Squid is a one-man show that follows Luke, a young man trying to come to terms with himself for the second time in his life. Struggling to accept his transgender identity, Luke opens up to Squid, his younger self, pre-transition. Both can help each other, but are they willing to admit what that means for them?

Squid is a powerful and vulnerable exploration of identity, shame and self-acceptance. An autobiographical mono-drama that invites an audience to experience what it is to be transgender, and the universal journey of growing up.

It is heart-breaking, warm and full of beauty- a theatrical work that is vital in our current times, especially for young people, their parents, and the queer community at large.

Originally developed with Adelaide Festival Centre’s InSpace residency program and the Helpmann Academy, Squid is currently in development with Brink’s Artistic Director Stephen Nicolazzo, performer and writer Luke Wiltshire, and dramaturg Emily Steel.

Brink’s 2025 inSPACE resident artist –  Luke Wiltshire.

Luke Wiltshire is a passionate transgender actor and writer, who graduated from Flinders Drama Centre in 2023. In 2024, Luke starred in the Australian premiere of the theatre show Daddy Algorithm by FullHouse, which had a highly successful season in Gluttony as a part of the Adelaide Fringe.

His film credits include; the feature film Carnage for Christmas by One Manner Productions, currently streaming on Amazon Prime in the US, a leading role in the short film With Love, Lottie which had its premiere at the Sydney Opera House in late 2024. The film was selected to be sent to The Iris Prize, after an award-winning run at Queer Screen Film Festival.

Luke wrote and starred in the short film Amour, which was recently picked up by Repeater Productions and shot earlier this year. His self-performed, autobiographical play Squid has been awarded several grants and was most recently awarded the inSPACE Residency with Brink Productions. Luke looks forward to working with Artistic Director, Stephen Nicolazzo, to bring a work-in-progress showing to Adelaide audiences.

Statement from Luke

Adelaide Festival Centre’s inSPACE program is an incredible opportunity, and I’m very excited to be selected as the 2025 recipient with Brink. Squid has been a project that I’ve been working on since 2022, and in 2023, thanks to support from the Helpmann Academy I underwent a development process with the exceptionally talented playwright Emily Steel. Together, we created a script that I’m incredibly proud of, and I cannot wait to develop further through this residency with Stephen.

This year, it has felt scarier than ever to be a transgender person in the world. In a time where the media fights to dehumanise this community, and it feels as though we are moving backwards, I would like to thank the Adelaide Festival Centre and Brink for their support of Squid.

“We have to be visible. We are not ashamed of who we are.” – Sylvia Rivera