Oliver Durbidge (he/him) is a theatre maker and puppeteer working on Gadigal Land. As the co-founder and co-creative director of Highly Strung, an Inner West—based puppetry performance group, Oliver creates dynamic, immersive works that blend puppetry, movement, and ensemble storytelling. Highly Strung’s past productions include Art For The End Times (Shopfront ArtsLab 2024), A Dance (Edge Festival Sydenham 2023), and the original musical Everynight (Seymour Centre 2022). Beyond Highly Strung, Oliver has worked as a puppet designer and puppeteer across short films – Buttercream (2025), Wednesday Night (2025) – and other various creative projects in Sydney, such as Ultrareality (Shopfront Artslab 2025) and What We See In The Water (KXT Step Up Program, 2025). He is also a workshop facilitator, teaching puppetry and stagecraft at Shopfront Arts Co-Op, and is directing Shopfront’s upcoming Junior Ensemble production.