Currently pursuing a BFA in Production at the Victorian College of the Arts, they have completed training at Ann Peters School of Acting, graduated from the National Institute of Circus Arts, and completed Transit Dance’s Graduate Program in Contemporary Dance.
An avid storyteller since childhood, Reuben James is a multidisciplinary creative based in Melbourne, Australia, working as a writer, director, designer, and photographer for performance. Process-oriented, Reuben's aim when creating work is to invite audiences into a shared experience, and utilise the stage as a means of interrogation into contemporary ideologies.
Offstage, Reuben is the founder and director of Variation Three. Established in 2020, Reuben has produced collaborations with Gallery17 Space (‘UnBound’-2020), and Bo Bickmore (‘Taking Up Space’ – 2022), as well as choreographing and producing ‘Bent’ (2021), and ‘Hush’ (2023).
Reuben’s was a finalist in the 2020 Gasworks Circus Showdown, and the 2022 Midsumma Queer Playwriting Award Showcase, and was also a commissioned artist for the 2021 Midsumma Pride March.
Throughout their career they have worked with the Adelaide Independent Theatre Collective, where they cowrote and performed ‘Calamity’ (2016), as well as writing and directing ‘All Things Unsaid’ (2017). They have had the privilege of performing in Zebastian Hunter’s ‘Dispersion’ (2019), Paul Malek’s ‘Unanswered’ (2022), and Opera Australia’s revival of Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’ (2022). Reuben is also represented by CircaNICA.