Wayne Blair

Short Biography

Wayne Blair (born 28 November 1971) is an Indigenous Australian writer, actor and director, seen most recently on both sides of the camera in Redfern Now. He is also the director of the highly successful feature film The Sapphires.As an actor, Wayne's work includes the theatre productions of Jessus Hopped the Train, Stuff Happens, Run Rabbit Run, Conversations with the Dead, The Sapphires, The Dreamers and Cloudstreet (International Tour) for Belvoir. For the Sydney Theatre Company he has appeared in True West, Tot Mom, The Sunshine Club, Inheritance and The Cherry Pickers. Wayne appeared in Queensland Theatre Company’s productions of The Sunshine Club, Black-ed Up and Loaded Stories. Other theatre credits include Skin with Bangarra Dance Theatre, Othello and Romeo and Juliet, for the Bell Shakespeare Company; and for Kooemba Jdarra, Black Shorts and Purple Dreams. His television credits include Small Claims (2004), Fireflies (2004), Backberner (1999), Water Rats (1996), All Saints (1998) and Wildside (1997). Wayne’s film credits include Wish You Were Here (2012), The Turning (2013), X: Night of Vengeance (2011), Nulla Nulla (2015), The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg (2011), Blessed (2009), Mullet (2001), and Redfern Now: Promise Me (2015).For the theatre, Wayne has directed Unspoken at the Old Fitzroy and the Malthouse. Stolen and 7 Stages of Grieving for the STC and Njunjul The Sun for Kooemba Jdarra and QPAC which he adapted from the book of the same name.He has written and directed the short films: Face 2 Black, Jubulj, Black Talk (2002), and The Djarn Djarns (2005). Black Talk won the Dendy Award in 2003 and The Djarn Djarns won the Crystal Bear Prize for Best Short in the Kinderfilmfest Section of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2005. For television he has directed episodes of Lockie Leonard (2007) and Double Trouble (2008) both with Channel 9, Dead Gorgeous (2010), The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting (2013), The Gods of Wheat Street (2014), and Cleverman (2016). As well as directing the film version of The Sapphires (2012) which made its screen debut at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and Septembers of Shiraz (2015) starring Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek. Wayne also directed the upcoming musical re-imagining of the 1987 film, Dirty Dancing (2017).