Before taking on the role of Adelaide Fringe Director, Malcolm Blaylock had been a Director of many theatre companies including Circle Theatre Company, Adelaide, La Boite Theatre, Brisbane, and Junction Theatre Company, Adelaide. The policy of Circle Theatre Company was to present new Australian plays and to take theatre to country areas: its two most notable successes being the world premiere seasons of Les by Rob George and Young Mo by Steve J Spears.

After leaving the Adelaide Fringe in late 1995 Malcolm moved to Melbourne, where he is currently based.  During that time he has been involved in the Melbourne Moomba Festival as Festival Director (1995 – 1998). Malcolm then directed the 1998 Melbourne Festival Opening Night Event, a large scale outdoor event which told the story of Melbourne from pre European settlement, through the many waves of immigration. He has also been the Co-Artistic Director and Producer of the Australian International Workshop Festival.  First presented by the Adelaide Fringe in 1991, 1993 and 1995 this festival continued in Melbourne as an annual event and each year brought to Australia up to twelve of the world’s most dynamic creators of theatre to conduct a series of master classes, workshops, forums and discussions.

Malcolm has produced and directed multiple theatre productions including The Heart of the Journey and Chika, which was part of the 2008 OzAsia Festival. His skills have also been lent to being Director of the St Kilda Festival, a one-day music event, and the St Kilda Film Festival, Australia’s largest short film festival.

From 2003-2008, Malcolm was Artistic Director at Darwin Festival, an Arts Festival held in August each year. This festival presents an eighteen-day program of national and international works covering all artistic genres with particular emphasis on Indigenous culture and Australia’s connection with Asia and the Pacific. In August 2008, the festival showcased over 160 performances and events involving more than 1000 artists.