Shalom Kaa is a multi-talented, award winning artist based in Darwin.
A consummate all rounder makes Shalom Darwin’s premier entertainer: singer, actor, comedian, writer, director, choreographer, producer - Shalom ensures that his audiences are looked after making him the perfect Master of Ceremonies for community and corporate events.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS
Jan 26 - OZ Day Fun Run & Smoking Ceremony (Emcee)
Apr 22 - Seabreeze Festival (Emcee)
Oct 13 - Top Floor Comedy, Air Raid Arcade (Emcee)
Oct 18 - BANFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour: Radical Reels, Deckchair Cinema (Emcee)
Oct 20 - Australia Day Council Regional Conference (Emcee/Facilitator)
Nov 11 - 2023 Brolga Awards, Darwin Convention Centre (Emcee)
Nov 18 - Tropicon 2023, Darwin Entertainment Centre (Emcee)
Nov 20-21 - Meeting of Arts Professionals Conference (Emcee)
Nov 23 - PHN Conference, Trivia Host
Nov 26 - Santa Fun Run (Emcee)
Dec 3 - City of Darwin Carols By Candlelight, Garden’s Amphitheatre (Artistic Director/Emcee/Singer)
Here's the rest of the story...
Shalom grew up as part of a large Maori family of musicians who performed throughout New Zealand. He performed in Sydney and Melbourne as a soloist and in the band “RS”.
Relocating to Darwin in 2015, Shalom made a smooth transition to musical theatre. He played the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar (2015), dual roles in For The Term of His Natural Life (2016) and the lead roles of ‘Freddie’ in Chess (2017) and 'Che Guevara' in Evita (2023). During this time Shalom started to develop his love for artistic direction with sold-out seasons of Beatles Cabaret (2016) and ABBA Cabaret (2017), which he also choreographed. In 2018 he wrote, directed, choreographed and had a cameo role in Voices of Remembrance: A Territory Story of War and Peace, a moving tribute to our ANZACs set in Darwin during WW1. The performance garnered a standing ovation lead by the military.
Shalom made his dramatic acting debut in the coveted role of John Hale in The Crucible in 2017, followed by Harold Gorringe in Peter Shaffer’s Black Comedy (2018). He developed his love for Shakespeare's as Feste in Twelfth Night (2020), Hortensio in Taming of the Shrew (2021) and as Puck and Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2022). In 2023, Shalom directed the sci-fi influenced Romeo & Juliet: Star Crossed Lovers, Darwin Theatre Company's most successful production in their 51 year history.
Film and television work includes lead roles in the short films The Japanese Slipper (2021) and Fiasco (2023), smaller roles in Thomas Medina’s You Do You (2018) and The Hairy Mary's (2024), extras work on Top End Wedding (2019) and Netflix's Desert Kings (2024), and various advertising campaigns.
After a Darwin Festival debut in Pathetic Fallacy (2018), Shalom premiered his autobiographical cabaret Purple Plastic Maori (2019) at Darwin Fringe Festival to a sell out season, winning People’s Choice Award and Best Producer. Purple Plastic Maori featured at Adelaide Fringe Festival 2020 and 2021 to rave reviews and another sold out season at Darwin Entertainment Centre in 2023.
Shalom is also the host of The Seen NT, a local arts and entertainment series. The fortnightly episodes include interviews with local and visiting artists. Recent guests have included Human Nature, John Foreman, Manu Fieldel, Vanessa Amorosi, Steven Oliver and Amy Hetherington.
In 2018 Shalom co-founded and was Music Director for Darwin’s first LGBTQIA+ choir, True Colours Chorus Darwin (TCCD). The choir have performed at Darwin Pride Festival, Out & Loud Choral Festival (Canberra), Arafura Games with Shellie Morris and with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra in Carmina Burana.
Shalom is a headline act in the Darwin comedy circuit, reaching the finals of Raw Comedy in 2020 and 2021. He shared billing with comedians Richard Fejo and William Crawford in Ebony & Ivory at Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Shalom is also the Ambassador for Variety-The Children’s Charity NT
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