David Finnigan is a writer and theatre-maker from Ngunnawal country, Australia.

He writes plays, creates performances and develops games at the intersection of science and art.

image by Leanne Dixon

David produces performances and writing that explores concepts from Game Theory, Complex Systems science, Network Theory and Resilience. He works regularly across the UK, Australia and the Philippines.

David has worked with climate and Earth System scientists from institutions including University College London, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Australian Academy of Science, the Wellcome Trust and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

He has been commissioned to create work for the World Bank, the Wellcome Trust, Chatham House, Nesta UK and the School of Cybernetics at the Australian National University.

David is a member of Australian science-theatre ensemble Boho and an associate of Coney (UK).

David is a Churchill Fellow (2012), an Australia Council Early Career Fellow (2014-16) and an Asialink Fellow (2015). He has been a resident artist for the Battersea Arts Centre in London, Tanghalang Pilipino in Manila and Campos de Gutierrez in Medellin, Colombia.

His work has been performed at the Barbican London, the Sydney Opera House, ArtScience Singapore, Belvoir Theatre, Melbourne’s AsiaTOPA Festival, the World Bank Understanding Risk Forum, FutureFest London, the Griffin Theatre in Sydney and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Image by Adam Thomas
image by Adam Thomas

David was awarded the Green Room Award for Best Writing for Are You Ready To Take The Law Into Your Own Hands in 2021. His playscript Kill Climate Deniers was awarded the 2017 Griffin Award. His 2022 solo show You’re Safe Til 2024: Deep History was awarded a Scotsman Fringe First award. In 2023, his play Scenes from the Climate Era premiered at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney.

His play 44 Sex Acts In One Week has been nominated for the Soho Theatre’s Verity Bargate Award, the Patrick White Award and the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award. He has been nominated for the Queensland Premiers Literary Award (Vampire Play, 2004) and the Max Afford Playwrights Award (Oceans All Boiled Into Sky, 2006), and Kill Climate Deniers, 2014).

David founded and co-directed two ongoing arts festivals: the Crack Theatre Festival in Newcastle (2009-10), and the You Are Here festival in Canberra (2011-13).

He writes and presents original scripts, performances, interactive games and workshops for festivals, conferences and businesses.

Ensembles

Boho

David is a founding member of science-theatre ensemble Boho. Working with research scientists, Boho creates interactive performances and workshops based on concepts from complex systems science. Boho has presented work for University College London, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the London Science Museum, Earth Observatory Singapore, the Battersea Arts Centre and Swedish NGO Miljöverkstan.

Coney

David is an associate artist of UK interactive theatre company Coney. As associate in residence, he creates and present workshops and participatory performances, including Temperature Check (for the Wellcome Trust) and 95 Years or Less (for Forum for the Future).

Too Many Weapons

Formed in 2011 to adapt pulp thriller Battle Royale into a large-scale performance, 2MW has since gone on to create documentary theatre show Kids Killing Kids (Best Experimental Performance, Melbourne Fringe 2013) and video series the Rizal Raps.

Finnigan and Brother

With his brother Chris, David creates music and spoken-word performances which have toured to festivals and venues around Australia and Colombia.