It’s been almost ten years since we sat down with Craig Semple. In his first article, we spoke to Craig as a magnificent donor to the company. Now, nine years later, Craig is stepping up as head of Melbourne Theatre Company’s Foundation Board. We sat down with Craig to discuss his passionate support for The Company and his vision for our Foundation Board’s future.
Craig, when you were first asked about donating to Melbourne Theatre Company, you described how inspired you were by seeing theatre overseas. How has your motivation as a Donor changed since then?
Yes, I think it has. Over that time, not only has my response to theatre matured and deepened, but as I have become more involved with the Company, predominantly post-COVID, I feel very aligned to the current vision and ambition of the Company.
So while initially my motivation as a donor was very much driven as a theatre goer who enjoyed MTC shows and was fortunate enough able to make a donation at the end of the financial year, now my donations feel very much more intentional – as a purposeful contribution to the Company having the impact it is trying to have.
As someone who isn’t a self-described ‘creative’, what is the value of theatre and artistic practice in your own life?
That’s very hard to express really. For me, I guess the experience of going to the theatre is not just a consumptive enjoyable experience, but it is also an act of learning, of being intellectually or emotionally challenged. It is an act of curiosity and a source of fascination. And sometimes it is just good escapist fun.
And ultimately, I think for me it is an act of community and an expression of our humanity – there really is something incredibly special about being in a physical space, together, with other humans and being told a story by other humans and sharing in that experience.
Through your patronage you have had the opportunity to meet and charm so many of our creative team & artists. Have they taught you anything that you have brought back to your job as partner at Gilbert + Tobin?
Well, certainly I have had the opportunity to meet many of the talented team at MTC … I’m not so sure about the charmed bit!
But I do genuinely believe that exposure to a diversity of people and experience is a valuable learning experience. To have the opportunity to see how someone like our immensely talented Artistic Director and CEO, Anne Louise Sarks, approaches an issue and to observe her way of thinking (which you will all be relieved is very different to how a crusty corporate lawyer approaches something). Or the opportunity to observe how Adam Howe, our Director of Technical & Production, organises what to me seems just overwhelmingly unorganisable. You cannot avoid learning and taking something out of that.
Those opportunities also keep you interested in life, in learning, and keeps you interesting to yourself as well. To varying extents, we all live predominantly in our little bubbles. So to be taken out of that, to be challenged and experiene things you wouldn’t otherwise experience, is refreshing and invigorating.
Ultimately, I think that all of that energises me when back in the office doing what partners of commercial law firms do!
You are very passionate about many of our programs, including New Work, our First Nations collaborations and as a production patron on multiple shows. How would you describe watching your contributions being turned into opportunities for artists and audiences? Was there a particular show that captured that feeling for you?
I find that sort of philanthropic activity, where you are supporting something specific and intentional, to be incredibly rewarding. No matter how much a donor gives, it is a sacrifice, and to have a sense of what that sacrifice helped achieve is very fulfilling.
For me, the show that captured that was undoubtedly “Jacky” in our 2023 season. I had experienced the work of the writer, Declan Furber Gilicker, previously in a work he did for Melbourne Fringe which affected me deeply. And to be able to support the development of “Jacky” through its commissioning and development, programming and production, and for it to have resulted in such a profound piece of theatre telling such an important story by such a vital young Australian voice (and a voice that has something so meaningful to say) …. it just felt like I was incredibly privileged to be honest. That sense that the financial contribution you have made has actually in some small way helped achieve something remarkable.
That’s what philanthropy is all about really.
We are so excited to have you join our Foundation Board as Chair this year. How would you like to see arts fundraising evolve over the next five years?
The easy answer to this is that I’d like to see arts fundraising increase over the next 5 years!
But being less glib, the evolution I would like to see is where fundraising goes beyond just asking people or government for money, but becomes focussed on building genuine, mutually rewarding and enduring relationships between the arts organisation and its donors.
And for that, I think it is important we communicate what the fundraising support helps achieve, and why that is important. It must be a dialogue, and a continuing dialogue, where the vision and ambition of the MTC is communicated, where patrons feel like they are not just giving money, but they are investing in that vision, and for them to understand and value the return on that investment. And to achieve that, there must be an ongoing and meaningful relationship between the MTC and the donor, it cannot just be transactional in nature.
Do you have any advice for those thinking of coming to a show, or considering a donation to Melbourne Theatre Company?
Obviously, my advice would be come to the show, and to donate as much as you feel you are able!
But my best advice would actually be to subscribe. Don’t just come to one show, come to 3, or 7, or even better, come to the whole season. Because you are not going to like all plays equally. Some are really going to affect you, and some will not. Some will be your cup of tea, some will not. And some will affect you differently to the person you may see it with. If you go to just one, it’s a very small sample size really. But if you got to all, you are going to have a range of different experiences, a range of reactions, and you are going to actually learn more about yourself through those different experiences. And your understanding of the MTC and what it is trying to do and to be is going to deepen, and then your desire to donate and contribute will grow organically.
So my advice is not to just come to a show – come to several (or preferably all).
And of course … donate! Please.
Craig's philanthropic support has been integral to bringing new Australian works to our stages. If you would like to make a gift, online donations can be made here, or please contact Meaghan Donaldson, Annual Giving Manager, on 03 8688 0938 or m.donaldson@mtc.com.au
Published on 27 March 2026
