Shari Sebbens

---

title: "Shari Sebbens" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["21st-century-australian-actresses", "australian-film-actresses", "australian-people-of-english-descent", "australian-television-actresses", "australian-theatre-directors", "australian-women-theatre-directors", "indigenous-australian-actresses", "living-people", "logie-award-winners", "national-institute-of-dramatic-art-alumni", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)"] description: "Australian actress and theatre director (born 1985)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shari_Sebbens" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Australian actress and theatre director (born 1985) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Shari Sebbens
birth_date
birth_place	Darwin, Northern Territory Australia
occupation	Actress
known for	The Sapphires (2012)
Redfern Now (2012)
years_active	2010–present
education	Darwin High School (2001)
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
National Institute of Dramatic Art (BFA) (2009)
family	Mitch Torres (cousin)
::

| name = Shari Sebbens | birth_date = | birth_place = Darwin, Northern Territory Australia | occupation = Actress | known for = The Sapphires (2012) Redfern Now (2012) | years_active = 2010–present | education = Darwin High School (2001) Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts National Institute of Dramatic Art (BFA) (2009) | family = Mitch Torres (cousin) Shari Sebbens is an Aboriginal Australian actress and stage director, known for her debut film role in The Sapphires (2012), as well as many stage and television performances.

Early life and education

Sebbens, one of six children, was born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Her father is a former long-distance coach driver from Sydney of English descent and her mother, Annarella, an Aboriginal education worker from Broome, Western Australia is of Jabirr Jabirr and Bardi heritage. Sebbens refers to Australian music composer and playwright Jimmy Chi as her uncle, although they are not related by blood. She is the cousin of writer and film director Mitch Torres.

As a child, Sebbens wanted to become a palaeontologist or an astronaut but at the age of thirteen she saw Indigenous actress (and future The Sapphires co-star) Deborah Mailman in the film Radiance (1998) and was inspired to pursue acting.

Sebbens graduated from Darwin High School in 2001 and after two and a half years at Nhulunbuy, at age 19, was chosen to participate in "SPARK", a theatre mentorship programme established by the Australia Council for the Arts. At 20 she was accepted into the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) where she completed a one-year course in Aboriginal Theatre. Upon completing her studies at WAAPA, Sebbens successfully auditioned for a place at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, where she studied acting full-time for three years, graduating in 2009.

Acting and directing

Screen

Sebbens played Anna in a short film called Violet in 2010. By May 2012, she landed a role in Redfern Now, a television series about "six inner city households whose lives are changed by a seemingly insignificant incident".

Sebbens secured a role in The Sapphires (2012), a film based on the stage show of the same name, written by Tony Briggs. It was directed by Wayne Blair and also starred Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, and Miranda Tapsell (who also co-wrote the script). Sebbens played the role of Kay McCrae, one of four Indigenous Australian singers "who travel from a mission in Victoria to Vietnam to sing for American troops". The cast attended the film's premiere at the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, on 20 May 2012.

In 2024, Sebbens joined the cast for the Australian adaptation of The Office, playing Greta King, a sales representative.

Theatre

In 2012 Sebbens played Miri Smith and Currah in A Hoax with Griffin Theatre Company; and in 2015, Mae in Radiance at Belvoir. In 2017, she played Charlotte Gibbons in STC’s production of Nakkiah Lui's play Black is the New White in Sydney (with Miranda Tapsell stepping into her role when the show toured to Adelaide).

In 2019 she took the role of Julia Hersey in a production of Our Town by Black Swan State Theatre Company in Perth, and in the same year played matriarchal character Carina in Meyne Wyatt's City of Gold, her last role on stage for at least another three years, in a play she later directed, in 2021.

In 2021 Sebbens was appointed as one of STC's resident directors. She was assistant director to Wesley Enoch on STC's production of Appropriate in 2021. due to COVID-19. It included a new epilogue that introduced a note of activism, with Crombie, Sebbens and assistant director Ian Michael calling for the audience to engage in "seven actions of healing".

Sebbens was dramaturg on STC's 2022 production of Shakespeare's The Tempest, starring Richard Roxburgh and directed by Kip Williams. In 2023 she directed productions by STC and the Griffin Theatre Company in Sydney, as well as Melbourne Theatre Company and Malthouse in Melbourne.

Sebbens is on the board of Back to Back Theatre.

Other activities

Sebbens was a judge for the Patrick White Playwrights Award at STC in 2018.

After being appointed STC's resident director, she hosted the TV series The Whole Table, a co-production between STC and NITV, which aired in January–February 2021. Her co-panellists were playwright Wesley Enoch, actor/writer/director Nakkiah Lui and Rhoda Roberts, and guests included Taika Waititi, Miranda Tapsell, Adam Briggs, Meyne Wyatt, Yolanda Bonnell and Kwame Kwei-Armah.

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table]

Year	Work	Award	Category	Result
2012	A Hoax	Sydney Theatre Award	Best Newcomer
2013	Redfern Now	Logie Award	Most Outstanding New Talent
Equity Ensemble Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2019–2020:	Shari Sebbens	Richard Wherrett Fellow
2020	The Heights	Equity Ensemble Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2023	Fences	Sydney Theatre Award	Best Direction of a Mainstage Production
::

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Violet	Anna	Short film
2012	The Sapphires	Kay McCrae
2013	The Darkside	Naomi
2014	You Wanna Order Pizza?	Cass	Short film
2015	Alone	Nina	Short film
Silent Night	Carly	Short film
2016	OnO	Ollie	Short film
Teenage Kicks	Annuska
2017	Australia Day	Sonya Mackenzie
Puppets vs. People: Night of the Living Thread	Susie	Short film
This Is Desmondo Ray!	Clementine Love	Short film
Thor: Ragnarok	Asgardian Mother
2019	Top End Wedding	Ronelle
2022	Thor: Love and Thunder	Asgardian
2024	The Moogai	Sarah	last=Keen
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Redfern Now	Julie	Episode: "Joy Ride"
Logie Award for Most Outstanding New Talent
Equity Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2014	The Gods of Wheat Street	Isolde Freeburn	6 episodes
Soul Mates	Samus	2 episodes
2014, 2016	Black Comedy	Various	4 episodes
2015	8MMM Aboriginal Radio	Jessie	6 episodes
2018	Show Me the Movie!	Herself	Episode: "#1.3"
A Chance Affair	Aviante	Episode: "Just Like Smoke"
2019, 2020	The Heights	Leonie Farrell	60 episodes
2021	The Whole Table	Host	3-part documentary series, with panel discussions
2024	The Office	Greta King	Main role
Thou Shalt Not Steal	Tracey	6 episodes
2025	Top End Bub	Ronelle	1 episode, directed 4 episodes
::

Theatre

As actor

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Theatre
2008	Measure for Measure	Mistress Overdone / Isabella	NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney
2011	Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui		Tandanya Theatre, Adelaide
2012	A Hoax	Miri Smith / Currah	Roundhouse Theatre, Brisbane, Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company
Nominated – Sydney Theatre Award for Best Newcomer
2013	Return to Earth	Alice	Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Independent
2014	Lobby Hero	Dawn	Tap Gallery, Sydney
2015	Radiance	Mae	Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney
Battle of Waterloo	Cassie	Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
2015; 2017	The Bleeding Tree	Daughter	Stables Theatre, Sydney, Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC & Griffin Theatre Company
2016	Bright World		Theatre Works, Melbourne
2017	An Octoroon	Zoe	Bille Brown Studio, Brisbane with QTC for Brisbane Festival
2017–2018	title=Black is the New White	url=https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2018/black-is-the-new-white-2018	access-date=2018-03-23
2018	A Cheery Soul	Various roles	Sydney Opera House
2019	Our Town	Julia Hersey	State Theatre Centre Courtyard, Perth with Black Swan State Theatre Company
City of Gold	Carina	Bille Brown Theatre, Brisbane, Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company & QTC
::

As writer / director

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Theatre
2020	Superheroes	Director	Seymour Centre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company
2020–2021	The 7 Stages of Grieving	Director	Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney, Space Theatre, Adelaide, Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
2021	Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner	Director	Eternity Playhouse, Sydney with Darlinghurst Theatre Company & Green Door Theatre Company
Appropriate	Assistant Director	Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney with STC
2022	City of Gold	Director	Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC & Black Swan State Theatre Company
All that Glitters is not Mould	Dramaturg	NIDA Parade Studio, Sydney
The Tempest	Dramaturg	Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney with STC
2023	Is God Is	Co-Director	Southbank Theatre, Melbourne with MTC & STC
::

References

References

1. Blake, Elissa. (15 July 2012). "Dream time to act out". [[Sydney Morning Herald]].
2. Palin, Megan. (9 April 2013). "Logie double in top night for Top End". [[Northern Territory News]].
3. Moran, Jonathan. (26 August 2012). "Shari Sebbens shines with best of both worlds". [[Herald Sun]].
4. "NamesDatabase: Shari Sebbens". [[Names Database]].
5. Steer, Adam. (22 April 2013). "Shari Sebbens still a 'Darwin girl'".
6. "Characters – Refern Now: Julie". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
7. "The Sapphires Press Kit: About Shari Sebbens".
8. King, Darryn. (12 December 2012). "Sydney Theatre Awards 2012 nominations". [[Time Out Sydney]].
9. Knox, David. (28 May 2012). "Cameras Roll on Redfern Now". [[TV Tonight]].
10. Quinn, Karl. (13 November 2012). "Redfern Now back for second series".
11. Hohenboken, Angus. (21 May 2012). "The Sapphires starring Jessica Mauboy and Deborah Mailman is a gem, insist Cannes critics". The Daily Telegraph.
12. Moran, Jonathon. (19 June 2011). "Mauboy's new tilt at movies". [[Northern Territory News]].
13. Knox, David. (2024-08-19). "Airdate: The Office (Australia) {{!}} TV Tonight".
14. Blake, Jason. (30 June 2012). "Depths of deception create publishing sensation". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
15. Blake, Jason. (11 July 2014). "Lobby Hero review: Level comedy elevated by fiery performances". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
16. Blake, Jason. (8 January 2015). "Radiance review: Strong performances, but more polish needed for Purcell's Radiance to shine". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
17. "Black is the New White".
18. Marsh, Walter. (15 November 2019). "Review: Black Is The New White".
19. Behrendt, Larissa. (2 August 2019). "City of Gold review – ambitious, raw and provocative play launches a bold new voice".
20. Hurley, Angelina. (5 August 2019). "New play 'City of Gold' is Meyne Wyatt's voice of truth".
21. Browning, Daniel. (13 Feb 2021). "Word Up: Shari Sebbens".
22. Bremer, Rudi. (8 October 2022). "Aboriginal actor-turned-director Shari Sebbens takes the reins on new theatre productions in Sydney and Melbourne in 2023". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
23. (25 June 2020). "The 7 Stages of Grieving".
24. "The 7 Stages of Grieving by Wesley Enoch & Deborah Mailman".
25. Dow, Steve. (26 May 2021). "The 7 Stages of Grieving review – Elaine Crombie gives a singular performance in show that swings to outright activism".
26. "The Tempest".
27. Nicol, Emily. (19 January 2021). "The Whole Table: What does the future hold for First Nations creatives?".
28. "The Whole Table".
29. (20 January 2021). "The Whole Table".
30. Cartwright, Darren. (7 April 2013). "Sebbens hopes Logie opens more doors". [[The Australian]].
31. Blake, Jason. (2024-01-29). "The Winners: 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards announced".
32. Keen, Suzie. (2 February 2024). "Made in SA: films and TV shows to watch out for in 2024".
33. "Black is the New White".
34. "Shari Sebbens theatre credits". [[AusStage]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::