David M. Hawkins began his career in the entertainment industry as a performer, working with some of Australia’s leading creatives, including Baz Luhrmann, Jim Sharman, and Ross Coleman. After appearing in numerous musicals and operas, his final stage role was, fittingly, as legendary Australian promoter Lee Gordon in the national tour of Shout! The Musical for Kevin Jacobsen and The Really Useful Company.

He soon turned his focus to Sydney’s cabaret scene, creating a string of hit shows at The Tilbury Hotel before opening several acclaimed cabaret venues — The Kirk, Kabarett Junction, and Kabarett Voltaire. At Kabarett Voltaire, Hawkins presented Rufus Wainwright in his Australian solo debut, co-wrote Intimate and Deadly with Wednesday Kennedy for Christine Anu, and convinced a then-unknown Tim Minchin to perform his first full solo cabaret.

Hawkins went on to bring a remarkable line-up of Broadway stars to Australia, including Lillias White, Megan Mullally, Faith Prince, Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen, Julie Wilson, Donna McKechnie, Penny Arcade, Shoshana Bean, Liz Callaway, and Ann Hampton Callaway.

His 2006 production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch received universal critical acclaim, earning five-star reviews, a Helpmann Award, two Green Room Awards, and Best Musical from the Sydney Theatre Critics’ Awards. The show toured nationally and became a cultural phenomenon.

In 2009, Hawkins joined forces with Michael Chugg to produce the long-awaited return of superstar Liza Minnelli. The tour played arenas across Australia and two sold-out shows at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, which sold out in under an hour.

He went on to produce three sold-out tours of Grammy winner Macy Gray, the final Australian tour of Helen Reddy, and the triumphant return of Woodstock legend Melanie Safka. Hawkins also created original works with Australian icons Chrissy Amphlett on Vermin’s Ball and Debra Byrne on Ripe.

His 2017 production of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret, starring Paul Capsis, broke all box-office records at Sydney’s Hayes Theatre before transferring to Melbourne, where it achieved the largest advance in the Athenaeum Theatre’s history. Later that year, he again partnered with Michael Chugg to bring pop sensation Sia home for her first outdoor stadium tour — Nostalgic for the Present.

In 2019, Hawkins presented the Australian debut of John Cameron Mitchell’s The Origin of Love, developed in collaboration with Mitchell. The production toured nationally before extending to North America and South Korea. He followed with two major musical productions — the 50th Anniversary tour of HAIR – The Tribal Rock Musical, which sold out at the Sydney Opera House, and Jerry Herman’s La Cage aux Folles, which played to acclaim at Sydney’s State Theatre and Melbourne’s Playhouse Arts Centre.

Most recently, Hawkins produced John Cameron Mitchell Live in London at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End.