Damien is a lighting designer working in opera, theatre and dance. He has designed over 300 shows.

Damien’s career highlights include Neil Armfield’s production of THE RING CYCLE for Opera Australia, EXIT THE KING on Broadway starring Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon, Graeme Murphy’s SWAN LAKE for the Australian Ballet which was presented in New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, KEATING! THE MUSICAL, Australia’s most successful subsidised theatre show ever, and Australian Dance Theatre’s BIRDBRAIN which played over 60 venues around the world.

In 2021 Damien lit Force Majeure’s Sydney Festival production of THE LAST SEASON, Ensemble theatre’s KENNY, Opera Australia’s THE MERRY WIDOW, IMPERMANENCE at Sydney Dance Company, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM the opera for Adelaide festival and SUPERNATURE for Australian Dance Theatre.

Damien’s opera credits include A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM for Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera Company and Lyric Opera Chicago; THE MAGIC FLUTE for Lyric Opera Chicago, CHORUS! and PETER GRIMES for HGO, AIDA and COSI FAN TUTTE for Opera Australia and Canadian Opera Company.

A snapshot of the work Damien has done with Sydney Theatre Company includes A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, THE GOLDEN AGE and SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER with Artistic Director Kip Williams, DISGRACED and ORLANDO directed by Sarah Goodes; ARCADIA directed by Richard Cottrell; JULIUS CAESAR directed by Benedict Andrews; THE LOST ECHO and THE WOMEN OF TROY directed by Barrie Kosky; TOT MOM directed by Stephen Soderbergh, THE CHERRY ORCHARD directed by Howard Davies and RIFLEMIND directed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Other theatre credits include SPRING AWAKENING (ATYP) directed by Mitchell Butel, THE TEMPEST (Bell Shakespeare) directed by John Bell, COUNTING & CRACKING, THE GLASS MENAGERIE and THE GREAT FIRE (Belvoir) directed by Eamon Flack, STRANGE INTERLUDE and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF directed by Simon Stone (Belvoir), THE SEAGULL (Belvoir), THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE, SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL, GETHSEMANE, STUFF HAPPENS and TOY SYMPHONY all directed by Neil Armfield (Belvoir) and MARK COLVIN’S KIDNEY directed by David Berthold (Belvoir).

Damien works with many leading dance companies in Australia and this work has toured extensively around the globe.

Highlights include AB INTRA, CINCO, OCHO, GRAND, AIR AND OTHER INVISIBLE FORCES and ORB for Sydney Dance Company, set and lights for Shaun Parker Company’s AM I, lighting design for Tasdance’s AFFINITY, Chunky Move’s MORTAL ENGINE, Bangarra Dance Theatre’s OF EARTH AND SKY, Stalker Theatre Company’s SHANGHAI LADY KILLER, Australian Dance Theatre’s THE BEGINNING OF NATURE and BE YOUR SELF and The Australian Ballet’s THE HAPPY PRINCE, MURPHY, ROMEO AND JULIET, FIREBIRD and THE NARRATIVE OF NOTHING.

Damien has won three Sydney Theatre Awards for Best Lighting Design and four Green Room awards for Best Lighting Design. He won the Australian Production Designers Guild inaugural Award for Lighting Design for his work on Opera Australia’s DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN, and the Showreelfinder Award for Live Performance Lighting Design for THE GLASS MENAGERIE at Belvoir.