Catherine Hassall is an Australian-born pluri-modal performance artist with 35 years of experience in both occidental and oriental theatre traditions. Classically trained in dance, music and theatre since age 5, her practise was revolutionised by the work of Artaud, Grotowski, Barba, Friere, Suzuki & Tanaka Min. After several years with the radical interdisciplinary Splinters Theatre of Spectacle, she travelled widely, studying and working in Europe and Asia. Returning to Australia in 1998 she became a founding member of Culture Lab International: Cultural Research/Theatre Laboratory (1998-2008), collaborating on a diverse range of intercultural, interdisciplinary, arts, art/science and culture productions in urban, rural, community, arts and educational contexts. Specialised in devised, ensemble, physical theatre and pushing the boundaries of life/theatre as a continuous field researcher, Catherine has been committed to operating in non-hierarchical cooperatives, becoming multi-skilled as a performer, producer, writer, dramaturg, director, choreographer and community development practitioner. Catherine has a BA Comm from UTS and is the mother of two unschooled children. Her written work has been performed and published. Catherine is co-founder and co-director of the Centre for Australasian Theatre (CFAT) incorporated in Far North Queensland, Australia since 2012.

Catherine Hassall is also a part of the Local Giants commissioned work The Great Traveling Médecin Show!