Christopher Carroll

I am a theatre artist who bares souls with the bare bones. Born in Dublin, I trained as an actor at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin, and then at the Lecoq school in Paris, where I was enthralled by performances that are expressive, imaginative, and physically charged—encounters that move us at the very core of our being.

Since moving to Canberra in 2016, I’ve become one of its most prolific and respected artists, acting, writing, and directing uncompromising theatre with a political conscience. As artistic director of Bare Witness Theatre Company, I’ve created thirteen works for the stage—from solo adaptations of classic texts such as Paradise Lost and The Stranger, to original works confronting contemporary issues like displacement (Icarus), digital surveillance (I Have No Enemies), and climate denial (Smokescreen). My work has toured to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, and the U.K.

Through my work with Canberra Youth Theatre, I’ve mentored a generation of young artists, equipping them with the conviction to create against the odds, and nurturing the makers of resourceful, rigorous theatre that matters.

While I continue to act—with recent starring roles in Crime and Punishment, Waiting for Godot, and the multi-award-winning fable Plenty of Fish in the Sea—I hope to commit more time to my work as a playwright. With Bare Witness, I aim to carve a space for projects that are more physical, experimental, and collaborative—works that emerge, with patience, from ardent labour in the studio and deep artistic relationships with a dedicated ensemble of actor-creators.