Hoods by Angela Betzien, NORPA, Lismore and Street Theatre, Canberra
2008 - Director - The Eisteddfod by Lally Katz, The Street Theatre, Canberra