About Us
Founded by Mark Yeates in 2016, Artefact Theatre Co. exists to create great theatre with great people.
The company was named for what theatre aspires to be and what truly special theatre inherently becomes - momentos that remain in the minds of audiences long after the event itself. That theatre can live beyond the performance is the very reason this age-old tradition continues, and it’s why we do what we do.
Commencing with Proof by David Auburn, Artefact jumped deep into the complexity of this riveting text that explores the concept of identity, family dysfunction and the blurred line between genius and madness. Directed by Emily O'Brien-Brown, Artefact’s Proof played at the Alex Theatre in St. Kilda.
Tackling mathematics in their first show, the company continued the academic theme, taking on Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar, a five-hander that explores the New York literary world. Focusing heavily on the relationships developed between four eager writers and their private tutor, Seminar was directed by Matthew Cox and presented at Chapel Off Chapel in late 2016.
In early 2018, Artefact staged the first of two successful seasons of the Oscar Wilde classic, The Importance of Being Earnest. A far cry from the highly intellectual works of Auburn and Rebeck, this historical farce, again directed by Matthew Cox, was staged at St. Martin’s Youth Theatre in South Yarra. It celebrated such success that it went on to mount a second season in early 2019 at Chapel Off Chapel.
The Artefact Team
Mark Yeates
Founder and Co-Artistic Director
Mark is an Actor, Director, Producer, Teacher, and Fight Choreographer based in Melbourne. A graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the UK, Mark graduated with the acclaimed Peter Ackerman Award for outstanding comedy performance. As an Actor, Mark has worked on over 40 productions, performing on stages across the United Kingdom, Australia, and Asia. Highlights include: Soldier Boy (TheatreWorks), Constellations (Artefact Theatre Co), Last Time (Hensby and Beckett), Julius Caesar (Melbourne Shakespeare Company), and Mr Burns: a Post-Electric Play (Lightning Jar Theatre).
Mark is the founder and Co-Artistic Director of Artefact Theatre Co, a Melbourne-based independent theatre company that has produced several productions since its inception in 2016.
Matthew Cox
Co-Artistic Director
Matthew Cox is a Naarm-based theatre Director, and presently a Co-Artistic Director of Artefact Theatre Co (ATC).
His direction credits include Tartuffe by Louise Fox (OCPAC, 2010) Seminar: A Comedy (Chapel Off Chapel, 2016), The Importance of Being Earnest (St Martins Theatre, Chapel Off Chapel, 2018 and 2019), Much Ado About Nothing (St Martin’s Theatre, 2019), The Real Inspector Hound (St Martin’s Theatre, 2022), Constellations (Melbourne Fringe Festival, fortyfivedownstairs, 2023) and The Drowsy Chaperone (WAT, 2025).
He is a lecturing Director for JMC Academy’s Acting program, through which his credits include An Ideal Husband (2022), Romeo and Juliet (2023), and Mr Burns: A Post Electric Play (2024) and Cyrano De Bergerac (2025).