Professional career[edit]

Edwards began her career at Adelaide youth theatre company Energy Connection.^[2] From 1986 to 1989 she was associate director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia, has been an Artistic Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, she has worked with every other major Australian theatre company, including the Sydney Theatre Company and Opera Australia.


Internationally, Edwards directed the 1996 London revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, which opened at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts on Broadway in 2000, and for which she won an Emmy Award for the televised recording of the production.^[3]


Edwards contributed to the book of the musical Whistle Down the Wind, for which she directed the West End production. She directed Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2003 and 2004 respectively.


Edwards has directed for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington D.C.).^[4] She directed the premiere production of The Boy from Oz. For Opera Australia, she directed Aida (2015), La bohème (2016–2023), Carmen (2017), Salome (2019).^[4]


She co-wrote the book and lyrics of the musical Eureka, which premiered in Melbourne in 2004.


Edwards'credits directing for film and television include the 2011 Australian film A Heartbeat Away and the "Pride" segment of 1993 television series Seven Deadly Sins, as well as filmed versions of stage presentations.