Photo: Poh Yu Khing
Training:
John Curtin College of the Arts, Certificate of Arts - Dance 2014
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre - First Hand Program 2015
Philippe Gaulier - Le Jui
The Curious School of Puppetry 2018
Force Majure - INCITE 2018
Perth Festival - LAB program 2019
Accolades :
STEPS Youth Dance Scholarship 2015
ASSITEJ Next Generation Program 2018 for TYA Festival Tokyo
Completed Choreographic residency at Lizierés in France
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre ‘Artist-In-Residence’ 2021
Minderoo Artist Fund Recipient 2022
Yvan Karlsson is an award-winning director, movement director, puppetry director and performer from Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia. He is the artistic director of physical & visual theatre company Monkey Brain and an associate artist with Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Yvan currently works between Perth and Singapore.
Recent credits include:
DIRECTOR: MONSTRESS (2025) for ArtsDis Singapore, Hell Is Other People (2023) for Monkey Brain & The Blue Room Theatre, Dreams of a Lonely Planet (2022) for Flying Bicycle Collective & Awesome Festival, and The Lucky Cat (2021) for Monkey Brain at FringeWorld Perth.
PUPPETRY OR MOVEMENT DIRECTOR: Scenes from the Climate Era (2025) for Esplanade Singapore, Wizard of Oz (2024) for Wild Rice Singapore, Confirmation (2018/19) for Xnthany at Dublin & Edinburgh Fringe, and EAST (2018) for Atticist at The Kings Head Theatre London.
PERFORMER: ‘SVEN’ in FROZEN - The Musical (2022/23/24) for Disney Theatrical Productions in Australia, Singapore & Germany, Leviathan (2020) for Circa & Perth Festival, CATCH! (2019/22) for Maxima Circus & Awesome Festival.
His work Hell Is Other People received 7 nominations at the 2023 Performing Arts WA awards and won ‘Best New Theatre Work’ & ‘Best Independent Theatre Production’. He’s also a 2022 Minderoo Artist Fund recipient, a 2019 Perth Festival Lab participant and graduate of The Curious School of Puppetry London in 2017.
Awards :
Nominated: 2018 Off West End Theatre Award for Best Choreography/Movement Direction
Winner: 2023 Blue Room Award for Outstanding Direction or Choreography (Yvan Karlsson)
Winner: 2023 Blue Room Award for Backstage Award - All Rounder (Yvan Karlsson)
Winner: 2023 Performing Arts WA Award - Best Independent Theatre Production (Hell Is Other People)
Winner: 2023 Performing Arts WA Award - Best New Theatre Work (Hell Is Other People)