Declan Dowling

Declan Dowling is an actor, singer, writer, and director whose work meanders between musicals, monologues, and the mildly macabre. His favourite roles involve either wigs, weeping, or witty wordplay—ideally all three. An alumni of NIDA, with further training in New York at the Stella Adler Studio and Strasberg Institute, Declan’s work spans the earnest, the experimental, and the delightfully odd. As a performer, he’s been recognised for his turns as Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Jules/Robert Greenberg (Sunday in the Park with George), Major General Stanley (The Pirates of Penzance), and Detective Carl Hanratty (Catch Me If You Can)—the latter earning him the City of Newcastle Drama Award (CONDA) for Best Actor in a Musical. His performances often toe the line between gravitas and mischief, which is exactly how he likes it. Declan’s writing and directing credits include Shifted (a new song cycle with ARIA nominee James Court), None of Woman Born, You & Me, and Where Life Suits Me—works which have appeared at Sydney Fringe, Riverside Theatres, Claire’s Kitchen, Laycock Street Theatre and the Flightpath Theatre. In 2022, he curated and directed the New Voices Festival, showcasing fresh work from emerging Australian music theatre composers. He is a recipient of the John Bell Award for Excellence in the Arts, several BroadwayWorld Award nominations, and has previously served on the board of the Newcastle Fringe Festival. Whether on stage or behind it, Declan is drawn to stories with complexity, contradiction, and a little bit of charm—and is particularly interested in work that treats audiences as collaborators, not just spectators. He’s always up for a new project, especially if it involves a bold idea, a late-night rewrite, or a voluminous prosthetic nose.

• @declandowl
• Website

1. 2026

   Poetry in Action: x4 Play Australia/NZ Tour

   [Various Leading Parts] · Poetry in Action, dir. Bryce Youngman/Olivia Hall-Smith/Tash O’Brien/Monica Sayers

2. 2024

   The Pirates of Penzance

   Major General Stanley · Kirkman & Scott Ltd. QLD, dir. Lincoln Scott

3. 2023

   The Attempted Rape of Suzanna: or “The Marriage of Figaro”

   Count Almavia Grande · NIDA: Festival of Emerging Artists, dir. Rosa Campangairo

4. 2023

   The Hunchback f Notre Dame

   Dom. Claude Frollo · Regals MS, dir. Flynn Baker

5. 2023

   Shifted

   Director · James Court/PACT, dir. Declan Dowling

6. 2022

   New Voices Festival

   Artistic Director · Flightpath/MUSE, dir. Declan Dowling

7. 2022

   You & Me (Cabaret)

   Writer/Performer · Little Triangle/Sydney Fringe, dir. Alexander Andrews

8. 2022

   Sunday in the Park with George

   Jules/Robert Greenberg · Darling Quarter/MUSE, dir. Hannah Burton

9. 2022

   None of Woman Born

   Writer/Director/Producer · New Arts Group TC, dir. Declan Dowling

10. 2019

    BRUTAL; a retelling of ‘Julius Caesar’ through an indigenous lens

    Yurrumbawal · Jopuka Productions, dir. Neville Williams-Boney

11. 2019

    Songs I Wish I’d Written (Cabaret)

    Writer/Performer · Jopuka Productions, dir. Joshua Maxwell

12. 2019

    Bubble; a new play

    Sam · Jopuka Productions, dir. Danielle Brame-Whitting

13. 2018

    The Woman in Black

    Arthur Kipps · D & S Touring, dir. David Wicks

14. 2018

    Animal Farm

    Director · The Hunter Theatre, dir. Declan Dowling

15. 2018

    My Fair Lady

    Prof. Zoltan Karparthy · Gosford MS, dir. Daniel Criag

16. 2017

    Catch Me If You Can

    Detective Carl Hanratty · The Hunter Theatre, dir. Katie Tennyson

17. 2017

    Young Frankenstein; The Musical

    Igor (Eye-Gore) · Gosford MS, dir. Kerrie Rochford

18. 2017

    Peter Pan [Drewe & Styles]

    Captain James Hook · Gosford MS, dir. Lauren Miller

19. 2016

    The Importance of Being Earnest

    Lady Bracknell · The Hunter Theatre, dir. Katie Tennyson

20. 2016

    The Little Mermaid

    Ursula The Sea Witch · Gosford MS, dir. Jessica King